Groot

Ask anyone what the most basic appeal of Guardians of the Galaxy boils down to, and you’ll inevitably hear some combination of “talking raccoon and tree.” So it is, that Disney XD, Academy Award-nominated Passion Pictures, and director Arnaud Delord have brought us twelve new Rocket & Groot shorts to celebrate the pair, the first of which you can watch right now.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out later this year, and naturally Marvel is ramping up its related content to match with a new ongoing series for the team, a new Rocket Racoon title and now, Groot's very first solo ongoing. This May, Christopher Hastings and Flaviano launch I Am Groot, which sees everyone's favorite tree-alien space-hero stuck in his diminutive baby form and stranded on a planet without any of his Guardian colleagues and no-one who understands him.

Baby Groot may be in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 for really real reasons that are super important to the plot and not at all as a ploy to sell adorable toys, but that doesn't mean the pint-sized version of the hero can't have it both ways. Though much of merchandising plan for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 remains a secret, we have seen some of the toys we can expect to hit shelves this spring and beyond. Baby Groot may have been absent from those initial reveals, but just ahead of the holiday, NECA is here to assure us Baby Groot won't be forgotten.

The word of comics and the world of professional wrestling have one big thing in common: nothing is better than seeing two of your favorite characters duke it out in a highly anticipated battle royale. The MCU is no different: it’s exciting to think about our favorites finally getting the chance to team up, but what if they fight each other instead? Batman v. Superman was a little anticlimactic in that regard, but Captain America: Civil War really made it difficult to choose sides when half of the Avengers turned against the other half. Vin Diesel seems to think another battle between two very large team members might happen onscreen: Groot vs. Hulk.

For those of us who were even more enamored than we thought we’d be by a talking raccoon and a slightly-less-wordy walking tree, Guardians of the Galaxy was an absolute delight. Luckily, all of our favorites are returning for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and we’ll get to see our favorite Vin Diesel-voiced sapling once again, now quite a bit diminished in size from his last appearance. For the first film, Diesel learned how to say his character’s recurring line “I am Groot” in six different languages, and now he says the director of the sequel is making him learn almost three times that many.

A hero is defined by their villains, and the world of superhero comic books is filled with some of the scariest and silliest bad guys around. Rogues’ Gallery aims to settle the score and determine who is the true arch-nemesis for some of your favorite superheroes, and we need your help to do it! You voted to see who the best Marvel Monster is, and we’ve tabulated the results and assembled a video counting down the definitive top 10. Did your favorite make this list? There’s only one way to find out!

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

Has there ever been a more rag-tag group of intergalactic outsiders than the Guardians of the Galaxy? We’ve brought together some of the best Guardians of the Galaxy cosplay; whether it’s the cool nature of Peter Quill, the deadly demeanor of Gamora, or the imposing force of Groot, these cosplayers bring out the best of the team's most high-profile line-up. Together or apart, these cosplayers bring the galaxy’s first line of defense to life in excellent fashion.

Everyone's favorite spacefaring flora/fauna duo are together again in Rocket Raccoon and Groot #1, written by Skottie Young with art by Felipe Andrade. Frankly, putting them in one comic makes a lot more sense than giving them each a solo book, like Marvel did the last time everything was All-New. They're partners, after all. (And Groot only ever says that one thing.) The preview for series, launching January 6, begins in one of those space cantinas that have been so popular since 1977, and features a cloaked Groot leading what appears to be another talking rodent/walking plant team to meet Rocket Raccoon. The big mystery is why Rocket's on a throne, and why he's wearing that oddly familiar helmet and cape.

Marvel released almost all of its cosplay variant covers for the coming months a few weeks back, but there were two omissions that we're unveiling exclusively today. The first is Eddie Newsome's Captain America cosplay for the cover of Sam Wilson, Captain America #1, by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña. The second is for a new title that was only announced last week; Hurley Fx brings the Monarch of Planet X to life for the cover of Rocket Raccoon & Groot #1, by Skottie Young and Filipe Andrade.