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Infinity
Infinity
The year's most anticipated blockbuster cosmic event is here, as the Marvel Universe marches towards Infinity! The mad titan Thanos makes his world-shattering return, and his armies fire the opening shots of a galactic war that will be fought both on Earth and in deep space - with our heroes caught between both battles! As Thanos' secrets are revealed, the Inhumans' city of Attilan falls, and the Illuminati find themselves on the front line! And as every Origin Site on Earth goes active, the Builders enter the Marvel Universe. But can the Avengers return to Earth in time to save it, when betrayal in the Galactic Council has left them prisoners of war? Galactic empires will fall as Thanos' crazed plans come to fruition!
COLLECTING: Infinity 1-6, New Avengers 7-12, Avengers 14-23, Infinity: Against the Tide Infinite Comic 1-2
COLLECTING: Infinity 1-6, New Avengers 7-12, Avengers 14-23, Infinity: Against the Tide Infinite Comic 1-2
632 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 2014
208 people are currently reading
1411 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,221 books2,027 followersJonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 385 reviews
July 14, 2021
Man, I really hated this.
And maybe that's because I'm reading it after having already trudged through Secret Wars? Which I did with the hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel - only to find that the light was actually coming from the dumpster fire, Secret Empire.
And now we know why they were keeping it SECRET.
Ok, I desperately want to like Hickman, but this is an example of what it is about his writing that puts me to sleep:
"The message came from the Shi'ar Strontian subspecies whose biological indicators exist within our xenobase. Markers imply truthfulness."
I get it. They are a different species or whatever, so they talk funny.
Thing is, I picked that particular example because I'd read it about 5 times, and at the end of each time, I'd found that I'd just sort of...drifted off into la-la land. Again.
I mean, at that point, the Bad Guys were waging war on the universe(s?) and everyone had to come together to fight, but then the Illuminate were also dealing with their own problems (relating to Secret Wars) - while also dealing with infighting, possession, and other spoilery crap. And with a few exceptions along the way (Black Bolt vs Thanos and Black Panther vs Namor), I just didn't even care about most of it.
My brain just fizzled out after a while.
The scope of the story was HUGE. Just massive. And I think that was another problem for me when it came to reading it. There was just too much.
Thanos attacking everywhere looking for spoilery shit, the Incursion happening (or not?), the Builders attacking everywhere for REASONS, A.I.M. doing A.I.M.ish stuff, Wakanda vs Atlantis, the Gardeners sort of attacking, and the Inhumans (specifically Black Bolt and Maximus) getting ready to do the Terrigen Mist Dance all over the world so that Marvel could try to convince us they were a legitimate answer to the X-men they (at the time) no longer had the rights to stick in movies.
Plus all the other myriad of characters and their individual plotlines!
KA-BLOOM!
*the sound my head made as it exploded*
I actually really enjoy Marvel Cosmic stuff, but I think I read this at the wrong time. I probably never should have even picked it up. In my defense, I'd read somewhere that the Infinity War movie would possibly be relying heavily on this comic. Eh. We'll see.
Hickman is an extremely talented writer and this particular book got a lot of love from almost every one of my friends, so don't let my Debbie Downer attitude keep you away from it if you think it's something you'd like.
And maybe that's because I'm reading it after having already trudged through Secret Wars? Which I did with the hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel - only to find that the light was actually coming from the dumpster fire, Secret Empire.
And now we know why they were keeping it SECRET.
Ok, I desperately want to like Hickman, but this is an example of what it is about his writing that puts me to sleep:
"The message came from the Shi'ar Strontian subspecies whose biological indicators exist within our xenobase. Markers imply truthfulness."
I get it. They are a different species or whatever, so they talk funny.
Thing is, I picked that particular example because I'd read it about 5 times, and at the end of each time, I'd found that I'd just sort of...drifted off into la-la land. Again.
I mean, at that point, the Bad Guys were waging war on the universe(s?) and everyone had to come together to fight, but then the Illuminate were also dealing with their own problems (relating to Secret Wars) - while also dealing with infighting, possession, and other spoilery crap. And with a few exceptions along the way (Black Bolt vs Thanos and Black Panther vs Namor), I just didn't even care about most of it.
My brain just fizzled out after a while.
The scope of the story was HUGE. Just massive. And I think that was another problem for me when it came to reading it. There was just too much.
Thanos attacking everywhere looking for spoilery shit, the Incursion happening (or not?), the Builders attacking everywhere for REASONS, A.I.M. doing A.I.M.ish stuff, Wakanda vs Atlantis, the Gardeners sort of attacking, and the Inhumans (specifically Black Bolt and Maximus) getting ready to do the Terrigen Mist Dance all over the world so that Marvel could try to convince us they were a legitimate answer to the X-men they (at the time) no longer had the rights to stick in movies.
Plus all the other myriad of characters and their individual plotlines!
KA-BLOOM!
*the sound my head made as it exploded*
I actually really enjoy Marvel Cosmic stuff, but I think I read this at the wrong time. I probably never should have even picked it up. In my defense, I'd read somewhere that the Infinity War movie would possibly be relying heavily on this comic. Eh. We'll see.
Hickman is an extremely talented writer and this particular book got a lot of love from almost every one of my friends, so don't let my Debbie Downer attitude keep you away from it if you think it's something you'd like.
July 8, 2023
I got through 942 pages with this and the related comic books Infinity #1-6; Infinity Heist #1-4, Infinity The Hunt #1-4, plus Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel, Fearless Defenders, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up, Thunderbolts and Nova Infinity event crossovers. As cosmos spanning space operas go, this one is still quite captivating and a good read with an ending that is kind of OK! 7 out of 12.
2010 read
2010 read
September 22, 2014
Infinity is an apt name for this Marvel event since it seemingly goes on forever.
Seriously, I know when it comes to these big crossover events that ‘big’ is the key word, but this collection contains the 6 issues of Infinity itself as well as about 18 issues of Avengers and New Avengers. That’s not even including the roughly 30 other tie-in books that are part of it, too. How many comic books must I read to get one story?!?
An alien race called the Builders that were supposedly the architects of the universe itself show up and start tearing through various star systems on their way to Earth. Captain America leads most of the Avengers into space to fight beside an alliance made up of friends and former enemies like the Skrulls and the Brood. Unfortunately, with most of the Avengers off planet Thanos sees an opportunity to carry out a personal vendetta on Earth, and he unleashes a full scale planetary invasion that Tony Stark and the other members of the Illuminati try to lead the defense against.
There’s a lot good sci-fi concepts here as well as some epic action with art that conveys the scale of the events. Overall Hickman’s story does a pretty nice job of shifting around to the different areas which allows him to get lots of characters doing lots of things. I also like this idea that’s spread across the Marvel books during this period of time that Earth is increasingly seen as a danger by the rest of the universe.
But the problem with these crossover events are that they seem to be built with the idea that they are for the fans reading every issue of the books involved as they come out. I have not been reading any of the recent Avengers books, but I’d pretty much caught up on Guardians of the Galaxy when I hit their part of the crossover so I thought I knew enough to check it out. Wrong. Even though I read about umpteen million pages of this story, I still had to go to the Marvel Wiki page to get the context of what happened.
When you’ve got more and more fans increasingly waiting to buy the collections or, like me, reading later via digital comics, it’s crazy when these things sprawl to the point where you can read over 600 pages that supposedly contain the core story, and it’s still not enough. If they could have boiled this down to one big 10 or 12 issue mini-series that felt like a complete storyline I would have been a lot more satisfied with it.
Seriously, I know when it comes to these big crossover events that ‘big’ is the key word, but this collection contains the 6 issues of Infinity itself as well as about 18 issues of Avengers and New Avengers. That’s not even including the roughly 30 other tie-in books that are part of it, too. How many comic books must I read to get one story?!?
An alien race called the Builders that were supposedly the architects of the universe itself show up and start tearing through various star systems on their way to Earth. Captain America leads most of the Avengers into space to fight beside an alliance made up of friends and former enemies like the Skrulls and the Brood. Unfortunately, with most of the Avengers off planet Thanos sees an opportunity to carry out a personal vendetta on Earth, and he unleashes a full scale planetary invasion that Tony Stark and the other members of the Illuminati try to lead the defense against.
There’s a lot good sci-fi concepts here as well as some epic action with art that conveys the scale of the events. Overall Hickman’s story does a pretty nice job of shifting around to the different areas which allows him to get lots of characters doing lots of things. I also like this idea that’s spread across the Marvel books during this period of time that Earth is increasingly seen as a danger by the rest of the universe.
But the problem with these crossover events are that they seem to be built with the idea that they are for the fans reading every issue of the books involved as they come out. I have not been reading any of the recent Avengers books, but I’d pretty much caught up on Guardians of the Galaxy when I hit their part of the crossover so I thought I knew enough to check it out. Wrong. Even though I read about umpteen million pages of this story, I still had to go to the Marvel Wiki page to get the context of what happened.
When you’ve got more and more fans increasingly waiting to buy the collections or, like me, reading later via digital comics, it’s crazy when these things sprawl to the point where you can read over 600 pages that supposedly contain the core story, and it’s still not enough. If they could have boiled this down to one big 10 or 12 issue mini-series that felt like a complete storyline I would have been a lot more satisfied with it.
August 3, 2022
A modern take on the Infinity Gauntlet, perfectly structured by Jonathan Hickman, it served as inspiration for the successful MCU's Infinity Saga, and I think Hickman doesn't get enough credit for it, his run on the Avengers and Mark Millar's Ultimates were clearly the biggest inspirations for the MCU, and for me, the quality of this event should be the standard for all future crossover events, the sheer epic scale of the war, either on Earth or in space, is the culmination of everything the Marvel universe is all about, this is essential read for every Marvel reader.
January 25, 2015
4.5 stars. Although because of this panel, I am actually giving it a 5.
I mean really - Thor laying the beat-down on Thanos...!? I swear if I wasn't a manly man I would have squealed when I saw that panel.
*spoiler*I squealed like a bitch!*spoiler*
The big Marvel events scare me. I hate buying into the hype only to be let down on the execution. I hate cash grabs and lackluster storylines. Really...I just hate water downed, redundant, empty bullshit! Thankfully, Infinity not only delivered a good reading experience, but it more or less gave me a cosmic smack upside my head and filled me up on my sci-fi, epic, spacey, goodness fix!
However, to be fair, to properly enjoy this event you really do need to read Avengers and The New Avengers alongside it to get the full scope of things. I normally harp and whine about how the 'Big Two' always make us buy multiple books to fully enjoy a story, but in the case of Infinity, well, both of those Avengers titles were freaking awesome so I am willing to overlook this.
It doesn't get a heck of a lot more dire than what is going on with Infinity! Earth is being threatened on so many fronts that it's kind of hard to see any way out of its predicament(s). Big, bad-ass, invincible(nearly) scary dudes are in space trying to stir up shit. Thanos is on Earth being a dick and trashing everything he can, and alternate universes are colliding threatening the end of...well...everything.
The destruction of entire planets, desperate space battles, sinister team-ups, wicked villains, political machinations, and some seriously kick-ass battle theaters! This book delivered in spades. Not even to mention the cast of characters rolled into all of this! I loved how eclectic the amalgamation of heroes and villains were. I mean really - how cool is Ebony Maw? Love that character and that's just one example of many.
Anyways...YAY MARVEL. You have given me the exact kind of Superhero story I was hoping for with this one and you have accomplished your goal in making me a regular reader of both of your Avengers books, as well as hooking me in for the Secret Wars event coming this summer.
Well played.
October 2, 2015
Um...what was that? To be fair I should have read the synopsis for Infinity rather than getting hyped about an Inhumans vs. Thanos showdown I heard about in the story. If I had done that I would've been far less disturbed by the other depressing storyline. Anyway Infinity is book of at least two tales. The first being that some ancient aliens are destroying life they created and appear to be headed to Earth. The second storyline invovles The Mad Titan coming to raze the Earth and having a run in with some heroes. That's the story I came for, but it was unfortunately less of a focal point.
As I said I read this to see Thanos fight the Inhumans. The Inhumans although having been around for a long time barely get mentioned. Heck I first heard of them in the 90's Fantastic Four cartoon
and I have barely heard of them since then. It is hard to forget of a certain silent king whose mere whispers cause devastation.
Anyway since Marvel is determined to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I figured I should learn more about them. This story was not the place to do that. Sure I saw a lot of Inhuman characters, but it was just a reiteration of what I already knew about them especially since nearly everything focuses on Black Bolt. It was good to see Maximus The Mad though he makes up for all of Black Bolt's quite brooding sullen stares. They make a fun duo.
Thank goodness for the Inhuman and Thanos storyline...
...the rest of the tale was quite possibly the most depressing set of stuff I ever read in a comic book. So basically the universe is dying, the builders want to exterminate Earth to save the universe, even if the heroes save Earth the universe will cease to exist, and depressing depressing depressing. I should've just skipped the non Thanos parts, but sometimes I'm a glutton for punishment.
As I said I read this to see Thanos fight the Inhumans. The Inhumans although having been around for a long time barely get mentioned. Heck I first heard of them in the 90's Fantastic Four cartoon
and I have barely heard of them since then. It is hard to forget of a certain silent king whose mere whispers cause devastation.
Anyway since Marvel is determined to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I figured I should learn more about them. This story was not the place to do that. Sure I saw a lot of Inhuman characters, but it was just a reiteration of what I already knew about them especially since nearly everything focuses on Black Bolt. It was good to see Maximus The Mad though he makes up for all of Black Bolt's quite brooding sullen stares. They make a fun duo.
Thank goodness for the Inhuman and Thanos storyline...
...the rest of the tale was quite possibly the most depressing set of stuff I ever read in a comic book. So basically the universe is dying, the builders want to exterminate Earth to save the universe, even if the heroes save Earth the universe will cease to exist, and depressing depressing depressing. I should've just skipped the non Thanos parts, but sometimes I'm a glutton for punishment.
October 23, 2014
I'll be the 500th person to say it, but it really is called Infinity because it really does go on forever. Or at least it feels like it when you're reading page after page and getting no closer to the end of this giant book. In total, we have the six issue Infinity miniseries, six issues of New Avengers (collected elsewhere as New Avengers, Vol. 2: Infinity), twelve issues of Avengers (collected elsewhere as Avengers, Vol. 3: Prelude to Infinity and Avengers, Vol. 4: Infinity), and the two issue Infinity: Against the Tide online comic. 20 issues, over 600 pages of comics, in hardcover. You probably need a permit to carry this thing in six states. And that still isn't everything that was connected to this massive event.
