The definitive issue-by-issue comic book collecting guide and reading order for Marvel’s Star-Lord, Peter Quill, in omnibus, hardcover, trade paperback, and digital. Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated March 2023 with titles scheduled for release through July 2023.
Star-Lord is a Marvel character who has multiple versions and multiple origins, and what can sometimes seem like multiple personalities thanks to a tug-of-war between his comic stories and his happy-go-lucky Marvel Cinematic Universe persona.
Star-Lord was originally a pulp sci-fi character whose feature ran across a handful of Marvel magazines and anthology titles in the 1970s, as penned by his creator Steve Englehart (as well as Chris Claremont).
None of the worlds or characters he interacted with closely corresponded with Marvel’s version of space at that time. And, a close reading of his comics show that his taking on his heroic name occurred in our future (but his past) in 1990. That seemed to confirm he was not meant to coexist with the Marvel Universe of the 1970s. That character was completely forgotten throughout the 80s and 90s, and was relaunched with a different character taking on the title in a 1996 mini-series.
That pair of Star-Lords are now known as The Star-Lords of Earth-791. How did they wind up excommunicated from Marvel’s mainstream continuity? That’s down to his film success and Brian Bendis,
In March 2005, Keith Giffen & Ron Lim introduced an old, grizzled, partly-cybernetic man named Peter Quill into their Thanos ongoing series. Quill had an unnamed off-panel history with Thanos and was imprisoned for life after a galactic defense gone wrong resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. That explained why he refused to acknowledge anyone else calling him Star-Lord.
Peter Quill was freed from his sentence by Gladiator of the Imperial Guard and next turned up as the second-in-command to Richard Rider as the last Nova in the 2007 Annihilation event. This was the same cynical, cybernetic Peter Quill. He was promoted to a title star in a mini-series that lead into the next cosmic event, Annihilation Conquest. Quill’s cybernetic implants were removed and he assembled a team readers and film fans will recognize as an early iteration of Guardians of the Galaxy. The team’s roster and name would be formalized coming out of the event and leading into the Guardians ongoing series in 2008.
As Peter resumed the title of Star-Lord, authors Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning slightly softened his personality and youthened him, but he was still the battle-scarred veteran of the Annihilation events. Abnett & Lanning ended their run on the character with his disappearance at the end of The Thanos Imperative.
Throughout all of those stories, the unspoken implication was that our present-day Marvel-616 Peter Quill was in fact the same as Englehart’s future version, meaning that he (or, perhaps, his father) had traveled back in time from those original 1970s stories.
That slate was wiped clean by Brian Bendis in 2012. Bendis brought Quill back as the leader of the Guardians with no explanation in his Avengers Assemble series, a tie-in the impending Avengers film as well as a stealth reboot of a Guardians team that would perfectly match their impending film incarnation. Bendis continued that continuity-wipe with the point-one issue of the new Guardians ongoing, in which he completely revised Peter Quill’s origins to be based definitively on the Marvel-616 Earth (in a story that would be somewhat echoed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Although all of the Annihilation stories were still in continuity, Bendis’s version of Peter Quill was younger and funnier – though he still wasn’t quite the silly, somewhat-bumbling version we’d meet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As the MCU version of Star-Lord became a hit with the public, Bendis leaned into exploring his parentage and his connection to the planet Spartax while solo runs by Sam Humphries and Chip Zdarsky detailed his romance with Kitty Pryde and his solo adventures. Further Guardians books by Gerry Duggan and Donny Cates hewed closely to the Bendis template of the character.
It was Al Ewing in his 2020-21 Guardians of the Galaxy run who truly transformed Peter Quill’s character to align his present-day version and his comic origins, as well as exploring his devotion to Richard Rider and Gamora. Finally, by the end of Ewing’s run, it felt as though we had a Star-Lord who made sense as the combat-hardened Annihilation veteran as well as the happy-go-lucky Bendis-era Guardians.
