Today, Greg and Drew are discussing Rocket Raccoon 2, originally released August 6th, 2014.

Greg: In middle school I had a problem, and that problem was flood pants. You know, pants that are too short for you, leaving your ankles embarrassingly exposed, as if you want your pants to be safe in case of a flood. Maybe we didn’t have enough money for new pants, maybe I just didn’t care, but I got ravenously bullied for wearing these things. One night, as I fought back tears and told my mom my woes, she offered a line for me to say in reponse — a line so well-crafted I can’t believe my mom didn’t have a previous career as a comedy writer. The very next day, when one of my tormentors chipped away at me, I unleashed this bomb: “When the flood comes, you’ll all be sorry.” The response was intense, way more than I could’ve imagined. These kids laughed until they cried, and didn’t bother me about my flood pants so much anymore. I learned that day a valuable lesson, one that makes itself known in this issue of Rocket Raccoon: humor is a powerful way to work through traumas.

Rocket Raccoon is being framed by someone like him — odd, given that, as every character in the issue that runs into him reminds him, he brags about being one-of-a-kind, like, all the time. This mysterious half-raccoon is committing murders under the guise of Rocket, but Rocket is nothing if not a plan-haver, and this one starts in “the highest level security prison planet in the known universes”. One of the issue’s outstanding comedic smash cuts takes us from Rocket telling his cell-mates that he’s not here to make friends, to making friends with his cell mates. However, like an inverse of a ZAZ flick, this foreground joke exists to obfuscate the background plot development: Rocket plants his buddy Groot into the ground, obliterating the cell and setting them free (after some hasty friendship patching up). Next, Rocket and Groot meet up with Macho Gomez, a scoundrel who likes the idea of helping Rocket basically because he likes the idea of taking Star-Lord’s money, and they’re off to find a figure named Funtzel — until they’re stopped by a squadron of ships led exclusively by women known as the Ex-Terminators.

While that’s the final image of Skottie Young’s issue, it’s not the most pressing cliffhanger. That belongs to an event that occurs a couple pages beforehand, where Rocket’s evil doppelganger murders the warden who allowed Rocket to escape, and reveals that it’s time to make himself known to Rocket. Interestingly, while this mystery seems to be the narrative fulcrum this arc is placed in, I found it less immediately appealing than all of the goofy business beforehand, even if that was narratively “walking in place”. This slight discrepancy of enjoyment reminded me of a common criticism Marvel gets in their movies: the heroes are incredibly fun and enjoyable to watch, but the Big Bads and McGuffins could use some work to seem interesting. Maybe I’ve just got the recent Bradly Cooper-assisted adaptation on the brain, but it seems like the Marvel team may need to work a little harder to make these narrative necessities feel as fun and thrilling as the comedic decorations.

It goes without saying, then, that I adored the comedic decorations in this issue. Young, thrillingly pulling double-duty as writer and artist, is having a metric ton of fun playing with every single facet of comedic composition; in other words, anything is fair game for a joke, even the onomatopoeias that accompany bits of action (my favorite by far being the Ex-Terminators missiles seeming to make the noise: “they came to DROP BOMBS”). There’s a genuine sense of play in this, a sense of a precocious kid filling his sandbox shenanigans with content both saltier and smarter than anticipated. Rocket aping Rust Cohle and his randomly appearing beer cans is smart, surprising, and proof that there’s no time to waste when making fun pop culture references, but this joke is taken up a notch when Young decides that, yeah, the folks interrogating him would get this True Detective reference, too, and call him out on that. I’m very used to one character being able to break fourth-wall rules and kinda know everything, but for Young to tweak this formula and give everyone this knowledge is immaculately fun.

Subtly and sweetly, however, it’s made clear that the comedy in this issue isn’t here just for laughs and nothing else. It’s a coping mechanism, a veneer to mask the pain and existential terror fundamental to Rocket’s existence — particularly now that he knows someone else like him exists. I’ll draw your attention to an exchange between Rocket and Gomez about another fourth-wall breaking, wisecracking Marvel antihero:

I think this summation is a pretty handy thesis not just for Deadpool and Rocket, but anyone who uses humor as a weapon. People may think it’s just superficial guffaws, but the truth cuts deeper than that; that beat I mentioned earlier where Rocket bonds with his cellmates is funny, yes, but also a genuinely touching moment. It’s remarkable that a comic book about a talking raccoon can touch on this level of emotional intensity and self-discovery, but hey: “A Chasing Tale” can refer to a lot of things.

What did you think, Drew? I didn’t touch on Young’s art, which reminded me of Earthworm Jim in its dark whimsy; did it work for you? And what kind of gender politics (if any) do you think are involved with the Ex-Terminators being exclusively women? Are these just ex-lovers of Rocket or is there something deeper going on?

Drew: I’m going to have to go with option C: all of the above. I was impressed at how much pathos Guardians of the Galaxy was able to wring out of its CGI talking raccoon, but this series manages to build even more emotional investment in even its most absurd conceits. Take, for example, Rocket’s reaction when he realizes that he may not be the last of his kind, after all. He has a small identity crisis (like Greg said, Rocket told EVERYONE that he was the only one like him left in the universe), but quickly warms up to the idea of a world where he can be amongst his people, going so far as to have quaint domestic fantasies about his future daughter going on dates. Young quickly distracts us with one of those clever onomatopoeias Greg mentioned, but there’s clearly more going on beneath the surface than a simple frame-job.

Which is to say, I think Young has higher aspirations for his gang of ex-girlfriends than a super-sized jilted lovers’ quarrel. Maybe they were sent over the edge by Rocket’s doppelgänger? Maybe that doppelgänger’s penchant for impersonating Rocket will backfire when these ladies show up? Maybe Rocket’s throwaway line about settling down will give him a new perspective on the Ex-Terminator’s plight? There’s a ton of ways that Young can take this, but I’m confident that there will be more to it than the thin premise we already have.

It’s no coincidence that that “more than meets the eye” approach is totally fitting with Rocket’s portrayal in the Guardians movie. I maintain that his character arc, from affected tough guy to emotionally wounded outcast is the most compelling of the film, and Young’s portrayal here taps into that same depth-by-way-of-humor take. Cleverly, Young expands that approach to the whole issue, reminding us that Rocket’s interrogators might know when they’re being mocked, or that the lovable band of aliens Rocket befriends in prison might still contain some actual monsters. That kind of top-to-bottom Rocketification of the story means that this still feels very much like a Rocket book, even as Groot returns to his side.

Earthworm Jim is a great shorthand for the particular realm of cartoony that this series occupies. Much of that comes from Young’s charming character designs, but another big component is Jean-Francois Beaulieu’s colors. Beaulieu is masterful with location-specific lighting, lending each scene a different palette, but I’m most impressed with his sense of shadow. Just look at how he elevates Young’s pencils to a legit interrogation scene just by implying that dramatic overhead light.

Even the lighting is played both straight AND as a joke — no wonder I like this series so much.

Greg’s right about the strength of this issue’s penultimate cliffhanger — I’m now so invested in learning about who this doppelgänger is, the Ex-Terminators feel more like a distraction — but the point is, I can’t wait for the next issue. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet Rocket’s taylor. I mean, if he can get pants to fit Rocket’s stubby legs and tail combo, I’m sure he could do wonders for Greg’s lanky frame. You know, unless he’s still waiting for that flood.

For a complete list of what we’re reading, head on over to our Pull List page.  Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore.  If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to DC’s website and download issues there.  There’s no need to pirate, right?