Thanos Rising #4

The Team
Writer Jason Aaron Artist Simone Bianchi

Thanos Rising has carved out an awkward origin of the big purple cheese so far. The character has been meandering through life as a completely unlikable alpha male. The series as a whole seems to be struggling to find some kind of voice, or even make Thanos a sympathetic character. The silver lining may be the upcoming Infinity storyline which features the Mad Titan front and center. In addition the last comic featured the main character in a role of leadership that shifted his current status quota. The Purple alien finally beings to start living up to his real name. Hopefully we will also begin to witness ebb and flow around the Jim Starlin tales like Infinity Gauntlet and so on. Jason Aaron has a lot to accomplish in the last issue of the series.

There is an interaction between the protagonist and a man who had just experienced his entire homeworld murdered. The scene is funny, poignant, and offers more insight into the character of Thanos than the last three issues combined. The last interaction between the two aliens also leads to some really strong emotional territory. How far will the son of Eros go in order to prove such a strange goal to a woman that does not care about him. The strange woman has always kept to herself in the series, but suddenly requested one thing of him she just wants hear the screams of the dead. There also a few hints towards the big event in the early nineties, involving a certain gauntlet. The origin of the chair is also seen here, which serves as a slight throwaway moment but amusing to longtime fans. The end of this issue sports an explosion that changes nearly everything about the series so far. We have all seen the end of this installment coming, but it came too late.

Art by Simone Bianchi suits the atmosphere of the title well. The art contains some sparse backgrounds and a quaint sci-fi backdrop to explore. Sometimes it is hard to discern what exactly is happening, because of all the loose lines in this issue over the characters. The style in the flashback scenes also look poor because of the color choice. When witnessing Bianchi’s pencils through a sepia tint, readers can see some of the limitations he brings to the medium. More importantly though because of his limits, at times he cannot quite tell a concise story comics are not a static medium. These pages should flow better from panel to panel.

Thanos Rising is a mini-series that has gone on far too long with decompressed storytelling. It’s a huge problem that faces many good comic books as of late. There is so much hinging on the last issue of this comic. It is a real disappointment to not see a bigger focus on all of these epic stories surrounding the character. The Thanos Quest and I Thanos feature a more mature, modern, and nuanced take on the character and both series are over twenty years old. Readers should await the next issue with a skeptical eye, as it may present some payoff to these stories or continue the dull story presented in these pages.