- Where to Start Reading
- The Star-Lords of Earth-791
- Reading Order in the Marvel-616 Universe
- Peter Quill’s Origins
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #0.1
- Star-Lord (2015) #1-5
- Before Guardians of the Galaxy
- Abnett & Lanning’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Brian Bendis’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2013 – 2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy reunited in Avengers Assemble (2012)
- in Guardians of the Galaxy (2013)
- Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #1-12
- in Secret Wars (2015)
- Star-Lord (2015) #1-8 and Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #1-13 & 19
- Star-Lord (2016) #1-6 & Annual 1
- in Guardians of the Galaxy: Dream On (2017) #1 & Mother Entropy (2017) #1-5
- in Guardians of the Galaxy by Gerry Duggan
- in Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) by Donny Cates
- in Guardians of the Galaxy (2020) by Al Ewing
- Peter Quill’s Origins
- Non-Continuity Stories
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Where to Start Reading Star-Lord
Deciding where to start reading Star-Lord was a trickier question prior to 2023, when Marvel collected the perfect set of material to understand Peter Quill current origins in the Marvel-616 comic universe! There is truly nowhere better to start than this volume!
Star-Lord: The Saga of Peter Quill (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950712 / digital)
Collects Quill’s complete canonical origins and his earliest appearances in the Marvel Universe from Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #0.1, Star-Lord (2015) #1-5, Thanos (2003) #7-12, and Annihilation: Conquest – Starlord (2007) #1-4
If you want to want to read about how Peter Quill started the Guardians of the Galaxy, read Annihilation: Conquest – Starlord (2007) #1-4 in the above volume, then continue to the main Annihilation: Conquest series and onward the first arc of Guardians of the Galaxy (2008).
If you want to skip over earlier Guardians adventures to a team that hews very closely to the films (and which interacts with many recognizable Marvel heroes), jump from the volume above to Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) – which starts out with a heavy focused on Peter and his history.
The Star-Lords of Earth-791
Peter Quill was originally created by Steve Englehart as a character who seemed to exist entirely outside of the canonical Marvel Universe.
While Abnett & Lanning clearly had intentions to connect the Peter Quill of their Annihilation and Guardians of the Galaxy stories with this original Englehart version (possibly through time travel), that possibility was squashed by a revised origin from Brian Bendis and an accompanying handbook entry clarifying that the Bronze Age Star-Lord originated on Earth-791. That also places a second Star-Lord, Sinjin Quarrel, who debuted in a 1996 mini-series on Earth-791.
Later, in Inhumans (2000) #4, Paul Jenkins seemingly sets up the idea of this Earth-791 Peter Quill’s father moving towards the situation that lead to his birth, maintain the idea of a future version of the character. However, the subsequent reinvention scuttles the significance of this moment.
That designation didn’t stop Marvel with printing some of Star-Lord’s early comics along with collections of in continuity early stories from other Guardians. However, at this point this brief list of stories reflects the entirety of that Earth-791 version of Peter Quill.
- Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #4, 11, 14, 15, & 18
- Between #4 & 11, a flashback in Starlord (1996) #1
- Marvel Super-Special [Magazine] (1977) #10
- Marvel Spotlight (1979) #6-7
- Marvel Premiere (1972) #61
- Star-Lord: Special Edition (1982) #1 – This is primarily a reprint of Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #11 with 8 new pages inserted. Later reprinted as Starlord Megazine (1996) #1.
- Starlord (1996) #1-3 – This features a new character in the title role, but includes elements connecting it to the existing stories.
collected in a single trade paperback…
Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy (2014 paperback, ISBN 978-0785154495 / digital)
Collects Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #4, 11, 14-15, & 18 (Quill stories only); Marvel Super Special [Magazine] (1977) #10 (Quill story); Marvel Spotlight (1979) #6-7; Marvel Premiere (1972) #61; and Star-Lord (1996) #1-3. (I believe this also includes the bonus material from Star-Lord: Special Edition (1982) #1 along with Marvel Preview #11, which is the convention of all other modern reprints, but it’s unclear from the trade dress of this collection.)
The Bronze-age material was previously collected in a sequence of three thick reprint issues without ISBNS (but not the 1996 series):
Star-Lord: Hollow the Crown (2013 comic / digital)
Collects Quill’s stories from Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #4 & 11, plus the extra pages from Star-Lord: Special Edition (1982) #1
Star-Lord: Worlds On Brink (2013 comic / digital)
Collects Quill’s stories from Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #14-15 and Marvel Super-Special (Magazine) (1977) #10.