There are basically two parallel stories going on here: the conclusion of the cosmic Builders storyline that Hickman has been working on in Avengers and a Thanos storyline that's basically entirely separate. To be perfectly honest, I totally checked out of the Builders story long ago, which might have contributed to just how long this entire thing felt to me. The Thanos story, which at times felt a bit like the B plot, was significantly more compelling. The motives and personalities involved were far more clear and it felt much less repetitive. And since it seems like it will have the most immediate effects on the Marvel U as a whole, I kind of feel like it should have been the real focus.
Weirdly, despite this being 600 pages and 20 issues of comics, it still feels like big, sometimes important chunks of the story have been left out. Apparently, you need to be totally up to date with roughly half a dozen ongoing series and be reading them all at the same time to get it. Compare this to other events that Marvel has done, like Siege. There, the core story could be told and understood in just four issues, without necessarily requiring the reader to get their hands on every single connected issue. There, too, the characters were allowed to be people and not just bland punching machines. I'm not saying that Siege is a triumph, but it is something to compare to.
I was also pretty discomfited by the ending, which wraps up the reconstruction of a devastated world in just a few panels. It felt cheap and vaguely insulting. If you don't want to deal with the reality of the sort of reconstruction this event would require afterwards, just skip over it. Don't put in a few feel-good panels and declare it wrapped up.
Oh, plus sides? Well, the art is uniformly good to look at. There are some spectacular covers, including the one on the front of this book. And the Thanos sections of the story are more than just decent. Plus, the conflict between Namor and Black Panther is incredibly fun to read. It's the one point in the collection where personality is allowed to take center stage, and it's kind of fantastic.
There are basically two parallel stories going on here: the conclusion of the cosmic Builders storyline that Hickman has been working on in Avengers and a Thanos storyline that's basically entirely separate. To be perfectly honest, I totally checked out of the Builders story long ago, which might have contributed to just how long this entire thing felt to me. The Thanos story, which at times felt a bit like the B plot, was significantly more compelling. The motives and personalities involved were far more clear and it felt much less repetitive. And since it seems like it will have the most immediate effects on the Marvel U as a whole, I kind of feel like it should have been the real focus.
Weirdly, despite this being 600 pages and 20 issues of comics, it still feels like big, sometimes important chunks of the story have been left out. Apparently, you need to be totally up to date with roughly half a dozen ongoing series and be reading them all at the same time to get it. Compare this to other events that Marvel has done, like Siege. There, the core story could be told and understood in just four issues, without necessarily requiring the reader to get their hands on every single connected issue. There, too, the characters were allowed to be people and not just bland punching machines. I'm not saying that Siege is a triumph, but it is something to compare to.
I was also pretty discomfited by the ending, which wraps up the reconstruction of a devastated world in just a few panels. It felt cheap and vaguely insulting. If you don't want to deal with the reality of the sort of reconstruction this event would require afterwards, just skip over it. Don't put in a few feel-good panels and declare it wrapped up.
Oh, plus sides? Well, the art is uniformly good to look at. There are some spectacular covers, including the one on the front of this book. And the Thanos sections of the story are more than just decent. Plus, the conflict between Namor and Black Panther is incredibly fun to read. It's the one point in the collection where personality is allowed to take center stage, and it's kind of fantastic.
September 9, 2018
I have a new favourite Marvel event, and it's this.
There's two story lines happening at the same time: The Builders are attacking the Galaxy and heading for Earth, so the Avengers decide to round up before they make it and while they're off planet, Thanos decides to invade the Earth. So there's cosmic space battles and the usual NYC warfare stuff.
This hardcover collects the Avengers and New Avengers tie-ins, which you do actually need to read to get the whole story. The Avengers title follows the heroes into space as they take on the Builders fleet. They're also helped by other cosmic forces like The Kree, Skrulls and the Shi'ar. It was pretty cool seeing them all work together against a threat, because in these story it's usually the Avengers fighting one of the groups that I listed.
New Avengers sticks with the Illumanti and stays on Earth. It also goes more into Thanos' motivation and his Generals.
I think Hickman did a really good job in handling this event and story. It was well paced and his dialogue was up to his usual high standard. He also stayed away from the Marvel event cliche and didn't kill a character.
I'm going to do a more full review of this in the future when I've re-read it in one sitting. But I think it's an event that even jaded fans will enjoy.
There's two story lines happening at the same time: The Builders are attacking the Galaxy and heading for Earth, so the Avengers decide to round up before they make it and while they're off planet, Thanos decides to invade the Earth. So there's cosmic space battles and the usual NYC warfare stuff.
This hardcover collects the Avengers and New Avengers tie-ins, which you do actually need to read to get the whole story. The Avengers title follows the heroes into space as they take on the Builders fleet. They're also helped by other cosmic forces like The Kree, Skrulls and the Shi'ar. It was pretty cool seeing them all work together against a threat, because in these story it's usually the Avengers fighting one of the groups that I listed.
New Avengers sticks with the Illumanti and stays on Earth. It also goes more into Thanos' motivation and his Generals.
I think Hickman did a really good job in handling this event and story. It was well paced and his dialogue was up to his usual high standard. He also stayed away from the Marvel event cliche and didn't kill a character.
I'm going to do a more full review of this in the future when I've re-read it in one sitting. But I think it's an event that even jaded fans will enjoy.
July 14, 2021
Man, what a journey. This book is massive. I think they clock it at 600 something pages. Anyway, I had a blast with this. This book is big, bold, expansive, a lot of moving parts, lots of characters old and new and very high science fiction. First, stemming from the beginning of the Avengers/New Avengers, there’s the worlds in the multiverse colliding. So our heroes, well the Illuminati, are still dealing with that. But now there is another major threat on top of that. The Builders are a millions of year old species that are now tearing their way through the cosmos heading to earth destroying everything in their path on the way. This requires all hands on deck. Avengers, the Kree Accusers, the Skrulls, these other new characters the Gardeners and even Annihilus is there. All having to work together to try and stop these guys. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Thanos is also here looking to kill his son who just happens to be…..yup, you guessed it, on Earth. So now our guys have to deal with that too. Yeah this was an awesome ride. Loved the way Hickman wrote Captain America in this. This book definitely is where they pulled ideas from for the Infinity War movie. Looking forward to the rest of this run.
March 13, 2021
The most ambitious of Jonathan Hickman ambitiousness--until of course Secret Wars and then Dawn of X--it is an incomprehensible Marvel epic for absolutely everyone but the most dedicated of readers. I enjoyed that.
It also seems to disregard Marvel cosmic continuity with the Celestials seeding humanity (and how does this version of Thanos work with established history?), yet the new mythology has worked well enough to have an impact of the MCU with Thanos's whole squad.
Not a bad idea to explore what would happen if Earth was invaded while the Avengers were off in space. It is kind of incredible that Captain America is now so hyper-efficient that he can command galaxy-wide empires, but ok.
Thor is cool too. The Illuminati, well that whole plot is much bigger than even this big story.
Again: I'm into Hickman. But many others may not get it...
It also seems to disregard Marvel cosmic continuity with the Celestials seeding humanity (and how does this version of Thanos work with established history?), yet the new mythology has worked well enough to have an impact of the MCU with Thanos's whole squad.
