Thanos #1

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Mike Deodato

Publisher: Marvel Comics

We’ve seen many sides of Thanos since his popularity exploded after The Infinity Gauntlet in 1991. We’ve seen him be a neutral force and we’ve seen him pacified. Occasionally, he has sided with the angels. But not under writer Jeff Lemire’s watch. Thanos is a tyrannical, sadistic monster on a mission. He moves with purpose and doesn’t negotiate. He rarely speaks. He breaks stuff that stands in his way. Whether his obstacles are alive is of little concern to Thanos. It’s refreshing to see the biggest badass in the galaxy act like it.

The issue begins with Thanos taking back territories that used to be his base of power. He has neglected his tyrannical tendencies while involving himself in the affairs of men. Now he plans to rectify that lapse. His first stop is to strip his former servant of the territories he acquired in Thanos’s absence. The narration claims that this new king, Corvus Glaive, is a fair and just ruler, but that’s hard to believe when he throws ruthless mercenaries at problems. Maybe the narrator, whoever it is, is comparing Corvus to Thanos. Every ruler looks fair compared to him. Whatever the case, the narrator seems to have an agenda, which is fascinating all by itself.

No one will be surprised to learn that Thanos is victorious against Corvus, but throwing down against usurpers is only a small portion of the story. Across the galaxy, an unlikely group of of outcasts and villains form an alliance against Thanos and no amount of smashing can save him from what’s coming.

It makes sense that this story would be drawn by Mike Deodato, who achieved maximum exposure by drawing mass devastation on Incredible Hulk. This marks a wicked departure in style from anything I’ve seen from Deodato. We have seen his negative space cross-hatching used in Invincible Iron Man and he’s slowly incorporated computer enhanced elements into his artwork, but Thanos #1 takes it to the next level. A single panel can contain 1950s stippling, modern crosshatching, and computerized checkerboard shading. It’s a trippy experiment but I’m all for established artists trying new things.

Thanos is frequently the epicenter of major cosmic events. He’s a crazy god who likes to kill things, so conflict obviously trails him. This first issue has a different approach than the usual Thanos story. The stakes are as high as they usually are, but we don’t see the “boots on the ground” opposition. There’s no Drax or Adam Strange to stand in his way.  We’ll surely see him go up against powerful opponents soon, but this will be fun while it lasts. So far, Thanos is a tornado tearing through trailer parks...and it’s awesome.