Star-Lord: Tears for Heaven (2014 comic / digital)
Collects Quill’s stories from Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #18, Marvel Spotlight (1979) #6-7; and Marvel Premiere (1972) #61
by story or single issue…
Guardians of the Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus (2015 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785198321)
This edition contains the majority of the stories of the modern movie team of Guardians, plus the Warlock’s Starlin Saga (which prominently features Gamora). Collects Incredible Hulk (1968) #271 & Annual 5; Iron Man (1968) #55; Captain Marvel (1968) #27-33, 43-44, 58-62; Strange Tales (1951) #180-181; Warlock (1972) #9-11, 15; Avengers (1963) #219-220, Annual 7; Marvel Two-in-One (1972) Annual 2; Marvel Preview [Magazine] (1975) #11 (Star-Lord story); Marvel Spotlight (1979) #1-2, 6-7; Marvel Premiere (1972) #61; Rocket Raccoon (1985) #1-4; material from Star-Lord Special Edition (1982), and more.
Star-Lord Reading Order in the Marvel-616 Universe
Peter Quill’s Origins in the Marvel-616 Universe
Before this material, flashback in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy (2017) #5. Also, flashbacks in the first two issues of the 2016 series pre-date the Point One story.
in a single paperback collection…
Star-Lord: The Saga of Peter Quill (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950712 / digital)
Collects Quill’s complete canonical origins and his earliest appearances in the Marvel Universe from Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #0.1, Star-Lord (2015) #1-5, Thanos (2003) #7-12, and Annihilation: Conquest – Starlord (2007) #1-4
by single issue or story…
Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #0.1: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. This issue is a full (and fully-revised) origin of Peter Quill, from birth to the time he acquires his element gun. Marvel Now! Point One (2012) #1 (2nd story) excerpts the key pages of this issue verbatim with none of the establishing story or the post-climax scenes.
After that origin but before the 2016 series: flashbacks in Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #1
Star-Lord (2015) #1-5: Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 3: First Flight (2016 paperback, ISBN 978-0785196242 / digital)
This story is set entirely in Quill’s adolescence and early adulthood. This continues the title and volume numbering from Quill’s prior, pre-Secret Wars series.
After this material but before Peter’s in-universe debut, further flashbacks in Star-Lord (2015) #7 and Annihilation Conquest: Star-Lord (2008) #1
Star-Lord’s debut in Thanos (2003) #8-12 by Keith Giffen & Ron Lim
Peter Quill makes a peculiar re-debut in the Marvel Universe. Thanos encounters a grizzled, cybernetically-enhanced version of him in the outer reaches of space in the prison The Kyln alongside Gladiator of the Shi’ar guard.
Thanos’s surprise at seeing Peter and their subsequent initial conversation implies that Peter and Thanos have a lingering history we had never seen.
While Peter doesn’t have much to do in these issues, they establish him as a character with a long, shadowy history. In #11, Peter is freed from the prison via conscription into the Shi’ar Imperial Guard by Gladiator to take down the same former Herald of Galactus being hunted by Thanos.
The key issue for Star-Lord in this run is #12, where we get some hints of Peter’s unseen past life – and that he sacrificed 350,000 people in his bid to capture the former herald in their last encounter. This plot thread – and, the plot in general – is left unresolved due to the abrupt end of the series.
Thanos (2003) #8-12: See Guide to Thanos
If you want to read the origin story that immediately resolve this mystery, you can read the first three pages Annihilation Conquest: Star-Lord (2008) #1 here.
Star-Lord in Annihilation (2006) #1-6
Annihilation begins in the middle of the action, with Richard Rider as the final Nova defending against an extra-universe invasion force with Peter Quill as his Number Two. He explicitly mentions that Quill used to be called Star-Lord. He still has his cybernetic enhancements. He appears throughout the event, though we get the most-substantial back-story for him in #1 thanks to several scenes with Rider (and an implication that he has established a friendship with Gamora at some point off-panel).
