'Imperial War: Imperial Guardians' Assembles the Galaxy’s Greatest Heroes Against New Intergalactic Threats

IMPERIAL, a four-issue event series by visionary writer Jonathan Hickman and superstar artists Iban Coello and Federico Vicentini, is reshaping the Marvel cosmos and ushering in a new era of galactic storytelling, starting with five IMPERIAL WAR one-shots! Today, fans can learn about the last of these one-shots, IMPERIAL WAR: IMPERIAL GUARDIANS, hitting stands in October.

IMPERIAL WAR: IMPERIAL GUARDIANS #1 will be written by Dan Abnett, the influential storyteller behind Marvel space epics like ANNIHILATION and WAR OF KINGS (2009) and drawn by Cory Smith, the acclaimed artist known for his work on NOVA (2015) and more recently, FANTASTIC FOUR (2022). Co-written by Hickman, all five IMPERIAL WAR one-shots represent key chapters of the overall IMPERIAL narrative and lay the foundation for upcoming series launching in this burgeoning cosmic landscape. In IMPERIAL GUARDIANS, CAPTAIN MARVEL, GAMORA, and DARKHAWK and more assemble as a new space-faring super team to take on the many threats emerging from the conflict raging across the stars—beginning with a dark conspiracy at the heart of the SKRULL Empire!

As the events of IMPERIAL explode in fatal fashion, the Super-Skrull finds himself at the center of a seditious scheme with consequences that will be felt by the entire cosmos! But he’s not the only superpower looking for answers—an unlikely team is on the hunt to avert disaster before galactic order is lost for good!

IMPERIAL WAR: IMPERIAL GUARDIANS #1
Written by DAN ABNETT & JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by CORY SMITH
Cover by FRANCESCO MORTARINO
On Sale 10/1

"It's great to be back telling cosmic stories as part of the IMPERIAL event," Abnett shared. "My time spent with Nova and the Guardians back in the day was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in comics, and Jonathan’s orchestrating exactly the kind of epic-SF-scale, character-driven and drama-packed epic I love to sink my teeth into. This is quite some ride, and the Galaxy—and the Guardians—won’t be the same again! I’d say it’s the best jumping-on point for Marvel Cosmic since the original ANNIHILATION."

Check out the IMPERIAL WAR: IMPERIAL GUARDIANS #1 cover by Francesco Mortarino and stay tuned for more Imperial announcements later this month at San Diego Comic-Con!

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