Technically, this is set in the future, so maybe the Guardians tried it first...

Every so often, Marvel will try to realign a comic to be closer to its movie incarnation; and that seems to be what's going down for tomorrow's All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #1. Which is all-new in that, um, it's a #1 with a new creative team: same cast, paring down the non-movie Guardians like Angela or Venom or Kitty Pryde. And our heroes are rolled back to being somewhat shady, as seen in the preview, as they pull a con...that I've seen before! And it was a dick move then, too: from 1988, Hercules, Prince of Power: Full Circle, story and art by Bob Layton.

While a drunk spy tries to recap Herc's previous two mini-series to his boss, the haughty Emperor Arimathes; Hercules and his pals Recorder and Skyppi the Skrull are still partying it up, until the planetary alarm goes off, signifying the arrival of Galactus! While most of the populace panics and tries to flee, Arimathes' troops try to arrest Herc, but he convinces them to let him talk to Galactus, to see if he can stay his hand. (Herc had stopped Galactus before, by making a laughingstock of himself, back in Hercules #4!) Herc tries to talk the Big G down, but Galactus seemingly refuses to acknowledge Herc's presence. Resolving to die fighting, Hercules takes a swipe at Galactus, and connects!

This won't fit in my scanner and I love it too much to cram it in, sorry! But as Herc examines the plastic remnants of the inflatable "Galactus," Skyppi realizes it's a scam, and wishes he had thought of it first. Investigating Galactus's worldship, Herc discovers it too is a hollow shell, run by two con men he had encountered before. Although they ask Herc to "just kick our butts and let us go," Herc turns them over to the authorities. Where I'd have to imagine they'd be facing serious charges: that's like yelling 'fire' on a crowded planet. Not OK, huh? Yet the Guardians are pulling the same scam. Hmm.

It's not perfect, but I love this graphic novel: it was a complete surprise to me when it came out, almost thirty years ago! It's not quite as good as the first two mini-series, and I don't recall liking Bob Layton's concluding Twilight of a God as much. Like a lot of those Marvel Graphic Novels from the eighties, these might be a bit difficult to find, although there's a later hardcover with some additional material like the short from Marvel Tales #197!