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unladylike's review
3.0
2 stars for #1-4; 4 stars for #5-6
After just reading several good Thanos books, I was excited to see what Jeff Lemire was doing with him in the present day. I really like a lot of Lemire's ideas and script styles, so it was very disappointing to see so many glaring mistakes throughout much of this book. Things like inconsistencies with tense and number that frustrate the copy editor in me but might not bother someone just looking for a popcorn-munching comic adventure in a voice reminiscent of Silver Age Marvel comics.
Comparing the content and flow of the word captions/bubbles vs. the art and panels on the page, this Thanos story suffers most from a disconnect that I blame on the infamous Marvel Style of making comics. It's like Lemire wrote out a plot outline that was sound, the artist sent back a great visual story, and then Lemire filled in the word bubbles with his left hand while reading and working on something entirely different with his right. Like he wasn't actually reading the comic he was writing because it felt like he didn't have to try hard or focus at that point?
Whatever the troubles with the writing that grated on my senses and made me toss this book aside several times, they somehow saved it at the end. The story progresses and wraps up very well, with good action and simultaneous threads of various subplots coming to a head, showing us dynamic arcs for characters that were previously all but unknown. So that's impressive, and compels me to bump up the rating on this to an overall 3.
After just reading several good Thanos books, I was excited to see what Jeff Lemire was doing with him in the present day. I really like a lot of Lemire's ideas and script styles, so it was very disappointing to see so many glaring mistakes throughout much of this book. Things like inconsistencies with tense and number that frustrate the copy editor in me but might not bother someone just looking for a popcorn-munching comic adventure in a voice reminiscent of Silver Age Marvel comics.
Comparing the content and flow of the word captions/bubbles vs. the art and panels on the page, this Thanos story suffers most from a disconnect that I blame on the infamous Marvel Style of making comics. It's like Lemire wrote out a plot outline that was sound, the artist sent back a great visual story, and then Lemire filled in the word bubbles with his left hand while reading and working on something entirely different with his right. Like he wasn't actually reading the comic he was writing because it felt like he didn't have to try hard or focus at that point?
Whatever the troubles with the writing that grated on my senses and made me toss this book aside several times, they somehow saved it at the end. The story progresses and wraps up very well, with good action and simultaneous threads of various subplots coming to a head, showing us dynamic arcs for characters that were previously all but unknown. So that's impressive, and compels me to bump up the rating on this to an overall 3.
helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
Kind of a bland outing except for Starfox! Who is a vindictive jerk who really seems to annoy the shit out of a lot of people and is just a joy to watch.
Not the Nintendo Star Fox. Not the one who's probably in a lot of Sonic porn. That has to exist right. I'm not searching for it because there's less than one good reason.
This is another dude who happens to be named Starfox.
On his Wikipedia, it does tell me that he's not to be confused with "Star Fox." I guess a space makes the characters different enough? So I could start using the author pseudonym Stephe n King?
Not the Nintendo Star Fox. Not the one who's probably in a lot of Sonic porn. That has to exist right. I'm not searching for it because there's less than one good reason.
This is another dude who happens to be named Starfox.
On his Wikipedia, it does tell me that he's not to be confused with "Star Fox." I guess a space makes the characters different enough? So I could start using the author pseudonym Stephe n King?
jennykeery's review
3.0
I love reading cosmic Marvel books because the art is always stunning. It's hard to have any stakes or tension in a book about the current big bad of the cinematic universe though... (everyone and everything is out to kill Thanos! Will they succeed? Uh, probably not!)
buffalokid's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Standard. Light. Classic.
Not a great read, even if you're a fan of Thanos. The Thanos Rising book was superb for a superhero tale, with an interesting path towards understanding a complicated and layered Thanos. Not this one - powerful man reeks havoc on worlds til he finds what he needs. Revenge anddaddy issues wrapped in mistrust for all. A tale for a bus ride and that's about it. It does leave me wanting to know what happens though...guess I have time for one more bus ride with the sequel!
Not a great read, even if you're a fan of Thanos. The Thanos Rising book was superb for a superhero tale, with an interesting path towards understanding a complicated and layered Thanos. Not this one - powerful man reeks havoc on worlds til he finds what he needs. Revenge and
quirkycatsfatstacks's review
4.0
I read Thanos Vol. 1 in single issues through Marvel Unlimited.
To be completely honest here, I had been kind of going back and forth for a while on whether or not I wanted to read the Thanos series. I mean, yeah I was curious, but I wasn’t sure if it was enough. There are two things that ended up making me decide to give it a try though. The first is that I realized that these events will probably end up tying into the Infinity War plot (I’m only assuming here, but it seems reasonable) and thus it might get referenced quite a bit. The second is that I learned that one of my favorite comic book writers, Christopher Hastings, helped out here and there with the plot. I think he mostly helped out with the third volume, but I don’t like jumping into plots like that.
