Thursday, May 21, 2015

Thanos Vs. Hulk


I finally got around to finishing Thanos Vs Hulk, a four issue limited series that should probably have been called Annihilus Vs Hulk. Thanos didn't appear at all in issue three, and only for one panel in issue four, and I'm not making that up. All I can figure is that Starlin used the title as a macguffin to trick the readers from being able to predict where the story is going, but it was probably more that Thanos is kind of getting some name recognition with mainstream audiences so having his name in the title helped sales, and probably even helped the justify its very existence in the first place. But... yeah. Not much Thanos to see here.

But that's ok because it's written and drawn by Jim Starlin, who could produce a four issue series about Thanos and the Hulk reading the phone book and I'd buy it and love it. Well... I'd buy it, but maybe I wouldn't love it, since I didn't really love this, but I did enjoy it and recommend it to hardcore Starlin fans, but probably not to causal comic readers, although it does have some great art and a lot of action. It's pretty light on story and plot however. So... come to think of it... maybe I'd recommend it for casual comic readers and not for hardcore Starlin fans. Although Pip the Troll does have a major supporting role, so that's fun.

I also like how Starlin always seems to be writing within his own continuity, set aside form the rest of the Marvel Universe. Haven't read a Marvel comic in over a decade? That's fine, because I don't think Starlin has either. Part of the plot involves Pip asking a favor of Thanos, because they were both in the Infinity Watch together. Who else remembers the Infinity Watch?

So, long story short, it's a fun series, although I'm not sure why it was four issues long since really nothing much happens, and there sure as hell wasn't enough Thanos. Remember in the Infinity Gauntlet when all of Earth's heroes attacked Thanos and he and the Hulk fought for two pages? There was more action in those two pages than in this entire series.... but check it out if you haven't already, if only so Jim Starlin can keep making comics.

2 comments:

Mugato said...

I remember Infinity everything. Infinity Gauntlet is my absolute favorite thing to ever come out of Marvel and I am a Jim Starlin fan. I will check this out just because it's Starlin, even if it is blah.

Justin Garrett Blum said...

That's an hilarious point about Starlin probably not having read any Marvel comics since the Infinity Gauntlet. That's kind of what I like about him.