Reddit reviews Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers

The current (Marvel NOW) Guardians of the Galaxy title.

• "There's a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! No one! But why has Earth suddenly become the most important planet in the galaxy? That's what the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to find out! Join Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and - wait for it - the invincible Iron Man, as they embark upon one of the most explosive and eye-opening chapters of Marvel NOW! These galactic Avengers are going to discover secrets that will rattle Marvel readers for years to come! But while London deals with a brutal invasion by the Badoon, the fate of the Guardians may have already been decided millions of miles away!"
  
  
• First trade is out September 17th
  
  This title is still very new, but the art is great and Marvel's recent committment to its cosmic stories is a good sign.

The Team as it will appear in the film coming out later is based on the 2008 reboot to the franchise as opposed to the original 1960's team. What this means is that the best place to start is the start!

This is the first in the series of the reboot. It has much the same feel and humour to the Guardians movie coming out later. There are a number of characters in there though that are prominent but probably won't be featured in the films. James Gunn was probably influenced most by this series.

Another good one to familiarise is Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Adventure. It was released last year in response to the movie. The story diverges a little from the comics and can be confusing but it paints a good picture of the general team dynamic and features Iron Man heavily in it. Iron Man won't appear in the movie so it's up to you to decide whether he adds a little familiarity to the otherwise odd series or just distracts from the team!

About a year ago, Marvel brought back Nova (though it's not the same Nova; it's a child) and Guardians of the Galaxy (this seems to follow largely the same continuity). The series is just called Guardians of the Galaxy. Issue 12 of the series came out this month.

There are currently two hardcovers available for the series. Volume 01: Cosmic Avengers collects issues 0.1, 01-03, and Infinite 01-04 (mini-stories about the individual characters). Volume 02: Angela collects issues 04-10. Issues 11-12 are two parts of a six-part crossover with All-New X-Men titled The Trial of Jean Gray. It'll likely be out in hardcover around August.

After Earthfall, the Guardians appear in Bendis' short run on Avengers Assemble. After that, the Guardians and the new Nova get their own series again.