The best time to jump into comic books is now. Or now. Or now. The best time to jump into comic books is the present. Because while comics get a bad rap for being inaccessible, they also evolve to cater to the interests of fans courted by stories from other mediums.
Just look at Marvel Comics: The new Guardians of the Universe #1 from writers Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and artist Kev Walker maintains the spirit of a comics continuity that’s been running for over 80 years, but it also works to draw the best parts of the MCU onto the page. It might surprise you to learn, like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff were when we told them at a recent Marvel press event that today, the Marvel Universe’s versions of Nebula and Mantis are just as drawn as their versions of Nebula and Mantis – and have been for years. Their performances have given the comics quirks and humanity, and for the better.
“That’s really cool to have that kind of crossover and consistency between the movies and the comics,” Gillan tells Polygon when we broke the news about her. “I’m quite flattered and honored that we managed to mold the characters a little bit into the comic world.”
(Klementieff was usually open-mouthed — yes, even movie stars can be star struck.)
Image: Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Kev Walker/Marvel Comics
Gillan and Klementieff have played Nebula and Mantis since 2014 and 2017 respectively and have read quite a few comic books. But as the sun sets on James Gunn’s Guardians trilogy, they look back happy that their versions of the characters ultimately evolved into the ones born on the page. They both credit Gunn for doing the job of adapting the characters without too much fear of fan backlash, but let’s face it, they did the job too.
“The characters in the comic books are often so, so, so sexualized, and we have so much more to show,” says Klementieff. “So it was beautiful to create unique and strange characters with so many layers. That’s thanks to James.”
Gillan, no stranger to playing action heroes, has jumped from Guardians to the Jumanji movies and the gun-fu-heavy Gunpowder milkshakehas been excited over the years about how Gunn redefined strong women in the sci-fi genre.
Photo: Jessica Miglio/Marvel Studios
“One of the really great things about working with James Gunn, and characters written by James Gunn, is that the women are tough, but not the typical, stoic, fighting machine tough women. They’re funny and weird and awkward too! And all the things we actually are,” says Gillan.
although Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 likely wraps up Gunn’s involvement in the MCU (he’ll spend the next decade building a new DC comic book universe, starting with his own movie, Superman Legacy), the future looks bright for Nebula and Mantis. Each character can appear in future movies and they will live forever in the pages of Marvel Comics. Whatever the future holds, Gillan has hope for the future.
“For Nebula, I enjoy watching her take care of other people,” says the actor. “I think part of the healing process is eventually getting to the point where you can help other people heal. And so I’d like to see that in the future of Nebula.