Saturday, 4 May 2013 in , ,

Infinity: Marvel's Free Comic Book Day

Marvel's Infinity is a six-issue mini-series due to ship this August, penned by Jonathan Hickman, in which Thanos - Adam Warlock's long-time foe and the uber-baddie at the end of The Avengers' movie - attacks Earth. Today's Free Comic Book Day release by Marvel is a small sampler giving a flavour of what's to come.

It's cosmic. And it's very good.

Much like a teaser for a movie, this 10 page prelude establishes a thoroughly disturbing sense of prevailing evil about Thanos. Clearly - as the back-up 70s reprint in the comic shows - Thanos loses something if presented too quickly and in too much light. He's a creature of darkness and shadows. Like all great monsters he's more frightening the less he's seen. A pointing finger in silhouette. Better an eerie presence just off-camera.

Thanos' cosmic court from The Avengers (conceptual art)
Just like the The Avenger's movie, Thanos is hidden for much of this comic. Thanos' court is much the same: steps leading up to the throne with a purplish galactic backdrop. The reveal of the Mad Titan at the end of the issue is similar to the movie, too: Thanos says a few words and we focus on his shark-like mouth. Marvel is doing the right thing in the comics re-booting him like this: not denying the back story, just presenting him fundamentally.

Thanos' court in FCBD Infinity
Thanos is attended by Chitauri, the alien race who attempted to invade Earth in The Avengers movie. Here, they stand about the feet of Thanos like wraith-like clergy. They speak for him - which is always a great trope to build a sense of menace and power - and, in this prelude to the mini-series - go off and carry out Thanos' genocidal diplomacy. It seems that Thanos has his servants searching the universe for civilisations to subdue. The implication is that there are few worlds that haven't already fallen. I'm not sure how that fits in with the current state of Marvel's cosmic titles or if it's more the movie universe where this title's going to be set (certainly the Avengers we see in one of the final panels are closer to the movie-verions of Cap, Thor and Tony Stark).

Movie Chitauri
This teaser essentially establishes the idea that Thanos has his eye on Earth. If set in a vaguely movie universe, perhaps this is set before the Chitauri attack on New York. If set in the regular Marvel universe, it's difficult to see how Thanos wasn't aware of Earth bearing in mind he's had a long history of battling various human heroes. We do, however, finish the comic with a very clear sense of something epic about to take place.

Chitauri in FCBD Infinity?
A straightforward narrative, this issue has an outrider, a Giger-esque alien spy (all mouth and lithe limbs) informs the court that Ahl-Agullo, a world of sixty million that had been destroyed by Thanos, has begun to rebuild its civilisation. A Chitauri delegation is sent off - this time not to destroy the planet's people again but to collect a ghastly tribute to Thanos. Here we begin to see Thanos' motivation (and the obvious parallels with DC's Darkseid aren't too difficult to spot): his desire is not only to "raze" and subdue, but also to destroy the spirit of worlds. Thanos' ambassador (if that's what you can call him) is Corvus Glaive who initiates his diplomacy by presenting the king with the remains of Ahl-Agullo's champion. Glaive demands a tribute: a box full of heads - though it's unclear who the heads belong to. Meanwhile, the outrider arrives on Earth an spies invisibly on Avengers, X-men and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Thanos gets the "reveal" at the end of the story
Infinity is branded much like a blockbuster movie - it's even called an "event series". Certainly, Jonathan Hickman writes epic science fiction stories and is producing some really challenging work on his current Avengers and New Avengers runs. It looks like Infinity will tie in with these storylines. I'm looking forward to Jim Cheung's and Mark Morales' artwork. If this teaser is anything to go by, it's going to be quite cinematic and put Age of Ultron to shame.

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