Infinity #5

Writer Jonathan Hickman Artist Jerome Opena

 

Introduction

 

At this point, it seems there are two types of people reading the sprawling Marvel Comics event formally known as Infinity. Those who have been paying close attention to every nook and cranny that the story has to offer, and people who have not read Avengers prior to this story. When Final Crisis was halfway through, some compared the comic book to a rave, in the sense that some people loved where scribe Grant Morrison was taking the title, while others got lost in the psycho babble. Fortunately, this story has more ingredients that add up to a cohesive story than Final Crisis, but it is still wildly imaginative and experimental. In many ways this narrative may be ahead of it’s time. Infinity requires a lot of reading to formally enjoy, including all the issues of Avengers as well as New Avengers. There are so many moving pieces here, that I drew a Hickman esque flowchart of the different factions and relationships that took two pages too accurately illustrate. The bottom line here is that the first four issues have been nothing short of amazing, and this is another installment that does not let up on gas pedal for a second.

 

Writing

 

This issue of Infinity is rocketing towards a conclusion that seems inevitable at this point. The major question about the full series lies within these pages, what about Thanos? After five issues of the main story, I would assume most readers have no idea what is planned for the character. The purple titan has been lingering amongst the planet since the beginning of the story. The character introduced with him is a another huge question mark. The Avengers world idea is a huge thrust in the narrative, and has the high possibility of influencing the next phase of Hickman’s saga entitled Rogue Planet. Even with the narrative moving into place, it is hard not to be slightly disappointed that the pieces are not moving faster. The last chapter of the event is now going to be the most important entry in the entire saga being weaved here. This event will be judged on the climax that Hickman has slowly been moving towards.  

 

Art

 

Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver are incredibly different artists, yet they are somehow able to mesh the art into a cohesive whole. Infinity kicked off with some great art by Jim Cheung, that was a complete feast. The series has not let up for a second with art by two of the best newer artists at the big two. Thus far, Opena has been tackling all of the scenes in space with an incredible sense of grace. Weaver has been giving the earth moments a grounded feel that is infused with wonderful sci-fi elements. Justin Ponsor handles the colors here, and he gives the full series a wonderful aspect of cohesion. Marvel needs to be applauded for bestowing the entire event with a great unified sense of vision with similar color schemes with all of the different books carrying the Infinity moniker.

 

Conclusion

Hickman, Opena, and Weaver gear up for an explosive endgame in the penultimate chapter of Infinity. This entry serves an extremely well drawn primer for the last entry. Enjoy the most progressive event since Final Crisis before it is all over.