Starlin, Jim
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3.4 out of 5
(4 books)
TOP PICK:
The Infinity Gauntlet
Cosmic Odyssey: Book Four - Death
(Art by Mike Mignola and Carlos Garzon)
The conclusion to the series sees Batman and Forager desperately trying to prevent the destruction of Earth whilst Darkseid, Highfather, Orion, Etrigan and Dr. Fate attempt to seal the Anti-Life Entity off within its own dimension forever.
This is a solid conclusion to the series (unfortunately I didn't manage to get my hands on Book Three to read) which nicely balances the small-scale personal danger with the vast cosmic struggle. It's not mind-blowing, but it does the job.
There's also some genuine emotional weight to this book as Green Lantern John Stewart struggles to cope with guilt and another of the heroes gives his life to save the universe.
3 out of 5
Cosmic Odyssey: Book One - Discovery
(Art by Mike Mignola and Carlos Garzon)
After forming an unlikely alliance, Darkseid and the New Gods call upon the heroes of Earth to help them face a threat to both of their universes. A malevolent entity has gained a foothold in the galaxy and plans to cause its collapse by destroying several key worlds, leaving the New Gods and the JLA to prevent this catastrophe.
Team-up stories featuring a threat to the whole universe are nothing new and, as a result, the set-up of this book feels a bit contrived. However, this book tackles the cliche well and does a good job of making the reader feel like the stakes are valid. I was also pleased to see members of the JLA, particularly Superman and Batman, being appropriately suspicious of Darkseid's help.
Added to all that is some really great artwork from Mike Mignola, who does a solid job of capturing Jack Kirby's style in regard to the New Gods.
4 out of 5
Cosmic Odyssey: Book Two - Disaster
(Art by Mike Mignola and Carlos Garzon)
Seeking to head off the plans of the Anti-Life Entity, four pairs of heroes travel to four separate key planets in the hope of preventing their destruction.
The majority of this book is simply the heroes trying to find and defeat the different ways that the planets are threatened. It's got some nice action scenes, but it's all pretty straightforward.
However, there were two elements of this book that I really enjoyed. The first was seeing how Batman takes a completely different approach to all the other heroes and, instead of plunging straight in, takes the time to put his renowned detective skills to use. Where the likes of Superman and the New Gods often have a very 60s/70s vibe to them, this is very much the Batman of the 1980s.
The second element I liked was the fact that Starlin has one of the teams of heroes fail in their mission. It does a great job of setting the stakes for the subsequent volumes but also leaves one of the Justice League's key members utterly devastated by his sense of guilt and failure. This shows that even if the heroes themselves survive, there is a still a price to be paid.
3 out of 5
The Infinity Gauntlet
(Art by George Perez, Ron Lim, Joe Rubinstein, Tom Christopher and Bruce Solotoff)
Thanos the Mad Titan has assembled the six Infinity Gems and wears the titular Infinity Gauntlet, giving him godlike powers over Space, Time, Reality, Power, Mind and Soul. Accompanied by his lackey Mephisto, Thanos seeks out Mistress Death and, in attempt to woo her, uses his power to wipe out half of all life in the universe. As his megalomania grows, heroes and villains from across the Marvel Universe have to unite in an attempt to prevent the destruction of everything they know, from the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America and Doctor Doom to the likes of Infinity, Galactus and the Celestials.
The story that inspired the first decade (and a bit) of MCU movies, this book begins with Thanos already in possession of the omnipotent Gauntlet. I found that an interesting tactic, skipping the build-up (covered in comics elsewhere) and getting straight to the villain being at his most powerful. This means that 'The Snap' happens very early in this book and we spend much of the rest of it seeing the increasingly desperate attempts to curtail Thanos' power.
What I liked most about this book was just how good a job it does of establishing exactly what control of the six Infinity Gems means and how, having that power, Thanos is unbeatable by even the most powerful entities of the Marvel Universe. In addition to that, is the scene where, after Thanos has comprehensively dismantled all of Earth's mightiest heroes, Captain America still refused to flinch whilst face to face with the Mad Titan.
Despite being a long-time Marvel reader, this was my first time experiencing this story in its entirety and I was pleasantly surprised that it still managed to throw some curve balls I wasn't expecting (look at me, an Englishman with no interest in sports, using an American baseball metaphor!).
4 out of 5