Comics
Published April 12, 2017

Rocket: Crime Time

Al Ewing makes the case for Rocket as a criminal mastermind!

Image for Rocket: Crime Time

To paraphrase a cliché, Rocket has proven good when he does good. But when he does bad? Well, then that not-a-raccoon has shown himself to be downright great.

In ROCKETissue #1 on sale May 10—writer Al Ewing and artist Adam Gorham will go all in on the diminutive Guardian’s felonious side. The writer kindly took a moment from baking a file into a cake to listen to our reasons why his protagonist has a natural talent for being bad and agree or disagree.

He’s small for getting in where he doesn’t belong and hiding

“Technically, that could come in handy down the line, but so far size hasn’t been a factor, and neither has hiding,” Ewing counters. “In fact, the big heists and other assorted shenanigans he’s had so far at the time of writing—I’m up to the end of issue #4—are pretty brazen, full of big moments and high-octane action. Still, I definitely wouldn’t rule out the possibility of ducts in the future. Everybody likes ducts, and Rocket could easily fit in one.”

He’s quiet which helps with sneaking.

“Again, Rocket hasn’t really had to sneak much so far—although there is a bit of implied sneaking when we get to the bit where he pulls a complex jailbreak from the roughest, toughest prison in outer space, a Swiss-watch affair that makes ‘Prison Break’ look like day release from the kiddie’s ball pit at a fast food restaurant,” the writer confesses.

He’s possibly nocturnal which is good because night is the best time for doing crimes

“I’d agree with this,” affirms Ewing. “Rocket isn’t really a morning person, and while there are many crimes that happen in the morning, like stealing newspapers from doorsteps and milk float theft, not to mention the ongoing violent attacks on worms by the bird community, Rocket isn’t really going to get involved in that. He’s going to be mostly committing much flashier ‘after dark’ crimes.”

He has a defiant fearless attitude

“Rocket certainly is a rude dude who exudes ‘tude’!” enthuses the writer. “And he’s not in a subdued mood, even when nude or being booed. In fact, to be crude, he’s much ballyhooed, an objet d’etude which the shrewd conclude cannot be pooh-poohed.”

He’s great with weapons including those nearly as big as him

“He does have a Cable-like strength and steadiness when it comes to aiming relatively giant guns,” Ewing allows. “Will he be displaying it here? Adam Gorham—and let’s use this as an excuse to mention the top-notch art by Adam Gorham, colored to perfection by our resident color artist Michael Garland—hasn’t yet drawn the latest gun I’ve written into the script, and it’s possible that might end up being huge, but so far Rocket’s guns have been relatively small, elegant, and set to stun. I know that’ll be a disappointment to those fans who love his violent side, but a good heist is all about style.”

He is good at working in groups aka organizing criminal conspiracies

“Kind of?” hedges Ewing. “On the one hand, the book takes place while he’s away from the Guardians, so he is capable of operating solo. On the other hand, he does keep teaming up with people—whether it’s half the Technet, or a sentient bag of unknown gas from a Gas World, or the ever-delightful Deadpool. We’ve yet to have him tackle a job completely solo, and looking ahead at my future plans, I have to wonder if we ever will.”

He has raccoon-like qualities

“I added this one in myself,” states the writer, seizing control. “Raccoons, as you’ll learn from their Wikipedia page, have extremely sensitive senses of hearing and touch, and Rocket, being very raccoon-like—although he’s not a raccoon, as he’ll tell you—also has. That makes him incredibly good at cracking safes. The more you know.”

No one ever suspects the guy with fur

“Poppycock,” the writer protests. “Bears have fur and I’m very suspicious of bears and their constant theft of my pick-a-nick baskets. Also you can hide penny sweets in especially thick fur and steal them and eat them later. And Cruella De Ville had fur. Objection sustained and case closed, your honor.”

Get into trouble with Al Ewing and Adam Gorham in ROCKET #1 on May 10!

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