Annihilation (2006) #1-6: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Annihilation.
Before Peter appears on-panel in Annihilation, flashbacks to earlier in the story in Nova (2007) #8 (but not #10) and Thanos Imperative (2010) #1. Both show him as a senior mentor-figure to Richard Rider as Nova, himself no slouch as a hero.
Star-Lord in Annihilation Conquest (2008) [various]
Peter Quill continues his stint as a grizzled, cybernetic intergalactic general through the beginning of this event, but by the end of it he’s the fully-fleshy, fully-sassy version of Star-Lord that would come to influence his MCU iteration.
Both the event Prologue and the opening scenes of his first issue make reference to his Earth-791 incarnation’s classic blue costume and his sentient “Ship” while linking those elements to a modern origin that lines up with his reappearance in Thanos (2003) #8. (This link would later be severed by Bendis’s retelling of his origin in Marvel Now).
Even if you don’t read all of Conquest, Star-Lord’s preceding mini-series is a critical read, as it’s where he puts together the core of the future Guardians of the Galaxy – recruiting Mantis, Rocket, and Groot (among others including Bug, Captain Universe, and Deathcry). Really, the entire series is Guardians v0.1 even though it’s written by Keith Giffen and not Abnett & Lanning.
Annihilation Conquest: Prologue (2008): See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Annihilation Conquest. This is a key issue in the continuing story of Peter Quill. He is one of the main point-of-view characters in the set-up of the event, and we get to see the job he plans to move forward with (had things not been interrupted by the Phalanx).
Annihilation Conquest: Star-Lord (2008) #1-4: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Annihilation Conquest. Also, this is collected with Star-Lord material in Star-Lord: The Saga of Peter Quill (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950712 / digital)
Annihilation Conquest (2008) #2-6: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Annihilation Conquest. Quill’s proto-Guardians continue as a counter-insurgency in a subplot running throughout the main event.
Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #1-25 by Abnett & Lanning
Guardians of the Galaxy begins with Star-Lord as the leader of a team that merges his Conquest squad with Richard Rider’s heavier hitters Gamora, Drax, and Adam Warlock. At the end of the first arc, we learn that Peter had even more of a hand in the assembly of this team than we initially assumed. This run ties in with both War of Kings and Realm of Kings, and the final issue sets up Thanos Imperative.
#1-10, 13-16, 18-25: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – War of Kings.
Realm of Kings (2010) #1: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Realm of Kings. This fits between #19-20 for Peter. Issues #20-24 all tie-in to this event.
Star-Lord in Thanos Imperative (2010) by Abnett & Lanning
This is effectively a Guardians+Thanos team-up event, as Peter Quill makes a (questionable) decision to leverage Thanos against an impeding invasion from the Cancerverse. This ends with both Peter Quill and Richard Rider seemingly removed from the Marvel Universe.
Thanos Imperative (2010) Ignition, #1-6, & Devastation: See Guide to Thanos
Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #18-20: See See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite a brief modern-day frame sequence, these issues are almost entirely set in the moments immediately following Thanos Imperative for Thanos, Quill, Rider, and Drax. If the mystery of how Peter returned as leader of the Guardians in Avengers Assemble and in Marvel Now is going to bug you, just read this now rather than waiting 18 issues.
Guardians of the Galaxy reunited in Brian Bendis’s Avengers Assemble (2012)
Peter and the Guardians arrive to assist the Avengers in their struggle against Thanos at the close of issue #4. They’re nearly in their movie incarnation here, with the addition of Bug and no Groot to be found. This isn’t particularly significant for Quill, aside from the fact that it is the first time we see him set foot on Earth.
Avengers Assemble (2012) #4-8: See Guide to Avengers Flagships (2010 – Present Day)
Then, in stories later inserted prior to Marvel Now, in Deadpool vs. Thanos (2015) #1-2 and Thanos Infinity Relativity (2015) OGN
Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #0.1 & 1-27 by Brian Bendis
Peter Quill is a main character and frequent driver of plot in this series. It opens with the introduction of his father, never before seen in Marvel-616 continuity. And, in issue #6, we get a new confrontation between Quill and Thanos, continuing their frenemy relationship.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow’s Avengers (2013) #1: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. This recollects Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite Comic (2013) #1-4, in which Peter re-recruits Drax and Gamora at the end of a pair of solo tales as he reassembles his team.