Not a bad idea to explore what would happen if Earth was invaded while the Avengers were off in space. It is kind of incredible that Captain America is now so hyper-efficient that he can command galaxy-wide empires, but ok.
Thor is cool too. The Illuminati, well that whole plot is much bigger than even this big story.
Again: I'm into Hickman. But many others may not get it...
October 4, 2017
Holy fuck what in the world was happening in here?
That was my mindset the entire time reading this. However, I really had a good time.
Also might not be the best idea to read New Avengers/Avengers a year and a half ago and then read this...might confuse you...just a bit.
So this story is really like a two parter. There's these aliens, new gods, whatever want to call them who are ready to fuck up the world. Coming after earth. Taking it for themselves but not without destroying all the other planets in it's way. The other part is Thanos coming to earth and we learn he's not here to take it over. He's here to murder his son. What a asshole huh?
Good: The art is fucking STUNNING. This might be some of my favorite ever. Like wow. Also the fights were intense. Thanos vs Black Bolt? OMG. Also Thor's moments in this were amazing. Caps speeches were ballin. The Avengers all coming together at the end? Badass. Secret avengers working together? Boss.
Bad: A lot of shit is happening. This story really is only partly Thanos. Alot of it has to do with the other species of Aliens coming to earth to destroy it. So little misleading. I also didn't care much for the Black Panther/Namor stuff.
Overall this was badass if not a bit uneven. Hard to keep up but fully entertaining. I have a feeling we going to get some moments from this in the movie. A 3.5 out of 5.
That was my mindset the entire time reading this. However, I really had a good time.
Also might not be the best idea to read New Avengers/Avengers a year and a half ago and then read this...might confuse you...just a bit.
So this story is really like a two parter. There's these aliens, new gods, whatever want to call them who are ready to fuck up the world. Coming after earth. Taking it for themselves but not without destroying all the other planets in it's way. The other part is Thanos coming to earth and we learn he's not here to take it over. He's here to murder his son. What a asshole huh?
Good: The art is fucking STUNNING. This might be some of my favorite ever. Like wow. Also the fights were intense. Thanos vs Black Bolt? OMG. Also Thor's moments in this were amazing. Caps speeches were ballin. The Avengers all coming together at the end? Badass. Secret avengers working together? Boss.
Bad: A lot of shit is happening. This story really is only partly Thanos. Alot of it has to do with the other species of Aliens coming to earth to destroy it. So little misleading. I also didn't care much for the Black Panther/Namor stuff.
Overall this was badass if not a bit uneven. Hard to keep up but fully entertaining. I have a feeling we going to get some moments from this in the movie. A 3.5 out of 5.
July 3, 2018
This is a bit too long and a little too bloated with characters and side-plots, and yet it's still a lot of fun. If you have read any of the other Marvel cosmic events you already know what to expect here: lots of spaceships blowing up, lots of pew-pewing with lasers and super powers, and lots of nasty aliens wrecking and getting wrecked.
April 13, 2015
It’s the conclusion to the Infinity series with a lot of answers. If you’re like me you haven’t read the whole spread of graphic novels and therefore have to piece a few things together.
All said this is a wonderful series with big artistic presentations by a variety of artists (two pages of credits in the big hardcover). Hickman wields the many stories within and sometimes they get unruly. Arguably there is too much going on and moreover a whole saving of the galaxy/galaxies with the same old crew feels a bit worn out when there are so many other topics that could be covered.
The Avengers are off to not only save Earth this time around but arguably several galaxies as the Builders, an advanced civilization which claims to have started life, decide Earth must be destroyed.
I could say a lot more but I risk giving the readers spoilers. So, on that note, I enjoyed the development of Black Bolt, Outriders, Thanos and his ilk, Thor’s big bad hammer, Black Dwarf and The Mother.
MY GRADE: B plus.
All said this is a wonderful series with big artistic presentations by a variety of artists (two pages of credits in the big hardcover). Hickman wields the many stories within and sometimes they get unruly. Arguably there is too much going on and moreover a whole saving of the galaxy/galaxies with the same old crew feels a bit worn out when there are so many other topics that could be covered.
The Avengers are off to not only save Earth this time around but arguably several galaxies as the Builders, an advanced civilization which claims to have started life, decide Earth must be destroyed.
I could say a lot more but I risk giving the readers spoilers. So, on that note, I enjoyed the development of Black Bolt, Outriders, Thanos and his ilk, Thor’s big bad hammer, Black Dwarf and The Mother.
MY GRADE: B plus.
January 17, 2019
Is this book bad? No.
Is it good? Ehh...
What’s it about?
Aliens try to take over the world and kill people but superheroes are gonna fight aggressively to stop them.
Pros:
The story is pretty good. There is more to it than what I described, I just don’t want to give spoilers. It is fairly typical superhero stuff so don’t expect anything groundbreaking but it’s fun and interesting enough to keep the reader entertained.
This book has a fantastic cast. We have the typical Avengers that you’d expect. Thanos is seen on the cover, he’s in the book a lot as well. The Inhumans are here and there’s even some brief X-Men stuff. I really like how this book managed to show me that some Marvel characters are sometimes more bad-ass than I give them credit for (examples definitely include Captain Marvel and Black Bolt).
The art is hit and miss- I am giving it points for the art that is good. There are some fantastic panels.
The action is frequent and pretty freaking awesome!
There’s a bit of good comic relief thrown in.
Cons:
I hate how frequently I have to say this about otherwise exciting superhero comics but the monologuing... my gosh, it happens a lot in this book. I get that it can’t all be action (I’d probably be ranting about the lack of story if it was) but there’s a certain point where it just seems like everyone is droning on.
This comic can be confusing at times. I still understood the story well enough and it might be because I haven’t read Hickman’s Avengers run (seriously, nobody can keep track of all this stuff) and this is a big crossover with a lot going on so maybe it’s just overwhelming at times but still...
Even though there’s some great art, there is also some terrible art mixed in. Whether it looks ugly or sometimes unfinished, I didn’t care for the art in some scenes.
This book is very predictable. I think it’s because superhero fans are so used to “alien villain tries to kill some people and takeover the world but (insert superhero and/or team here) saves the day!” so having been a fan of superheroes for so long, the plot is so obvious.
Overall:
It’s a very typical superhero comic which is not bad thing at all, I enjoy superhero comics and this one while not necessarily great entertained me. There are a lot of better ones to go with, I don’t necessarily think you need to go and grab a copy of this book ASAP, hell I don’t think I gotta recommend it to anyone but if you’re just interested in Hickman’s Marvel work I’d say check it out.
3/5
Is it good? Ehh...
What’s it about?
Aliens try to take over the world and kill people but superheroes are gonna fight aggressively to stop them.
Pros:
The story is pretty good. There is more to it than what I described, I just don’t want to give spoilers. It is fairly typical superhero stuff so don’t expect anything groundbreaking but it’s fun and interesting enough to keep the reader entertained.
This book has a fantastic cast. We have the typical Avengers that you’d expect. Thanos is seen on the cover, he’s in the book a lot as well. The Inhumans are here and there’s even some brief X-Men stuff. I really like how this book managed to show me that some Marvel characters are sometimes more bad-ass than I give them credit for (examples definitely include Captain Marvel and Black Bolt).
