rocket raccoon and 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.

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.