Thanos

(Marvel, 2003–2004, 2013)
™ and © Marvel Entertainment Group

The first issue of this ongoing series primarily restates what has gone before, especially in terms of the title character’s origin and motives. True Believers will recall The Titanic Titan’s undying (and, in a sense, unrequited) love for Lady Death, his destruction of Rigel-3 (accompanied by the resultant deaths of more than five million Rigellians), and his ambivalent relationship with Adam Warlock.

What the issue doesn’t cover are the specifics of some of the powers of the ultra-powerful Thanos. One could imagine a DC fan saying: “Wow! He has Omega Beams, just like Darkseid! He even kinda looks like Darkseid!”

So this is a comic book long-time readers may find overly familiar and new readers might find lacking in details.

Still, the tremendous quality of the art, the epic scope and look of the story (love those colors by Christie Scheele), and the questionable nature of Thanos (Does he truly seek redemption?) make the issue well worth picking up.

Starlin was a pioneering writer-artist in the late ’70s and early ’80s (he wrote and drew The Death of Captain Marvel [Marvel Graphic Novel #1]), and this is a solid effort by a master of the cosmic comics genre.

— Brett Weiss

Jump to issue: