Guardians of the Galaxy Issue #25 Pg. 11 (ft. Thanos and Moondragon)

For my 125th main collection piece, this page from Guardians of the Galaxy Issue #25 seemed fitting.

I won't lie. This page was a white whale collecting goal of mine. I have collected quite a few pages from the Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) series, and they all lead to Thanos's return. Therefore, how could I have a Guardians of the Galaxy collection without one of his pages.

In total there are only 13 pages with Thanos from this series, which created a bit of a supply and demand problem. A secondary factor being that Thanos happens to be a highly sought-after character in the collecting community. Additionally, I was aware of a few other pages, but they distinctly state "Not for Sale". Thus, the 13 Thanos pages seemed to always be just out of reach.

Luckily not today my friends... Not today!

This piece connects to a monstrous plot twist in the series. Moondragon, who recently came back from the dead, lost her soulmate Phyla-Vell at the hands of Thanos. The end result being that Thanos reclaimed his title as the avatar of death. Moondragon's strong emotions are present as she tearfully battles Thanos. Yet, Thanos is unrelenting as he gains the upper hand through an almost infantile berserker state.

I am not sure if this piece means as much to any other collector, but this acquisition felt absolutely triumphant when I received it in hand. Yet the mood of this piece is painful, somber, and crushing. Moondragon is giving it her all but continues to lose at the hands of Thanos. Thus, she calls upon her fellow Guardians of the Galaxy to overcome the insurmountable odds.