#0.1 & 1-7: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. Issue #0.1 is told almost entirely in flashback, with just two final pages acting as a prologue to the regular series. The arc in #1-6 focuses heavily on Peter. He appears in #7, but is not the focus of the issue.
After #7: in Iron Man (2013) #9 & 16, Peter sends Tony Stark off from the team and welcomes him back (as the entire arc between is a parenthetical story for him). Then, in Revolutionary War: Omega (2014), the Guardians are some of many heroes defending Earth.
#8-9: A part of Infinity. See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Infinity. During #8, Peter also appears in Avengers (2013) #23 and Infinity (2013) #6 (which continues parallel to #9)
#10: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. This is mostly an Angela/Gamora story with only a brief scene for Peter, who questions Angela on her plans.
The Trial of Jean Grey: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. A crossover in All-New X-Men (2013) #22, Guardians Of The Galaxy (2013) #11, ANXM #23, GotG #12, ANXM #24, GotG #13. Peter appears throughout.
After Trial: in Silver Surfer (2014) #4 as a team-up with the Guardians (with Captain Marvel), then in flashbacks in Captain Marvel (2014) #2-3 that show one of her earliest run-ins with the team.
#14-17: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. Issues #14 & 16 include a key scenes between Peter and his father while Peter is under house arrest on Spartax. He appears in #15 & 17, but the scenes are not as significant.
After #17: flashback in Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #14, then in Original Sin: Thor & Loki – The 10th Realm (2014) #2 in the middle of a Guardians adventure with Angela when she is contacted by Loki. Then, in All-New X-Men (2013) #30 flirting with Kitty via a holographic link after meeting her during Trial.
#18-20: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. These issues are primarily a flashback to the period directly after Thanos Imperative, above. They include only a few pages each of brief present-day framing sequences. They are nominally a part of Original Sin, but Peter doesn’t participate directly in the event at all.
Legendary Star-Lord (2014) begins here; it is detailed in the next section.
After #20: As detailed below, Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #1-4, then in Rocket Raccoon (2014) #1 & 4-5 keeping in touch with Rocket in the background of his adventures, in Angela: Asgard’s Assassin (2015) #3-6 acting as Angela’s shuttle crew, in Guardians Team-Up (2015) #1-2 as part of massive cast in an Avengers team-up, then Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #5-8, Captain Marvel (2014) #13.
Annual 1 & #21-23: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. Annual 1 is mostly a Captain Marvel story. Issue #21 continues Peter’s holographic flirtation with Kitty Pryde, but this brief arc is otherwise mostly focused on Agent Venom… though issue #23 ends on a major surprise for Peter!
Black Vortex: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. A direct crossover, though chapters of each series were also collected on their own. Peter appears in Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Alpha (2015) #1, Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #24, Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #9, All-New X-Men (2013) #38-39, Guardians Team-Up (2015) #3, Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #25, (not in Nova (2013) #28), Legendary Star-Lord #10, (not in Cyclops (2014) #12 and Captain Marvel (2014) #14), Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #11, and Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Omega (2015) #1
During #24: In Nova (2013) Annual 1, Nova travels the universe to arrive in the opening scenes of Black Vortex on the final page, on which we glimpse the entire Guardians cast.
After Vortex: In Howard The Duck (2015) #2, saving Howard and Rocket from an intergalactic prison. Then, in Guardians Team-Up (2015) #7 in the background of a Drax / Ant-Man team-up. Finally, Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #12
#26-27: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. Peter, his standing on Spartax, and his status-quo with Kitty Pryde are the major focus of these issues.
After #27: flashback in Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde (2015) #3, then briefly in Avengers (2013) #42 as the Guardians are involved in an intergalactic assault, then in Guardians 3000 (2015) #6-8 in a time-travel plot to cross over with the future Guardians.
Legendary Star-Lord (2014) #1-12 by Sam Humphries
A solo series written by Sam Humphries.
