Guardians of the Galaxy Modern Era Epic Collection: War of Kings

One of Marvel's greatest cosmic sagas of all time gets the Epic Collection treatment, featuring a host of Marvel space sci-fi icons from the Guardians of the Galaxy to Thanos!

When two absolute powerhouses, Black Bolt and Vulcan, square off — and their respective people, the Inhumans and the Shi'ar, ravage entire planets — the Guardians of the Galaxy are stuck in the middle! As new discoveries are made and old friends are betrayed, the new Guardians must stand shoulder to shoulder with cosmic legends to survive! But when the Fault, a massive rift in reality, threatens to destroy the cosmos, the bruised and battered Guardians must avert the unthinkable. As dark forces pour through, the greatest cosmic champions of the Marvel Universe line up to stop them — but will all hope lie in the oversized hands of Thanos?

COLLECTING: Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) 13-25, Thanos Imperative: Ignition (2010) 1, Thanos Imperative (2010) 1-6

Award-winning British author Dan Abnett has been a New York Times best-seller seven times and won the Best Comic Writer award in 2003. He has written more than fifty books — including best-selling Warhammer 40,000 novels and tie-in fiction for Doctor Who, Torchwood and Primeval. He co-created Death’s Head and Knights of Pendragon for Marvel UK in the 1980s, and contributed extensively to the UK’s illustrious 2000AD. He has also written Iron Man, New Mutants, Doctor Strange and Punisher for Marvel, and worked on some of Marvel’s epic cosmic comics including the Annihilation and War of Kings events, and the Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy series. Abnett is also known for his work on major games such as Alien: Isolation and Shadow of Mordor. He has returned to Marvel’s cosmos on Guardians 3000 and Guardians of Infinity.

Andy Lanning is probably best known for his work co-writing Marvel's cosmic characters in Nova, various Annihilation series and Guardians of the Galaxy. During a career spanning decades, his writing credits also include Heroes for Hire, New Mutants and Punisher at Marvel; Resurrection Man, Legion of Superheroes and Superman/Batman at DC Comics; The Authority at WildStorm; and the creator-owned Hypernaturals at BOOM! Along with co-writer Alan Cowsill, he revived Marvel UK’s super heroes in Revolutionary War. Lanning is also a celebrated inker, best known for his work with Phil Jimenez on New X-Men and Amazing Spider-Man. He has worked with a dazzling array of talented artists including Mike McKone (Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man), Dave Gibbons (Secret Service), Mark Bagley (Fearless, Ultimate Spider-Man) and Ivan Reis (Justice League, Aquaman).

Brad Walker first gained notice at DC drawing Batman stories in Detective Comics and Legends of the Dark Knight. His first high-profile assignment was the Villains United spin-off Secret Six, which led to an even bigger gig collaborating with Kurt Busiek illustrating Superman tales in Action Comics. His Marvel credits, Guardians of the Galaxy and Heroes for Hire, demonstrate his flair for depicting unconventional super teams. Walker has subsequently worked on DC’s Green Lantern family of titles.

Wes Craig drew the “Stalking Horse” backup strip that appeared in WildStorm comics such as The Authority and Stormwatch PHD. He also illustrated WildStorm’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. With writer Brian Reed, he illustrated a pair of Timestorm 2099 one-shots featuring the X-Men and Spider-Man. Craig united with Rick Remender on the Image Comics series Deadly Class.

The gorgeous pencil work of Miguel Sepulveda graced Roy Thomas’ Marvel Illustrated adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, his elegiac tone also making him a perfect candidate for the jam issue of Matt Fraction’s Thor: God-Sized Special. His further Marvel credits have included Thanos: The Imperative and Thunderbolts.