Thanos Imperative (TPB)

Life and death are about to collide in this tale of cosmic cataclysms! The Titan Thanos returns, yet again, to seek Death’s sweet embrace once and for all. In the aftermath of The Annihilation War, a crack in the very fabric of the Marvel Universe known as The Fault has opened and twisted versions of our universe’s heroes come spewing out like cosmic venom. Dubbed The Cancerverse, a universe where it’s inhabitants have literally killed and vanquished Death herself and life reigns supreme!

Lead by the abominable Lord Mar-Vell, he will guide a legion of his followers to seek out this universe’s avatar of death and perform a ritual called The Necropsy. The Guardians Of The Galaxy and Thanos must put aside their petty squabbles and join forces to save the universe from… The Cancerverse! Featuring Nova, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Moondragon, Rocket Raccoon, The Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, Galactus, Medusa & The Inhumans, The Kree and The Shi’Ar Empire! 

You can’t have a intergalactic space catastrophe without Thanos being involved in one way or another. He’s either the cause of a disaster or the savior of another, always hatching a plan and manipulating others to see how it’s in his best interest. No wonder he’s my favourite Marvel villain. This story takes place following the events of the Annihilation series. Nice to see Nova step up his game as a heavy hitter along side other bad-asses such as Beta Ray Bill, The Silver Surfer and Gladiator. This is a very exciting, edge of your seat all out space war that doesn’t pull any punches. My only complaint, and it’s a minor one, is I thought the talking psychic Russian dog Cosmo was a little silly and annoying at times. I mean, It’s a little too close to Superman’s Krypto don’t you think? Which is also silly if you ask me.

Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Resurrection Man) and illustrated by Brad Walker (Guardians Of The Galaxy) & Miguel Sepulveda (Stormwatch : The New 52). Not too familiar with Sepulveda’s artwork but I like what I see. There’s a two-page spread that shows Galactus and an armada of warships in confrontation with The Galactus Engine pushing itself out of The Fault that’s absolutely breathtaking. Reprinting The Thanos Imperative : Ignition, The Thanos Imperative #1-#6 and The Thanos Imperative : Devastation. From Marvel Comics.