The art is hit and miss- I am giving it points for the art that is good. There are some fantastic panels.
The action is frequent and pretty freaking awesome!
There’s a bit of good comic relief thrown in.
Cons:
I hate how frequently I have to say this about otherwise exciting superhero comics but the monologuing... my gosh, it happens a lot in this book. I get that it can’t all be action (I’d probably be ranting about the lack of story if it was) but there’s a certain point where it just seems like everyone is droning on.
This comic can be confusing at times. I still understood the story well enough and it might be because I haven’t read Hickman’s Avengers run (seriously, nobody can keep track of all this stuff) and this is a big crossover with a lot going on so maybe it’s just overwhelming at times but still...
Even though there’s some great art, there is also some terrible art mixed in. Whether it looks ugly or sometimes unfinished, I didn’t care for the art in some scenes.
This book is very predictable. I think it’s because superhero fans are so used to “alien villain tries to kill some people and takeover the world but (insert superhero and/or team here) saves the day!” so having been a fan of superheroes for so long, the plot is so obvious.
Overall:
It’s a very typical superhero comic which is not bad thing at all, I enjoy superhero comics and this one while not necessarily great entertained me. There are a lot of better ones to go with, I don’t necessarily think you need to go and grab a copy of this book ASAP, hell I don’t think I gotta recommend it to anyone but if you’re just interested in Hickman’s Marvel work I’d say check it out.
3/5
May 9, 2019
I feel like Hickman has been held back here by the amount of produce he has had to get out the door for Marvel.
I've read better stories from Hickman, but this is a great event and a good avengers story. However, the pace at which all the avengers stories run and the fact that they are split into different comics which run side my side, but at different times, makes it difficult to enjoy whole-heartedly. There's too much going on and you don't really get a chance to take it all in. Having said that, there are plentiful characters (which could be seen as a negative as well), great artwork and a good ending. He always manages to tie it all together.
I've read better stories from Hickman, but this is a great event and a good avengers story. However, the pace at which all the avengers stories run and the fact that they are split into different comics which run side my side, but at different times, makes it difficult to enjoy whole-heartedly. There's too much going on and you don't really get a chance to take it all in. Having said that, there are plentiful characters (which could be seen as a negative as well), great artwork and a good ending. He always manages to tie it all together.
October 1, 2018
Settle in folks, this is gonna be a bumpy ride.
Marvel... I just want to talk. I just want to have a conversation about why these events are so "necessary". Every few months, Marvel picks a writer (a white man. I've yet to see them give an event to a female writer or writer of color. Imagine them giving one to a woman of color? Not in my lifetime) and basically gives them free reign to decide the next three months of material. This event ran its way through 2 Avengers books, a Spidey book and a few others series in addition to the 6 issue behemoths that made up the main arc. Even worse, it was written in such a way that, if you were reading New Avengers and Avengers, you had to read this in the release order to have any idea of what was going on in those two books.
Simply put: Marvel held your favorite characters hostage and made you read this event to know what was happening with them. These two Avengers series do not make sense without reading Infinity.
That annoyance out of the way, lets get to the actual arc: I could not in good consciousness recommend it.
There is too much going on. There are 2, 3?, plots going on here:
1) Thanos was looking for the time gem. Also, he wanted to find his son Thane and kill him... for reasons.
2) The Builders are trying to destroy earth because they think it will lead to being able to save the universe???
3) Incursions are happening and universes are running into each other
Every time something came to a head for one of these plots, another would crop up and I'd realize, I'd completely forgotten about it. It's hard to follow. It's hard to keep track of everyone's objectives. On top of that, there are several characters I didn't know and couldn't really keep track of, despite the character charts on the first pages.
The good:
- I enjoyed Thor in this book. I feel like it's a rarity for me to say that but I really love Hickman's characterization and usage of him in this book. Thor is not just strong, he's courageous, he's smart and he has a great heart. He was the stand out in this book.
- I enjoyed Cap. I really liked the way Hickman showcased Cap during an actual war. I liked his steady belief in the team and his perseverance.
- I enjoyed an Avengers book in which Cap and Iron Man got to work together and didn't just fight each other for drama. Yes, I understand that something huge was going on behind Steve's back but it was nice for at least one writer to understand why these 2 were on a team in the first place: they are friends. Cap is Mr. Never Say Die and Iron Man is Mr. Contingency Plan. They need each other because Cap can be so stubborn that he doesn't realize when things are going south and Tony can resort to awful means. Hickman is the only writer post Busiek to understand this relationship and I tip my hat to him for that.
- I enjoyed watching other races and former enemies coming together to fight the larger threat.
- More of the Namor v. T'Challa arc that was so captivating in New Avengers
The bad:
- I know Carol Danvers' ass better than my own at this point. The women were not drawn respectfully in Avengers nor Infinity. I will say that.
- The women didn't really matter in this book. They were some of the most powerful but, what little lines they had, were of little importance. The female character that speaks the most in this book is one of Thanos' children and it's a monologue all about how she wanted so badly for Thanos to kill her. Think on that for a moment.
- As I mentioned, too much was going on here.
As I said, this is definitely not a recommend. I wish I could pinpoint which issues had enjoyable moments and cut it together because some of this stuff was super cool. Especially Thor's "negotiations" but, as a whole, this just isn't worth it. I can't imagine shelling out $50 for this and I'm mad Marvel even wanted people to.
I could chalk this up to "it wasn't my cup of tea", I suppose but... it was such overly drawn out, cluttered tea.
February 16, 2016
Man, this was a hell of a book. Big, busy, and long but completely worth it. Well done.
January 17, 2015
Welcome to Marvel Event #403: Infinity. Space, multiverses, inter-world wars, and not one crisis but multiple end-times threats to keep us busy. Lorded over by the king of Big Politics, Jonathan Hickman, the three main books were written contiguously by him so I just wrote my effusive review of all three as one.
This event in big strokes is cold, masculine, destructive, but also intriguing, political and big-thinking. High concept doesn't begin to describe it - why have one concept and ultimate struggle when you can have three or four at once?
Big. Politics. War. Not much on the personal relationships. Posturing? Down cold. T'challa and Namor standing off is good for the Game of Thrones set. It's all male bravado, honour and quiet sacrifice.
While I don't notice myself *smiling* much in Hickman's Infinity books, I'm riveted by the way he creates and weaves the politicking, the big war maneuvers and the moments between while warriors catch their breath.
I don't know that this is a particularly male approach to writing, or a form of masculinity when it congeals, but there's something big and not-quite-personal in most every issue he's writing in the three books (Infinity, Avengers and New Avengers), and he doesn't linger on any scene long enough for it to go stale.
Instead we're being whisked from one galactic war theatre to another torture prison to a council chamber, and seeing suspense and dread build at a slow, torturous crawl. Big battles and betrayals happen along the way, sure, but the bigger meanings and purposes are painfully withheld. Damn you Hickman, if there's one thing you do well it's keep us from knowing what you already know.
The most fascinating part of my experience of reading this Event is how plain spoken and easy to follow the storyline is. Even when introducing new terminology and concepts, the overall high concept of "universes colliding, earths in danger" is incredibly simple, and Hickman's obsession with using visual motifs, illustrative graphics and chapter headings keeps the low-level details from overwhelming the flow of this story.
