Infinity Gauntlet (Pre-Recording Discussion/Questions)
David_D
Posts: 3,884
The Infinity Gauntlet will be the BOMC book for February. An early 1990s Marvel classic that looks to be a big part of the future of the cinematic universe. CGS will be reading the original, 6-issue Infinity Gauntlet miniseries, that has been collected a number of ways, and is also available to subscribers of Marvel Unlimited.
Your thoughts? Is this the first time you are reading it? Or are you returning to a work you haven't sat down with in years? Add to the discussion here, or post questions you would like the guys to consider in their discussion. The episode should record sometime in February.
Your thoughts? Is this the first time you are reading it? Or are you returning to a work you haven't sat down with in years? Add to the discussion here, or post questions you would like the guys to consider in their discussion. The episode should record sometime in February.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I remember telling the people who ordered for the Shinder’s chain this would be big, but they were putting all of their energy into X-Men and the like, so they were caught flat footed by how big this was (we sold out across the chain in one day). The thing I liked about it when it came out was that it Felt Like A Big Deal. You knew that it wouldn’t end with half of the universe dead, but it felt like something BIG was going on. I think it also helped that there weren’t a lot of tie ins, so people could jump in buying just the main mini-series. This showed that Marvel didn’t think it was going to be a MONSTER hit or everyone would have wanted to tie in, like they did in the sequels.
The questions I would have of people who read it AFTER it came out (since the damn thing was 23 years ago):
Was it jarring when Perez stepped off the series?
At the time, Perez had built up a reputation of being…unreliable, and this really cemented that after the disaster that was War of the Gods. I LOVED Rom Lim’s work and thought he did a good job of keeping a consistent look to the book.
Did it feel like a big deal when you read it after the fact?
For long time Marvel fans, the return of Warlock was a big deal, since he’d effectively been dead for over 10 years, and people didn’t return from the dead on a routine basis at that time.
The proper primer for this tale is the widely missed Thanos Quest mini as well as run by Ron Lim collected in Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos that @SolitaireRose referenced. I was enjoying Ron Lim's run on Silver Surfer at the time, and it was really firing on all cylinders when Thanos made his dynamic return to activity.
Unlike most big events, each fight led into something much bigger and grander, keeping the reader invested in the constant battles. And none of the shocking deaths were without weight or meaning. Beyond the battles, this story displayed smart insights to the key characters as well as philosophical considerations about life and death. Super cool moments with Thor and Captain America that I won't spoil here.
Infinity Gauntlet isn't without flaws, having a few dangling plot threads here and there as well as a feeling that Starlin had no idea what to do with Doctor Doom, but the high quality of the rest of the story supersedes any shortcomings. It contains nearly everything you'd want out of a major Marvel event about a vast threat requiring the heroes to join as one. An awesome introduction to the Marvel cosmic I'd recommend to anyone.
I thought Ron Lim's artwork was an excellent replacement when Pérez was unable to finish penciling duties, leaving the project part way through issue #4. Editorial wisely chose Lim to finish the book, although Pérez offered to remain on as the inker over Lim's cover art for the remainder of the miniseries. Hardly noticeable in my opinion, but I was already a big fan of Lim's work along with Pérez's. Was anyone else bothered by the penciling change? With weekly books like Batman Eternal, we're probably all very used to this sort of arrangement.
Was anyone else introduced to Marvel cosmic through this book or were you already into the cosmic universe material before this came along?
The only bad thing I can say about the series is how thanks to it being such a hit we got what 2 follow up mini series.Both of which were not nearly as good as this one.
A full reading order was put together and can be found here. It includes Sleepwalker, Incredible Hulk, Dr Strange, Quasar, and goes through the first issue of Warlock and the Infinity Watch.
What? No! I love it!
I was reading comics when this came out but I didn't know anything about it. The only comics I had access to were the ones my local gas station and drug stores carried on the spinner rack..this wasn't there. I was limited to Spider-Man, Batman, etc. What I did have were Marvel trading cards and they were my window into the wider Marvel Universe. I especially loved the cosmic cards. Thanos, The Beyonder, Ego, Eternity and all the others blew my mind because these were characters so different from what I was seeing in Spider-Man and the more mainstream books. Then, for most of the rest of the 90s, I was out of comics.
In 2001 I got back into comics and a co-worker happened to be a big comics geek. He started telling me about The Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos, Warlock, Galactus, Quasar..all these names I recognized from my trading cards in one story? I went home that evening and bought the issues off ebay.
I was in love. The art, the story..it was a baptism by fire into Marvel cosmic.
From there I went on a binge buying and reading everything I could find dealing with Marvel's cosmic characters.
Cory brought up the art change and for me it was jarring. I've come to love Lim's art but at the time I felt it was a major step down from Perez.
I don't know if it was Perez's art or the "red sky" nature of the conflict--the wiping out of half the universe's population--but I really got a Crisis on Infinite Earths feel from the first several issues. This isn't a bad thing, but I just felt like it would be a good place for Marvel to reset their universe if they wanted to. However, it would have seemed like a cheap knock off of DC's Crisis. Regardless, I felt as though this was an important story at the time, and looking back on Marvel's history, especially its movie universe, this is an important book. I don't know if I would have noticed the difference if I hadn't read this before reading the book, but I agree whole heartedly. He was a great fit and the transition was nearly seamless. On a ranting side note, I'm okay with art styles changing in an event book when the story dictates it (i.e. different locale with/without a different character/team, flashback sequences, etc.), but it really bothers me when an artist is slated for an event and doesn't/can't finish it. If for whatever reason the artist can't finish the series/book, publishers should look to Infinity Gauntlet on how to make that transition successful. I'm not sure if the sequence below is what you're referring to, but it was my favorite part in the series. My heart was pounding as my eye moved from panel to panel. There was so much intensity in their eyes, and when Silver Surfer missed, I'm positive I let out a verbal, "Oh no! They're screwed now! Aw..." I'm sad to say I don't have this kind of visceral reaction to many comic books, but I believe my reaction to this scene is a testament to the storytelling. This still gives me chills. God, it's good.
I'm soooo looking forward to this episode.
It wasn't often that I got to see heroes just get taken down efficiently and brutally, one-by-one.
It's a shame that all the recent non-Starlin stuff kind of negates all this for no reason except they might have wanted to align it more with the movies. Doesn't help that they were also just terrible stories. Might as well have had Thanos rob a bank again!
PS- I know that is from an earlier era than what you are talking about, but seems to fit your point.
I found it here, that shows more of that wonderfully Silver Age-y Thanos. I was hoping for an image of him running out of a bank with bags with dollar signs on them. But, alas.