Jim Starlin’s Marvel OGN “Thanos: The Infinity Revelation” is massive in it’s scope. It sees Starlin return to the cosmic universe he helped define in an all-new sweeping story about the pitfalls of being a God. Sadly most of the dialogue is so on-the-nose, that you’re constantly reminded of this fact but with some incredible ideas, the story still manages to entertain.
WRITTEN BY: Jim Starlin
ART BY: Jim Starlin, Andy Smith
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
PRICE: $24.99
RELEASE: Out Now
Jim Starlin is an incredible artist. Of that much I’m sure. However, I’m not overly convinced he can write half as well. This is a book that looks stunning throughout. Starlin can warp space and time. He can keep Thanos at the center and make you feel like a God watching over the universe. It’s no easy task, but he makes it look that way. Yet, when it comes to his character’s dialogue, it simply adds nothing to the art.
In fact it so directly references everything on the page that I would go as far to say that it detracts from the art. Thanos’ sweeping voiceover is remarkably on the nose, and centers around stating out loud exactly what he’s doing at every moment. Adam Warlock is very guilty of this too.
So the story amounts to the two incredibly powerful beings musing on what it takes to be a God, and what altercations the universe has gone through thanks to the death and rebirth of these creatures. It’s actually thought provoking stuff and provides some fantastic visual queues of the known cosmic universe, but most of the dialogue is borderline groan-worthy. It’s the type of thing where each character will actually mutter their agendas aloud without any sort of subtext whatsoever.
When the book really gets going it’s easy to forgive such things. A showdown between Thanos and The Annihilators is a highlight that will go down as one of the best battles in Marvel Comics History.
And the finale to the story will leave you with a grand sense of dread. It’s a lovely play on what could have been an easy way out, but leading into a new birth of the status quo that tweaks things in all the right ways.
Starlin writes the characters on these pages as gods. They speak in grand terms and in logical conundrums. But dump exposition as if all Gods speak constantly about their powers and feelings. I’ve seen some use this to credit Starlin, but for me this doesn’t strengthen the book. I imagine Gods would speak in grand terms, but would be ultimately unconcerned with outlining their greater motivations for doing the things they do, but I digress.
The more psychedelic pages of this book are worth the price of admission alone. This is pure Marvel Cosmic awesomness. It’s not exactly the powerful story I wanted, but serves as a great addition to an already insanely appealing part of the Marvel universe. Thanos will always be alluring in a way most can’t quite explain, and nobody seems to draw him like Jim Starlin, it’s just a shame many have written him better.