That said, to get full enjoyment out of reading this event I highly recommend following the reading order I slavishly obeyed:
http://www.comicbookherald.com/the-co...
That reading order is essential to making it through Infinity in one piece - and I really enjoyed the story and its derivatives when read in proper (story, not necessarily publication) order. I was blown away that this event not only had a clear main story but even kept the derivatives from feeling bolted on or shoehorned into the Corporate Profit Projection.
The Avengers team are cool in such broad and unusual ways - dudes like Hyperion and Smasher are oddballs I haven't seen much of outside of Hickman, and while Hyperion is just beyond, Smasher is nearly charming under Hickman's hand.
The New Avengers/Illuminati aren't exactly Avengers as a public team-up but they're a blast nonetheless. Gotta thank Bendis for coining the concept. A secretive, stains-on-their-souls bunch of heroes trying to keep the planet together (and doing all sorts of near-evil in its name) just has so many depths to plumb and we're not nearly at rock bottom yet.
Overall, I liked what this story brought to Marvel: new creation myths, an ongoing universe threat that keeps throbbing, a sense of cohesion between Avengers and Marvel cosmic that I didn't feel before, parallel running stories that didn't end up feeling overwhelming or competitive, and a new perspective on who's worthy just by showing up and making good. (Captain Marvel is just there with no question, Smasher indeed, Guardians yes, and even weaker powers like Hawkeye and Spider-Woman just kept trying even when they're clearly outclassed.)
What's awesome about the "end" of this event is the momentum keeps rolling into future stories/mini-events - like this is in an ongoing universe, rather than a reset-and-happily-ever-after tale outside and apart from continuity. God help me, I'm looking at you AvX - it's like Hope Summers died, she's been so absent since.
This event in big strokes is cold, masculine, destructive, but also intriguing, political and big-thinking. High concept doesn't begin to describe it - why have one concept and ultimate struggle when you can have three or four at once?
Big. Politics. War. Not much on the personal relationships. Posturing? Down cold. T'challa and Namor standing off is good for the Game of Thrones set. It's all male bravado, honour and quiet sacrifice.
While I don't notice myself *smiling* much in Hickman's Infinity books, I'm riveted by the way he creates and weaves the politicking, the big war maneuvers and the moments between while warriors catch their breath.
I don't know that this is a particularly male approach to writing, or a form of masculinity when it congeals, but there's something big and not-quite-personal in most every issue he's writing in the three books (Infinity, Avengers and New Avengers), and he doesn't linger on any scene long enough for it to go stale.
Instead we're being whisked from one galactic war theatre to another torture prison to a council chamber, and seeing suspense and dread build at a slow, torturous crawl. Big battles and betrayals happen along the way, sure, but the bigger meanings and purposes are painfully withheld. Damn you Hickman, if there's one thing you do well it's keep us from knowing what you already know.
The most fascinating part of my experience of reading this Event is how plain spoken and easy to follow the storyline is. Even when introducing new terminology and concepts, the overall high concept of "universes colliding, earths in danger" is incredibly simple, and Hickman's obsession with using visual motifs, illustrative graphics and chapter headings keeps the low-level details from overwhelming the flow of this story.
That said, to get full enjoyment out of reading this event I highly recommend following the reading order I slavishly obeyed:
http://www.comicbookherald.com/the-co...
That reading order is essential to making it through Infinity in one piece - and I really enjoyed the story and its derivatives when read in proper (story, not necessarily publication) order. I was blown away that this event not only had a clear main story but even kept the derivatives from feeling bolted on or shoehorned into the Corporate Profit Projection.
The Avengers team are cool in such broad and unusual ways - dudes like Hyperion and Smasher are oddballs I haven't seen much of outside of Hickman, and while Hyperion is just beyond, Smasher is nearly charming under Hickman's hand.
The New Avengers/Illuminati aren't exactly Avengers as a public team-up but they're a blast nonetheless. Gotta thank Bendis for coining the concept. A secretive, stains-on-their-souls bunch of heroes trying to keep the planet together (and doing all sorts of near-evil in its name) just has so many depths to plumb and we're not nearly at rock bottom yet.
Overall, I liked what this story brought to Marvel: new creation myths, an ongoing universe threat that keeps throbbing, a sense of cohesion between Avengers and Marvel cosmic that I didn't feel before, parallel running stories that didn't end up feeling overwhelming or competitive, and a new perspective on who's worthy just by showing up and making good. (Captain Marvel is just there with no question, Smasher indeed, Guardians yes, and even weaker powers like Hawkeye and Spider-Woman just kept trying even when they're clearly outclassed.)
What's awesome about the "end" of this event is the momentum keeps rolling into future stories/mini-events - like this is in an ongoing universe, rather than a reset-and-happily-ever-after tale outside and apart from continuity. God help me, I'm looking at you AvX - it's like Hope Summers died, she's been so absent since.
September 30, 2017
Espera otra cosa...
September 26, 2014
Quite possibly the best Avengers event ever. Hickman has done a masterful job of merging together his story lines from Avengers and New Avengers while also detailing the return of Thanos. The result is a magnificent Space Opera, that's unlike any other Avengers story and wonderful in its scope.
This collection is also organized in an intriguing way, with constant chapter divisions hiding the edges of the original issues and instead producing a story that's a coherent whole, as if this mammoth volume were a single OGN.
Granted, the characters suffer a bit through all this, but Hickman isn't trying to mimic Bendis' storytelling. He's all about plot, and that's used to great effect here.
I do feel like the story fizzles out a bit in the final set of issues, when the main threats other than Thanos have been dealt with, but up to that point, it's the best of the best.
My only other complaint also has to do with the organization: Avengers #12 & #13 have gone entirely missing. They weren't in the previous volume of the Avengers and they aren't here. The only way to get them is to buy a TPB that otherwise totally overlaps with this volume. Very frustrating that Marvel is gouging its readers like that — especially since it'll be an issue for almost every Avengers reader.
This collection is also organized in an intriguing way, with constant chapter divisions hiding the edges of the original issues and instead producing a story that's a coherent whole, as if this mammoth volume were a single OGN.
Granted, the characters suffer a bit through all this, but Hickman isn't trying to mimic Bendis' storytelling. He's all about plot, and that's used to great effect here.
I do feel like the story fizzles out a bit in the final set of issues, when the main threats other than Thanos have been dealt with, but up to that point, it's the best of the best.
My only other complaint also has to do with the organization: Avengers #12 & #13 have gone entirely missing. They weren't in the previous volume of the Avengers and they aren't here. The only way to get them is to buy a TPB that otherwise totally overlaps with this volume. Very frustrating that Marvel is gouging its readers like that — especially since it'll be an issue for almost every Avengers reader.
June 16, 2015
I thought it was awesome. Yes, the story has its problems, yes, it is very long, but you should take it for what it is — a huge and epic war story. Without the length, without the scale it would not have the real feel of a big event. Anyway, I enjoyed this book quite a lot.
November 9, 2024
Romanian review: Citind volumele lui Jim Starlin, mă plângeam că avem prea mult Adam Warlock și prea puțin din personajele emblematice Marvel. Acum, după ce am terminat "Infinity", în mod ironic, mă voi plânge de absența lui Adam Warlock. Totuși, mi-a plăcut suficient de mult ce-a făcut autorul cu Răzbunătorii, încât să nu mă deranjeze prea mult lipsa lui Adam Warlock.
