Thanos - The Infinity Revelation
Story – Jim Starlin
Art – Jim Starlin, Andy Smith, Frank D’Armata, Rachelle Rosenberg
Thanos. If you have been around the Marvel universe for any period of time, you know the name. You know his ambitions. You know how far he’ll go to reach his goals. They don’t call him the Mad Titan for nothing. Thanos – The Infinity Revelation, words and art from Jim Starlin, is the latest in Marvel’s current series of original graphic novels. This follows such titles as Avengers – Endless Wartime from Warren Ellis and Spider-Man – Family Business from Mark Waid and X-Men – No More Humans from Mike Carey.
Checking in at a hefty 112 pages, this isn’t a piece of work to be breezed through on a lazy Wednesday evening. Starlin does what he is known best for and gives us a story very reminiscent of his previous work on the character in his seminal Infinity Gauntlet trilogy from the 1990’s. A majority of the key players make appearances, including the latest incarnation of Adam Warlock. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the return of a number of characters unseen since the launch of “Marvel NOW!” Starlin doesn’t hold back on his intimate knowledge of Marvel’s cosmic properties and takes full advantage of what’s on the table. The story centers around the players researching a mysterious energy force, as well as Thanos’ cosmic awareness being “off” since his most recent return from the realm of his beloved Death. We’re given alternate realities (hinted at often throughout the story in a rather clunky manner), mysteries cosmic influencers the Celestials, and a lot of questions. The story plays out easily enough, but gets more bizarre as we go on, eventually coming to a resolution that once is fulfilling and lacking. The entire book is quite verbose, which may be off-putting to some readers looking for something a little lighter.
My main issue with the book is lack of placement within the defined timeline. From dialogue we can assume this is a Thanos recently returned from the Cancerverse (which will be expanded upon, it seems, in Guardians of the Galaxy #18 and Legendary Star-Lord), but sometime before the events of Avengers Assemble and Infinity. This is all speculation, as I don’t recall a definitive placement. That doesn’t detract from the story at all, it just is frustrating and may be confusing to some readers who know Thanos as being currently off the board in the New Avengers series.
Starlin, in my eyes, has always been a better writer than artist. That isn’t to say his art is disappointing, it is actually quite solid, but some of the perspective and camera angles were a bit dry. This wasn’t a visually stunning book, but it was drawn very competently and had great colors. It came across as something of a throw-back to the 90’s styles that Starlin was drawing from. There was certainly an opportunity for a larger-scale approach to the story-telling, but the art made it much more akin to a story of a pair of men figuring out their lives. In fact, that statement essentially sums up my feelings on the book. This is a much smaller story than I was anticipating. There are larger schemes and mechanics at hand, but the story stays more drawn to the ground level. I hope this is the beginning of a larger plan Starlin has, as there are many seeds planted in these pages that were left to grow.
If you enjoyed Starlin’s previous work with Thanos, definitely give this book a read. It is well worth your time. If that wasn’t your cup of tea, don’t expect anything else here. This, while entertaining, left me wanting a lot more and having a number of unanswered questions. Will Starlin be given the opportunity to create a modern Infinity trilogy with these characters, or is The Infinity Revelation a one-off story? Time will tell.
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When Matthew is not daydreaming about using the Infinity Gauntlet to get him another beer, he can be found on Twitter as @mahargen.
Art – Jim Starlin, Andy Smith, Frank D’Armata, Rachelle Rosenberg
Thanos. If you have been around the Marvel universe for any period of time, you know the name. You know his ambitions. You know how far he’ll go to reach his goals. They don’t call him the Mad Titan for nothing. Thanos – The Infinity Revelation, words and art from Jim Starlin, is the latest in Marvel’s current series of original graphic novels. This follows such titles as Avengers – Endless Wartime from Warren Ellis and Spider-Man – Family Business from Mark Waid and X-Men – No More Humans from Mike Carey.
Checking in at a hefty 112 pages, this isn’t a piece of work to be breezed through on a lazy Wednesday evening. Starlin does what he is known best for and gives us a story very reminiscent of his previous work on the character in his seminal Infinity Gauntlet trilogy from the 1990’s. A majority of the key players make appearances, including the latest incarnation of Adam Warlock. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the return of a number of characters unseen since the launch of “Marvel NOW!” Starlin doesn’t hold back on his intimate knowledge of Marvel’s cosmic properties and takes full advantage of what’s on the table. The story centers around the players researching a mysterious energy force, as well as Thanos’ cosmic awareness being “off” since his most recent return from the realm of his beloved Death. We’re given alternate realities (hinted at often throughout the story in a rather clunky manner), mysteries cosmic influencers the Celestials, and a lot of questions. The story plays out easily enough, but gets more bizarre as we go on, eventually coming to a resolution that once is fulfilling and lacking. The entire book is quite verbose, which may be off-putting to some readers looking for something a little lighter.
My main issue with the book is lack of placement within the defined timeline. From dialogue we can assume this is a Thanos recently returned from the Cancerverse (which will be expanded upon, it seems, in Guardians of the Galaxy #18 and Legendary Star-Lord), but sometime before the events of Avengers Assemble and Infinity. This is all speculation, as I don’t recall a definitive placement. That doesn’t detract from the story at all, it just is frustrating and may be confusing to some readers who know Thanos as being currently off the board in the New Avengers series.
Starlin, in my eyes, has always been a better writer than artist. That isn’t to say his art is disappointing, it is actually quite solid, but some of the perspective and camera angles were a bit dry. This wasn’t a visually stunning book, but it was drawn very competently and had great colors. It came across as something of a throw-back to the 90’s styles that Starlin was drawing from. There was certainly an opportunity for a larger-scale approach to the story-telling, but the art made it much more akin to a story of a pair of men figuring out their lives. In fact, that statement essentially sums up my feelings on the book. This is a much smaller story than I was anticipating. There are larger schemes and mechanics at hand, but the story stays more drawn to the ground level. I hope this is the beginning of a larger plan Starlin has, as there are many seeds planted in these pages that were left to grow.
If you enjoyed Starlin’s previous work with Thanos, definitely give this book a read. It is well worth your time. If that wasn’t your cup of tea, don’t expect anything else here. This, while entertaining, left me wanting a lot more and having a number of unanswered questions. Will Starlin be given the opportunity to create a modern Infinity trilogy with these characters, or is The Infinity Revelation a one-off story? Time will tell.
--------------------------
When Matthew is not daydreaming about using the Infinity Gauntlet to get him another beer, he can be found on Twitter as @mahargen.
A Look Inside
