"Goin' Cosmic", in Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #2, by Kieron Gillen (writer), Kano (penciler), Alvaro Lopez (inker), Javier Rodriguez (colorist), Nate Piekos (letterer)
Godhunter came out in 2009, and pulls together several developments from other stories and events. The Korbinites (Beta Ray Bill's people), lost their new homeworld (after Surtur's forces destroyed the first back in Simonson's run) to Galactus in Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill. I don't know exactly what all Bill got up to in Secret Invasion, though I know Gillen wrote it, but I suspect encountering a bunch of Skrulls who had come to Earth because they believed it was a prophesied new homeworld after Galactus ate two of their previous ones, and a third was destroyed by the Harvester of Sorrows in Annihilation, convinced Bill it was time to do something about the Devourer of Worlds. And because of what happened in Annihilation, Galactus is at a low ebb, powerwise, which makes him vulnerable, even with two heralds.
And Bill's determined enough to get desperate. Added to this mix is an alien race that had embraced pacifism, but in the face of being on the menu, has embraced war again, and is more formidable than anyone expected.
There is, of course, the usual issue you have in stories about killing Galactus, where there has to be a reason for us not to want Galactus to die. I never really buy into that crap about how he's of 'cosmic consonance', and the universe needs him. If he dies, the universe will devise something else to fill his role. it doesn't help that for all he bemoans his fate (no wonder he and the Surfer get along so well), Galactus lets Stardust run around like a deranged lunatic. It isn't enough for Stardust to seek out worlds for Big G, they will hunt down and kill even inhabitants who having accepted Galactus is going to eat it, decide to flee. You can't tell me Galactus isn't aware of this, but he does nothing. Neither does the Surfer. So naturally there is a contrivance so that Bill has to end up defending the being he was trying to starve to death.
(I don't understand how Galactus can be so exhausted the I'thans' fleet poses a threat to him, yet when he dies he'll take out everything for 42 light-years around him. That is a huge fucking amount of space! Maybe the Surfer was lying to trick Bill. No doubt the overgrown hood ornament will angst about that later.)
That said, it is an interesting study about balancing what you think has to be done, with what you're willing to do to achieve it. Or maybe it's what you're willing to sacrifice. Gillen writes a good Beta Ray Bill, noble and determined, enough so that his ego isn't off-putting. He mentions a couple of times how only someone truly worthy could wield Stormbreaker as he does, but it isn't (solely) him bragging on himself. It carries the sense that he truly feels a weight of responsibility that comes with that. If he was found worthy of this power, then doesn't he have to use it to stop someone who destroys entire worlds of innocent people? He wants to protect people, and he's willing to fight dirty to make it happen. Ends justifying means.
Kano's pencils are loose enough at times, that characters are almost vague shapes. But when detail is needed, he and Lopez are more than able to provide it. Beta Ray Bill is incredibly broad across the chest, trying to stand up against forces even more powerful than he is. Galactus towers (I almost used a single-page splash from the first issue where he looms as Bill's busy fighting Stardust), a massive figure even on the brink of collapse. He dominates every panel he's in, until the I'thans' final assault, when their fleet starts to loom over him. Rodriguez' color work helps the I'thans go from adorable, fluffy little creatures, to sneering and aggressive, faces partially shrouded in shadow.
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