Nu știu de ce se numește volumul Infinity și de ce apare Thanos pe copertă, dacă linia lui narativă este de fapt secundară, iar pietrele infinitului nu apar deloc. Presupun că nu poți spune spoiler alert pentru ceva ce nu se întâmplă, adică Thanos care să folosească pietrele infinitului.
Prin urmare, dacă voiați să citiți ceva care are legătură cu "Avengers: Endgame" sau "Avengers: Infinity War", mai bine citiți The Infinity Gauntlet; evenimentele sunt total diferite, dar se păstrează ideea generală.
Problema mea principală cu acest roman grafic este că nu mi-a plăcut Thanos deloc. Dacă în film, în The Infinity Gauntlet și în The Infinity War este destul de carismatic (mai ales în film) și vrei să-l vezi învingând tipii buni de câteva ori înainte de a fi învins, aici îl urăști și de-abia aștepți să piardă.
Adevărații antagoniști ai acestui volum sunt The Builders, o specie de extratereștri care au contribuit la evoluția fiecărei civilizații din universul nostru, asta până s-au hotărât să ne omoare pe toți- extratereștrii tind să facă asta.
Poate aș fi apreciat mai mult volumul dacă eram mai familiar cu imperiile galactice care apar în el, dar singurele pe care le știam sunt Imperiul Kree și Imperiul Skrull din filmul Captain Marvel. Totuși, mi-a plăcut că, la început, toți îi priveau pe pământeni cu superioritate, dar, până la sfârșit, Captain America a ajuns să dea ordinele.
Ilustrațiile mi-au plăcut și au reușit să dea viață destul de bine luptelor.
Nu m-am simțit de parcă ar dura la infinit (pun intended), cum s-au simțit alți oameni și nu m-am plictisit, dar nici nu m-a impresionat povestea suficient încât să-i dau patru stele.
English review: Reading Jim Starlin's volumes, I used to complain about having too much Adam Warlock and not enough of the iconic Marvel characters. Now, after finishing Infinity, ironically, I’m here to complain about Adam Warlock’s absence. That said, I liked what the author did with the Avengers enough that I wasn’t too bothered by the lack of Adam Warlock.
I'm not sure why this volume is called Infinity or why Thanos is on the cover when his storyline is actually secondary, and the Infinity Stones don’t appear at all. I guess it’s not exactly a spoiler to say something doesn’t happen, like Thanos using the Infinity Stones.
So, if you wanted to read something related to "Avengers: Endgame" or "Avengers: Infinity War", you’re better off with The Infinity Gauntlet; while the events are entirely different, the general idea is still there.
My main issue with this graphic novel is that I didn’t like Thanos at all. In the movie, in "The Infinity Gauntlet", and in Infinity War, he’s fairly charismatic (especially in the movie), and you almost want to see him beat the good guys a few times before ultimately losing. Here, though, you just hate him and can’t wait for him to lose.
The true antagonists of this volume are The Builders, a species of aliens who contributed to the evolution of every civilization in our universe—until they decided to kill us all (as aliens tend to do).
Maybe I would have appreciated the volume more if I were more familiar with the galactic empires that appear, but the only ones I knew were the Kree and Skrull Empires from the Captain Marvel film. Still, I liked that initially, everyone viewed the Earthlings with disdain, yet by the end, Captain America was the one giving the orders.
The illustrations were enjoyable and managed to bring the battles to life quite well.
I didn’t feel like the story dragged on forever as others did, and I wasn’t bored, but the story didn’t impress me enough to give it four stars.
November 24, 2014
Ahhhh, no wonder those Avengers books were so vague, and though enjoyable, it felt like we were missing so much of the story.
Well here it all is, and it is So much more enjoyable all together!
And get this, ... brace yourself dear reader, ... there was no Filler Crap!
Excellent writing,
and absolutely excellent artwork!
Well here it all is, and it is So much more enjoyable all together!
And get this, ... brace yourself dear reader, ... there was no Filler Crap!
Excellent writing,
and absolutely excellent artwork!
August 27, 2015
This was another massive read. I was thinking it would take forever to read this. It did. have some great parts but the majority was average scifi/space battle action type stuff. If you like Star Wars you might enjoy this.
October 3, 2021
3.5 rounded up
It was an okay read, maybe less fun because I've already read Secret Wars. It seemed to drag on foreeeeeveeeer, but the last quarter was really fun, the whole ending had a better pace.
I read the first two volumes of Hickman's Avengers complete collection (the first one amazing and we do not talk about volume 2) and still felt I missed some parts, probably because apparently there's like a million other issues tied in. The scope is very impressive, and I get why it's for most a "must read". Maybe just make sure you have not read Secret Wars before and read Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers, and maybe even more x)
It was an okay read, maybe less fun because I've already read Secret Wars. It seemed to drag on foreeeeeveeeer, but the last quarter was really fun, the whole ending had a better pace.
I read the first two volumes of Hickman's Avengers complete collection (the first one amazing and we do not talk about volume 2) and still felt I missed some parts, probably because apparently there's like a million other issues tied in. The scope is very impressive, and I get why it's for most a "must read". Maybe just make sure you have not read Secret Wars before and read Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers, and maybe even more x)
September 22, 2020
Consisting of a few different series that tie together in this “infinite” event, the excitement and storyline is pretty grainy and hard to find in this saga. B (75%/Good)
April 7, 2014
3.5/5
Pretty decent read but the ending was kind of a cop out which spoiled the enjoyment of it a bit for me.
Pretty decent read but the ending was kind of a cop out which spoiled the enjoyment of it a bit for me.
June 10, 2021
This was such an epic collection and it focuses on Avengers going out to space as the builders have returned and they are destroying everything and so with existence at stake they team up with the Shi'aar, the Imperial guard, the skrulls and other galactic heroes to take down the Builders and their Alephs meanwhile Thanos has returned to earth to look for his son Thane and so the Illuminati have to deal with them and also Namor vs Black Panther, the fall of Atillan and the secret plan of the Midnight King and so much more happens. This book was so much fun and reading it along with the tie ins was that more awesome.
Hickman knows how to build up events as he does so very rightly do here and gives each character their own moment which is so well earned and then shows the threat of Builders and Thanos and give him a new motive and the addition of Black Order as further villains was good. The art was just epic especially the cosmic battleships or scene between Thanos and Black Bolt or the gathering of the Avengers. And especially the epilogue wow. Probably one of my favorite Marvel events.
Hickman knows how to build up events as he does so very rightly do here and gives each character their own moment which is so well earned and then shows the threat of Builders and Thanos and give him a new motive and the addition of Black Order as further villains was good. The art was just epic especially the cosmic battleships or scene between Thanos and Black Bolt or the gathering of the Avengers. And especially the epilogue wow. Probably one of my favorite Marvel events.
April 29, 2014
I just finished the entire Infinity comic book and it's crossover storylines and boy, it's a comic event that is hard to put down. A lot of people claims that it is one of the comic events of last year and I couldn't agree more.
Infinity is a 6-part miniseries but expands up to almost 50 issues together with the tie-ins. The primary tie-ins are Avengers and New Avengers which are also written by Infinity writer Jonathan Hickman. Other tie-ins includes Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Thunderbolts, Wolverine and the X-Men, Superior Spiderman, Defenders and some special releases like Heist.
