Guardians of the Galaxy Writer Dan Abnett To Write Rocket Raccoon and Groot Novel

This July, just in time for the August 1 release of Guardians of the Galaxy in theaters nationwide, fan-favorite Guardians scribe Dan Abnett will release Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Groot Steal the Galaxy, a new, prose novel based on the adventures of a pair of characters he helped to reinvigorate. "It's a classic Rocket and Groot adventure, with our two heroes doing their level best to stay alive, keep out of trouble, and save all of reality to boot," Abnett told Newsarama. "It's both high action and comedic, though I hope the humor derives from context: I'm not treating the Marvel Cosmic Universe lightly or sacrificing its seriousness for comic effect." The author promised lots of Marvel Comics references and familiar characters and settings, including the Kree, the Skrulls, the Badoon, the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and the Nova Corps. "The set-up is that Rocket and Groot are down on their luck and try to make a living during a break in the Guardians of the Galaxy activities," Abnett explained of the story. "They run across a Rigellian Recorder Unit who contains some vital piece of information that just about every major faction in the Marvel Universe would kill to obtain. Naturally, because they are kind-hearted heroes, Rocket and Groot see an instant opportunity to make a lot of money out of the Recorder... I mean, to look after the Recorder and protect him from all dangers. They have seriously underestimated how much trouble they're going to get into." He revealed that the original plan had been for Abnett-- who has written a number of licensed novels in franchises like Warhammer and Doctor Who -- to adapt one of the storylines he and his longtime co-writer Andy Lanning had written for the comics that inspired the movie (not unlike the recent adaptations of stories like Civil War), but adaptation was not appealing to the writer.