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The Thanos Imperative #1

Writer(s): Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist(s): Miguel sepulveda and Jay David Ramos
Cover: Aleksi Briclot

****SPOILERS AHEAD****SPOILERS AHEAD*****

Heeeeeeeeeee’s baaaaaaaack!!! The return of Thanos the Mad Titan is in full gear, with the new limited series titled The Thanos Imperative. The coming of this book heralds the delay in the release of all other Marvel cosmic titles. Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova are taking a short break for this galaxy-spanning story of epic proportions. The lead ins to this, Guardians of the Galaxy #25 and The Thanos Imperative: Ignition, set us up for the return of Thanos who died way back in the original Annihilation saga.

Now with the return of Thanos, we are launched into a war between two universes. On one side of the universe, we have our Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova Corps, Inhumans, Kree, Shi’ar, Spartoi, and many other 616 races, up against the residents of the cancerverse. It is a battle of life versus death, with an interesting twist. You see, the cancerverse and its residents want life. They want so much life that they have filled up their own universe with monstrous growths of their gods and beings that have been twisted into demonic creatures, and have literally filled their entire universe with life. They want to use Universe 616 to continue their growth of this…”life.” The only fear they have is the avatar of Death, who is none other than our leading man, Thanos. He personifies and fights for Death, which is the opposite ideal of what the cancerverse heroes believe.

Throughout this issue, we are privy to seeing huge cancer-like beings battling through The Fault into our own universe. Many have come to battle at the opening of The Fault, but are all too soon realizing that it takes much more than lethal force to defeat these beings. While each army, including the Shi’ar Imperial Guard and the Inhuman Elite, battle, the main players on either side are gathering. Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, has come to the conclusion that the only way to defeat the universe teeming with life is to send an agent of Death after it. Coincidentally, they have the perfect candidate in Thanos. While this is happening, we are witness to the leader of the cancerverse, who in perfect irony, is Lord Mar-vell.

As most readers may know, Captain Mar-vell of 616 had always been Thanos’s greatest adversary. Thanos had fought for death, while Mar-vell had fought to save life. Now the tides have turned, where Thanos essentially is fighting for life, while Mar-vell fights to consume it.

The art in this book is unlike any I have seen. I am not very familiar with Miguel Sepulveda’s work, so it was a bit of a surprise to me. I was expecting someone a little bit cleaner like Paul Pelletier to be working on this, because I am so used to him having worked on past DnA titles. But nonetheless, I was truly impressed by Sepulveda’s work. Jay David Ramos has the perfect colors for this story as well. While Sepulveda’s art may seem a bit grainy at first, you quickly get used to it. It is perfect for a very dark time for our heroes. You may also notice that between Sepulveda and Ramos, they actually try to keep our 616 heroes looking “cleaner” than the cancerverse characters. Ramos does a great job of making big, bright explosions, contrasting with the dark of the universe.

I would expect nothing less from Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. DnA have managed to craft cosmic greatness time and again, and I think this is turning out to be their best yet. They have set the stage over three years, and it is finally coming to a head. I have absolutely no complaints with how they have treated this title. They know exactly how to write each character without deviating from over twenty years of Marvel history, and give each a unique feel. The only problem I had at first was understanding the abstract premise of the cancerverse, but this was soon solved with Peter Quill’s revelation of what was going on. They created many memorable moments, from the death of Adam Magus (hopefully Warlock will return), to the alliance between Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

This is a title that I will immediately put at the top of my pull list. It has a mix of all of my favorite heroes (Quasar, Captain Marvel, Thanos), and is setting up to be a hugely epic battle. I love the way DnA have set this up, and finally things are really in motion. The art by Sepulveda and Ramos was amazing, although it took a couple pages for me to adjust, but by the end I loved it. Not to mention the amazing cover by Aleksi Briclot, this is one of those books that I will remember for years to come.

Rating: 5/5

Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net