My primary reason on reading Infinity is due to the involvement of the Inhumans which is one of my top favorite story arcs of Marvel and Infinity didn't fail me with my Inhumans fixation. Another reason is the space and cosmos setting and the involvement of higher sentient beings and of course, Thanos. Thanos has a huge fan base and I am one of those fanboys. Everytime Thanos appears, it always lead to something massive and historic event in Marvel. The same reason actually made me set aside this series for a couple of months since Thanos, Avengers and space always means world destruction, in this case universal destruction.
I am a fan of cosmic adventure that is why I follow Guardians of the Galaxy but too much of space wars sort of tarnishes the plot. In this case, the plot is that Thanos wants to invade the universe, and of course, Earth will be a formidable planet to conquer and also they want to punish Earth for being, well, unconquerable. Have they learned their lessons with secret invasion and other titles - Earth always win.
But there's a twist, Thanos is after again the infinity gems and sent his loyal servants to scour Earth for the gems. Only to find out they had been destroyed except for one. That's not all, there is another Twist. Thanos is looking for his child and in this case is an Inhuman, which makes me like this series more.
You can read just the 6 part mini-series just like what I did a few months ago but I decided to read all the tie-ins including the Avengers. The Avengers and New Avengers are worth reading considering also that the artist is the amazing Leinil Yu (which I was able to have a picture with during a local comic event and had one of my comics signed). Too much fanboyism.
Going back to the highlights of the series, the Inhumans shined in Infinity and the fight between Thanos and Blackbolt is now one of my favorites of all Marvel titles. Blackbolt sort of sacrificed the city of Attilan, but that actually became confusing, he exploded Attilan to protect what? Or he just wants to detonate the terrigen mists and trigger the Inhuman DNA worldwide?
There are a few not-so-good tie-ins, Thunderbolts was such a disappointment that I actually skipped them (sort of). Probably it's because I never liked the new line-up of Thunderbolts. The Hunt which featured Wolverine and the X-Men characters is also below average. The surprise story here is the Heist which chronicled class B villains Whirlwind and Blizzard.
Ininity overall is really good. You have to read it especially now that there is a new Inhuman series and I have a feeling that most of Marvel titles will now have tie-ins with Inhumans since the terrigen has been detonated and Inhumans started popping in different parts of the world.
Infinity is a 6-part miniseries but expands up to almost 50 issues together with the tie-ins. The primary tie-ins are Avengers and New Avengers which are also written by Infinity writer Jonathan Hickman. Other tie-ins includes Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Thunderbolts, Wolverine and the X-Men, Superior Spiderman, Defenders and some special releases like Heist.
My primary reason on reading Infinity is due to the involvement of the Inhumans which is one of my top favorite story arcs of Marvel and Infinity didn't fail me with my Inhumans fixation. Another reason is the space and cosmos setting and the involvement of higher sentient beings and of course, Thanos. Thanos has a huge fan base and I am one of those fanboys. Everytime Thanos appears, it always lead to something massive and historic event in Marvel. The same reason actually made me set aside this series for a couple of months since Thanos, Avengers and space always means world destruction, in this case universal destruction.
I am a fan of cosmic adventure that is why I follow Guardians of the Galaxy but too much of space wars sort of tarnishes the plot. In this case, the plot is that Thanos wants to invade the universe, and of course, Earth will be a formidable planet to conquer and also they want to punish Earth for being, well, unconquerable. Have they learned their lessons with secret invasion and other titles - Earth always win.
But there's a twist, Thanos is after again the infinity gems and sent his loyal servants to scour Earth for the gems. Only to find out they had been destroyed except for one. That's not all, there is another Twist. Thanos is looking for his child and in this case is an Inhuman, which makes me like this series more.
You can read just the 6 part mini-series just like what I did a few months ago but I decided to read all the tie-ins including the Avengers. The Avengers and New Avengers are worth reading considering also that the artist is the amazing Leinil Yu (which I was able to have a picture with during a local comic event and had one of my comics signed). Too much fanboyism.
Going back to the highlights of the series, the Inhumans shined in Infinity and the fight between Thanos and Blackbolt is now one of my favorites of all Marvel titles. Blackbolt sort of sacrificed the city of Attilan, but that actually became confusing, he exploded Attilan to protect what? Or he just wants to detonate the terrigen mists and trigger the Inhuman DNA worldwide?
There are a few not-so-good tie-ins, Thunderbolts was such a disappointment that I actually skipped them (sort of). Probably it's because I never liked the new line-up of Thunderbolts. The Hunt which featured Wolverine and the X-Men characters is also below average. The surprise story here is the Heist which chronicled class B villains Whirlwind and Blizzard.
Ininity overall is really good. You have to read it especially now that there is a new Inhuman series and I have a feeling that most of Marvel titles will now have tie-ins with Inhumans since the terrigen has been detonated and Inhumans started popping in different parts of the world.
January 10, 2017
I absolutely cannot believe that Hickman was able to write a Marvel crossover this massive and ridiculously far-reaching without once dropping any of the tension or forward momentum. That in and of itself is a feat worth noting, but in addition to that, this is also GOOD. I can't tell you the last Marvel event I liked this much. Maybe House of M, which was almost 12 years ago.
Hickman perfectly uses the three different titles in this crossover (Infinity, Avengers and New Avengers) to tell three sides of a story that affects everyone on earth, with a scope that I can't imagine being much larger and still being comprehensible. And yet, he still manages to keep everything on track while introducing new, universe-shaping ideas the whole time. Putting all three of these titles together in this one book also forces you to consider the characters and the choices they're making while weighing them against those of other characters, and puts everything in a weird perspective. Sometimes I found myself thinking "forget about the universe-smashing alien superspecies, get back to figuring out how to prevent the end of everything!" which is really pretty absurd (in a good way). It really sells the ideas Hickman's been playing around with in New Avengers on a cosmic scale.
I will say, there's pretty much no possible way you will understand anything that's going on in here if you haven't read the Avengers and New Avengers stuff that precedes it. Everything builds out of those books, so if you haven't read them, don't even try to read this. It's very dense with references and consequences formed in those books. But, good news! Those books are extremely good, so it's worth your time to read them first, then jump into this. Treat yoself.
Hickman perfectly uses the three different titles in this crossover (Infinity, Avengers and New Avengers) to tell three sides of a story that affects everyone on earth, with a scope that I can't imagine being much larger and still being comprehensible. And yet, he still manages to keep everything on track while introducing new, universe-shaping ideas the whole time. Putting all three of these titles together in this one book also forces you to consider the characters and the choices they're making while weighing them against those of other characters, and puts everything in a weird perspective. Sometimes I found myself thinking "forget about the universe-smashing alien superspecies, get back to figuring out how to prevent the end of everything!" which is really pretty absurd (in a good way). It really sells the ideas Hickman's been playing around with in New Avengers on a cosmic scale.
I will say, there's pretty much no possible way you will understand anything that's going on in here if you haven't read the Avengers and New Avengers stuff that precedes it. Everything builds out of those books, so if you haven't read them, don't even try to read this. It's very dense with references and consequences formed in those books. But, good news! Those books are extremely good, so it's worth your time to read them first, then jump into this. Treat yoself.
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