Thanos #1 Review

Thanos #1

w- Jeff Lemire

a- Mike Deodato

“Thanos Returns. These are words heroes of the Marvel Universe never want to hear, but ones Marvel readers welcome with cheers. After all... who doesn't like a good villain?”- Jordan D. White, editor.

Before: In all the years I've been a fan of this big purple bad guy, this is one of my favorite Thanos moments. It's one of the things that sparked Civil War II. The Ultimates follow up on a tip by the Inhuman, Ulysses, that Thanos is up to something nasty. This causes a massive battle that leaves She-Hulk crippled and War Machine dead. The Ultimates succeed in battle but they lose so much in the end. Captain Marvel, who was in a relationship with James Rhodes (War Machine), goes off the deep end on a crusade that split the heroes of the Marvel U down the middle. Of course, they lock Thanos up tight. But what they should have done was kill him.

So, Thanos is back and I am totally stoked! I'd seen him in Marvel Comics throughout the 70's, but when I first became a fan was in 1990, with the classic Jim Starlin/Ron Lim run of Silver Surfer. Issue #37 was important for me. As a fan of the Surfer and a fan of the Starlin/Lim team-up, I became a fan of two characters that would later be huge in the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm talking about the Drax vs Thanos feud. Right away I loved both characters and still do, 26 years later. To me, in the 90's, Thanos was the darkest, ugliest, most evil thing Marvel had to offer. And I didn't see any hero that had the balls or the ability to actually defeat him. Silver Surfer could fight him and so could Drax the Destroyer, but those were always temporary. Nobody could do him in for good. Not in this universe.

Now: Now, after escaping his captivity by the Ultimates, Thanos has returned in his own ongoing series. Immediately, Thanos heads to his old stomping grounds, the stronghold of the Black Order. His lackey, Corvus Glaive, sits atop Thanos' throne and declares that he is prepared to die to keep it. If you know Thanos and love him like I do, this would send shivers up your spine. Thanos just grinned at Corvus Glaive and in a few panels, did the minion in without breaking a sweat. This scene, right here, made me giggle out loud. I don't do that while I read, but I did it here. It's just charged with such energy and such tension that a quiet response would have been impossible for me.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a member of Thanos' immediate family starts putting together strike-force to go kill the “Mad Titan”. So far, the names on the list are Starfox and Champion [of the Universe]. They know that what they're about to try is probably going to get them killed. If they don't do it, it's going to kill galaxies.

The Writing: The writing is freaking amazing. Jeff Lemire is one of the best names in horror and dark fantasy comics. He's gifted with this ability to reach into the reader's gut and pull out all the dread and and all the terror, and amplify it. His stories make me gulp as if I'm about to walk into a nest of 3 foot hornets, and all I have on me is a flashlight. His first issue of Thanos does just that. We know that something big is going to happen. A team is going to hunt him down, but they can't kill Thanos. Not any time soon. This is his book! And with Jeff Lemire at the helm, that strike-force of Marvel characters is heading into deep trouble. Lemire is the badass here. He has taken a deeply disturbed, psychotically twisted character and made him the protagonist.

The Art: Mike Deodato hasn't always been one of my favorite artists, but his work on Incredible Hulk, New Avengers, Original Sin, and now Thanos really has me appreciating this guy's style. He's good at the dark stuff. His backgrounds bring out the gloom in all situations and keep the reader very uneasy. In Thanos, he has taken Lemire's style of dread and has actually made it visible. It's in the throne room of the Black Order, Starfox's den of depravity, and most of all... the look on Thanos' face before he kills Corvus Glaive. The team of Lemire and Deodato is beyond perfect.

The Review: I can't say enough. It's exciting. It's creepy. And I know it's going to affect the Marvel Universe to its very core. Pick up issue #1 of Thanos. If your store doesn't have a copy, special order it. And never... ever... miss an issue.