Now that I’ve actually read the first volume of Thanos, I can see how it fits into the bigger picture of the events happening in Marvel. It certainly ties in with the Infinity Countdown events, and therefore will likely tie into the war itself. So I’m really happy I took the time to start reading this.
Along with tying into those current and future events, it ties into a pretty major one of the past too. Remember when Thanos (along with Nova) got trapped in the Cancerverse? Well, we’re quite literally seeing the ramifications of that. Having been a huge fan of that plot, I’m really happy to see this come back around.
How many times can they create a series about Thanos and still have it be interesting? The answer, in this case, is at least one more time. I’m not saying that this series is perfect, but it’s certainly been interesting so far. I love all the connections it has to other series; though thankfully most of them are subtle enough where I don’t think it’d drive a newcomer crazy, or make them feel like they’re missing out.
Have you ever wanted to see Thanos in a truly weakened state? Where he’s taken to his knees? Then this is probably the perfect series for you. In this series, there are a lot of things going against Thanos. For one, Lady Death, his on again off again lover, has turned her back on him. That alone is fascinating to me (though I suppose in the most recent continuity maybe they never were lovers? This can get complicated).
More though, is the fact that Thanos is dying. The Cancerverse is not a good place to be trapped, and I think the reasons are fairly obvious for that. We know that Nova managed to escape, but he came out pretty messed up. As it turns out, Thanos also got messed up by the experience, just in a completely different way.
I never thought I’d find a series where Thanos is desperately trying to find a way to live interesting, but that’s happening now. It isn’t just his attempts, but everything and everyone reacting to what is happening. When major players like the Shi’ar Empire find out about Thanos being weakened, of course they’re going to make a move. It’s only logical, after all. But man was it interesting to read. I hope we can see more people moving in against him, even (or maybe especially) after the conclusion of this volume.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
To be completely honest here, I had been kind of going back and forth for a while on whether or not I wanted to read the Thanos series. I mean, yeah I was curious, but I wasn’t sure if it was enough. There are two things that ended up making me decide to give it a try though. The first is that I realized that these events will probably end up tying into the Infinity War plot (I’m only assuming here, but it seems reasonable) and thus it might get referenced quite a bit. The second is that I learned that one of my favorite comic book writers, Christopher Hastings, helped out here and there with the plot. I think he mostly helped out with the third volume, but I don’t like jumping into plots like that.
Now that I’ve actually read the first volume of Thanos, I can see how it fits into the bigger picture of the events happening in Marvel. It certainly ties in with the Infinity Countdown events, and therefore will likely tie into the war itself. So I’m really happy I took the time to start reading this.
Along with tying into those current and future events, it ties into a pretty major one of the past too. Remember when Thanos (along with Nova) got trapped in the Cancerverse? Well, we’re quite literally seeing the ramifications of that. Having been a huge fan of that plot, I’m really happy to see this come back around.
How many times can they create a series about Thanos and still have it be interesting? The answer, in this case, is at least one more time. I’m not saying that this series is perfect, but it’s certainly been interesting so far. I love all the connections it has to other series; though thankfully most of them are subtle enough where I don’t think it’d drive a newcomer crazy, or make them feel like they’re missing out.
Have you ever wanted to see Thanos in a truly weakened state? Where he’s taken to his knees? Then this is probably the perfect series for you. In this series, there are a lot of things going against Thanos. For one, Lady Death, his on again off again lover, has turned her back on him. That alone is fascinating to me (though I suppose in the most recent continuity maybe they never were lovers? This can get complicated).
More though, is the fact that Thanos is dying. The Cancerverse is not a good place to be trapped, and I think the reasons are fairly obvious for that. We know that Nova managed to escape, but he came out pretty messed up. As it turns out, Thanos also got messed up by the experience, just in a completely different way.
I never thought I’d find a series where Thanos is desperately trying to find a way to live interesting, but that’s happening now. It isn’t just his attempts, but everything and everyone reacting to what is happening. When major players like the Shi’ar Empire find out about Thanos being weakened, of course they’re going to make a move. It’s only logical, after all. But man was it interesting to read. I hope we can see more people moving in against him, even (or maybe especially) after the conclusion of this volume.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
grilledcheesesamurai's review
4.0
Thanos is sick. Like...prolly gonna die if you don't find a cure sick.
His son knows this and wants to take advantage of that.
Shit goes down.
It's with this premise that Jeff Lemire tells his story of the return of the Mad Titan. And I'll tell ya what...it's pretty damn good.
His son knows this and wants to take advantage of that.
Shit goes down.
It's with this premise that Jeff Lemire tells his story of the return of the Mad Titan. And I'll tell ya what...it's pretty damn good.
ryter89's review
3.0
Just a little too much fluff in the writing but overall a good read. The art is nice and the idea is good. I'll be reading the next volume.
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