So I wanted to build to the battle in Issue 9. I knew Robert could draw incredible action sequences though. Issue 7 was the reveal, 8 was the flashback, and then because we asked so much of the readers and revealed that the Guardians were dead it was a little depressing. Then we picked up speed like a roller coaster in Issue 7. We had to build things up over time so you'd care about them. Then issues 2 to 6 had to move at a certain pace because we wanted to lull our readers into not realizing the truth about the Guardians. Yeah, there's almost a bit of Frank Castle style resolve in Issue 8 where he goes toe-to-toe with the Imperial Guard by himself.Ī lot happened in our first issue to set up our basic story. I didn't want to have him joking and carousing the entire time because I think he's a very nuanced character more than he gets credit for. I wanted to show that with our very first scene where he's capable and confident leading his troops into battle against a larger armada. On the surface it doesn't seem like he would be an effective leader, but when it's all said and done he can be. When the odds are against him, he finds a way to pull everyone's fat out of the fire. They're seeing him as this hero to look up to, especially since there's been such a lack of heroes left alive. It's not an accident that people are gravitating towards him in this story. It's interesting thinking about Quill in action as a determined solo character, because for the longest time he's been portrayed as sort of a wisecracking, impulsive team leader. RELATED: Guardians of the Galaxy's Grisly Fates Revealed in Old Man Quill We also had the great Rachelle Rosenberg. We've had Andres Mossa who was such a major part of my early career and such an amazing colorist. I also want to mention our pair of incredible colorists. , but the more we workshopped it, the more that aspect became a chance to do some unique storytelling.

It really was a huge leap of faith by my editor Mark Basso and C.B. So I came up with the idea of having the Guardians dead the whole time and Peter hallucinating them after the book had been greenlit. How did this twist come about?Įthan Sacks: It's interesting because our original pitch for this series was the Guardians would all be alive, but we had some plot elements that would have inadvertently overlapped some things Donny Cates had planned in his Guardians book.

RELATED: Old Man Quill Just Got His Own Avengers: Endgame QuestĬBR spoke with Sacks about those obstacles, the surprise reveal and how late it came in the series' production, and introducing new heroes, like Viv Vision, into the villain-ravaged Wastelands.ĬBR: There have been a number of surprises over the course of Old Man Quill, but the biggest came in Issue 7, when Peter realized all the other Guardians had been dead the entire time.

Old Man Quill, Vol. 1 by Ethan Sacks