#1-5: Legendary Star-Lord Volume 1: Face It, I Rule (2015 paperback, ISBN 978-0785191599 / digital)
#6-12: Legendary Star-Lord Volume 2: Rise of the Black Vortex (2015 paperback, ISBN 978-0785191605 / digital)
Click to expand a list of guest appearances during this period, repeated from above.Star-Lord in Secret Wars (2015)
Peter is one of the select few Marvel heroes who appear in their Marvel-616 canon capacity throughout this reality-bending event. However, due to the manner in which Secret Wars ends, the action in these stories is not necessarily a part of Peter’s ongoing continuity (though some elements do remain canonical). Ultimately, Peter is not a key player and these are not critical stories for him.
Secret Wars: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Secret Wars (2015). The canonical, pre-Secret Wars version of Peter appears in Secret Wars (2015) #1 & 3-4, Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde (2015) #1-3 (with a non-canonical Kitty), Guardians of Knowhere (2015) #4, and Secret Wars (2015) #7-8.
Star-Lord (2015) #1-8 & Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #1-13 & 19 by Brian Bendis
Peter Quill returns from Secret Wars with a surprising new status quo that sees him separated from the team. At the same time, a new volume of his solo series debuted, but the initial arc was an origin story told entirely in flashback.
Star-Lord (2015) #1-5: Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 3: First Flight (2016 paperback, ISBN 978-0785196242 / digital)
This story is set entirely in Quill’s adolescence and early adulthood. This continues the title and volume numbering from Quill’s prior, pre-Secret Wars series. This arc is also collected in Star-Lord: The Saga of Peter Quill (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950712 / digital) with all of Quill’s Earth-616 origin material prior to Annihilation Conquest, as detailed above.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #1-5: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. Peter is NOT a member of the Guardians but is reunited with the team and appears throughout this opening arc.
Before Guardians: implied-but-unseen in Guardians of Infinity (2016) #4 (2nd story). (He’s NOT in Venom: Space Knight (2016) #2; Kitty is wearing his mask in this period.)
Star-Lord (2015) #6-8: Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 4: Out of Orbit (2016 paperback, ISBN 978-0785196259 / digital)
These issues act as an epilogue to Guardians #1-5. It also collects three stories of The Collector from Avengers (1963) #28, 51, & 174.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #8 (2nd story), 6-8 & 10: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. The team is divided for several missions, though they come together for a Peter-focused finale in #10
Between #8 (2nd story) and #6: implied but unseen in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe (2016)
Civil War II: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Civil War II. Quill appears in Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #11-12, and during #12 Civil War II (2016) #4-6 and Captain America: Steve Rogers (2016) #5. Then, Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #13, Civil War II (2016) #8
Civil War II ends with the Guardians grounded on Earth – and, seemingly disbanded. This leads into Star-Lord (2016), covered in the next section. His next appearances after Civil War are in Star-Lord (2016) #1-2.
Monsters Unleashed: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Monsters Unleashed. This occurs during Star-Lord (2016) #2 for Peter. He appears in Monsters Unleashed! (2017) #1 and Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #1.MU, then Monsters Unleashed! (2017) #2-3.
Then, in a flashback in Captain America: Steve Rogers (2016) #11, followed by Star-Lord (2016) #3-6.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #19: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. The team reunites for Brian Bendis’s farewell issue and a fight with Thanos.
After #19: in Rocket (2017) #6
Star-Lord (2016) #1-6 & Annual 1 by Chip Zdarsky & Kris Anka
This Chip Zdarsky & Kris Anka series is part of the “Grounded” status quo after Civil War II and Guardians #13 which saw the Guardians disbanded and variously adventuring on Earth. This entire series occurs between Guardians #13 & 19 except for Annual 1, which fits after the conclusion of the Guardians series (and the subsequent two limited series in the next section).
