Thanos Rising #1, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld

April 14, 2013 Marc Fishman 0 Comments

Written by Jason Aaron, Art by Simone Bianchi

I freely admit my lack of knowledge with all things ‘Marvel Cosmic’ has led me to an odd impasse with Jason Aaron’s ‘Thanos Rising #1’. Given that I never read the Infinity Gauntlet or really any Marvel space book (save for the Guardians of the Galaxy .1 issue a few weeks back), I don’t know about Thanos a s character. I can largely guess that he’s a death obsessed super-powerful villain, akin perhaps to Darkseid. Given that guess, something feels incredibly off with this initial issue. As the beginning of an origin, it is decent. Scripted with an aura of cryptic narration and potent visual, the book itself is a beauty to be gazed upon, and it reads easy. But nothing is as it would seem, with the lone survivor of Titan.

 

 

 

 

My exposure to Aaron is minimal at best. Considering that I couldn’t name a single book of his I’d read prior to Thanos Rising, I felt it lent an air of fairness to my reading. I truly could not be colder; unknown writing style married to an unknown villain. One of course who I know will be a big deal in months to come, when he fights the Avengers in the forthcoming mega-sequel. But I digress. The issue itself is not unlike so many a #1 we read these days. We begin, alone, on a dead moon of Saturn. Thanos marches about the desolation and destruction, but this we are told… is for a purpose. For you see, Thanos is visiting the grave of his mother. Cue the flashback, but hold the dozen roses.

Aaron’s structure here is perfectly acceptable. As the Avenger-hungry crowds make their way to this definitive origin tale, we’re clearly getting a treatment to help provide weight to character who has (as I’ve been told) popped up here but hasn’t had much stock as of late. Aaron is clearly taking us upstream in a predictable model; Thanos is for the time being presented as a victim of circumstance. Born as sole mutant on a planet of perfect humanoids. Brainy, and outcast. Born to a well-known power of the ‘adult world’. Innocent, and perhaps a bit naïve. And in case those tropes were too well-worn, Aaron throws in the “mother who believes her son is the death of us all, and is now in the loony bin, afraid she gave birth the destroyer of the universe”. OK, I give him credit there. At very least? We know she’s probably right.

What rubs my rhubarb, if you will, is how thin things feel to begin this series. Obviously as a future would-be universe conqueror, we know that chapter one will not be awash in tears and blood. But to spend twenty or so pages letting me fall in love with baby Thanos? It seems like a real dodge. Or worse, it’s an attempt to make us feel sorry for an eventual Hyper-Mega-Hitler. Either way, issue 1 may read like butter, but there’s a bit of an aftertaste to me.

To that point: Jason Aaron handles the actual on-page scripting very well. Somehow he’s able to produce laughable lines like “With cosmic fire in his veins and the blood of a millions worlds dripping from his fingers…” yet leave me without a smirk on my face. That in an of itself is worth a kudos or two. When the book begins to speak… Aaron’s dialogue is plenty crisp. The kids of Titan (Thanos included) are not necessarily 2 dimensional as I’d feared (I mean, what better way to make us love a villain than to make him a picked on nerd, right Dan Slott?). Thanos himself as a child is actually pretty likable. He’s curious, he’s got prophetic dreams, and hey! It turns out he’s not above playing, and being toyed with by an odd looking girl.

Simone Bianchi’s art is plenty nice to gaze upon. His meaty pencils add a heft to every figure throughout the book. Backgrounds are well rendered, and presented with a “vaseline” lens. Perhaps it’s a factor of Bianchi’s methods. Suffice to say, I was for the most part pleased with them. If I were to pick a few fights though, it could start and end with lil’ Thanos. I hope that Jason Aaron didn’t necessarily call for the proto-killer to wear his cosmic pajamas even in his school years. If it was, then shame on him. If not, shame on Simone. While my gripe is shortlived—seems all the kids of Titan are in need of a fashion consultant. Perhaps it’s Thanos’ headgear is just a bit too elaborate for my tastes when he’s still knee-high to an Infinity Guantlet. That aside, the art is beefy, cosmic, and doe-eyed all at once. If I am to feel for our titual Titan, Bianchi’s art makes it happen… against my feeling that perhaps it shouldn’t.

Ultimately, Thanos Rising #1 is a decent start to what I’m assuming will quickly become a gore-drenched murderthon. The initial chapter is devoid of any real violence. Thanos himself thus far is pretty damned nice. Assuming the heel turn is seconds away, I’ll be on board for a few more chapters. Jason Aaron scripts well, and Simone Bianchi makes pretty pictures. Will it be enough to warrant a book? Only time, and Death herself can tell.