#1-6 & Annual 1: Star-Lord: Grounded (2017 paperback, ISBN 978-1302905545 / digital)
During #2: Monsters Unleashed! (2017) #1 and Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #1.MU, then Monsters Unleashed! (2017) #2-3. Then, after #2, a flashback in Captain America: Steve Rogers (2016) #11
After #6 and before Annual 1: Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #19, Rocket (2017) #6, Guardians of the Galaxy: Dream On (2017) #1, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy (2017) #1-5, and a story in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy (2017) #9 told entirely in flashback.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Dream On (2017) #1 & Mother Entropy (2017) #1-5
Marvel inserted a pair of Guardians limited series that fit prior to the launch of their next ongoing.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Dream On (2017) #1: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy (2017) #1-5: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy
After Entropy: a story in All-New Guardians of the Galaxy (2017) #9 told entirely in flashback, then Star-Lord (2016) Annual 1, and finally I Am Groot (2017) #1 & 5.
All-New Guardians of the Galaxy (2017) by Gerry Duggan
While some of these stories occur out of order, I suggest you simply read these stories in the order they were published. If you want to read them in continuity order, start with #7, 5, FCBD, and then #1-2, 5, 6, 8, & 10.
FCBD & #1-2, 4-8, & 10: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy
All-New Wolverine (2016) #22-24: See Guide to Wolverine – X-23. A team-up between X-23 and the Guardians
Secret Empire: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Secret Empire. This fits entirely between issues #10 & 12 of Guardians for Peter.
During Secret Empire: Mighty Captain Marvel (2017) #5, Secret Empire (2017) #0 as well as U.S.Avengers (2017) #6 and Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #29, Secret Empire: Brave New World (2017) #3 (2nd story), Ultimates 2 (2005) #7, Mighty Captain Marvel (2017) #6-7, Ultimates 2 (2005) #9, Secret Empire (2017) #3, Mighty Captain Marvel (2017) #8 and Secret Empire (2017) #8, and Secret Empire (2017) #9
#12 & 146-150: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy
Between #12 & 146: Captain Marvel (2017) #129
Guardians of the Galaxy in Infinity Countdown (2018) and Infinity Wars (2018)
Infinity Countdown (2018) Prime & #1-5: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Infinity Countdown & Infinity Wars. This is effectively an extension of the Guardians series and Peter appears throughout.
Infinity Wars: See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Infinity Countdown & Infinity Wars. Peter appears in Infinity Wars (2018) #1-3 & 6 and Infinity Wars: Fallen Guardian (2019) #1. He is implied but unseen in Infinity Wars: Sleepwalker (2018) #1
Between Countdown Prime & #1: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 (2018) #1.
Between Countdown #4-5: Deadpool (2018) #1
After Infinity Wars: Fantastic Four (2018) #5 (3rd story)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) #1-12 by Donny Cates
#1-8, The Prodigal Sun, & #9-12: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy (2020) #1-18 by Al Ewing
Al Ewing’s Guardians series places a specific focus on Peter, his connection to the Sun, and his relationships with Gamora and Richard Rider.
#1-2, 5, 9-14: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy
#15-18 & S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #6: See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #6 is like a bonus Guardians issue and fits between #15-16. Guardians subsequently crosses over with SWORD for “The Last Annihilation,” but Peter does not appear outside of Guardians.
Also in this period: in flashback in Lords of Empyre: Celestial Messiah (2020 #1. Also, in Venom (2018 #35
After the end of Guardians: Captain Marvel (2019) #35-36, Fantastic Four (2018) #42-43, Marvel Meow Infinity Comic (2022) #11, and Marvel’s Voices: Pride (2022) #1
Non-Continuity Star-Lord
A future “Old-Man” version of Peter Quill (and Rocket) appears in Avengers of the Wastelands (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302920043 / digital) and Wastelanders (2022 paperback, ISBN 978-1302931247 / digital)
Star-Lord: Space Rider (2021) #1 is set in the continuity of a Guardians of the Galaxy video game.
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[…] It might be my Indie Comics Month here on Crushing Krisis, but it’s also a month to focus on a certain group of Marvel galactic heroes as we approach their third (and final?) entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Today I have a guide for all Patrons of CK that focuses on the leader of this ragtag band of galactic guardians and his odd trio of origins in the Marvel Universe – a Guide to Star-Lord, Peter Quill. […]