Thanos Annual 1 featured Reviews 

“Thanos Annual” #1

By | April 27th, 2018
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Just in time for Infinity War, Marvel has released “Thanos Annual #1,” which celebrates the villain of the newest, most expansive film with a series of short stories that range from brutal to hilarious. Hear our thoughts on each of these stories, and a few spoilers in our review.

Written by Donny Cates, Chris Hastings, Kieron Gillen, Katie Cook, Ryan North, and Al Ewing
Illustrated by Geoff Shaw, Flaviano, Andre Araujo, Heather Breckle, Will Robson, and Frazer Irving
Colored by Antonio Fabela, Federico Blee, Chris O’Halloran, and Rachelle Rosenberg

Thanos is likely the most evil being in the universe…and if anyone would know, it’s the all-new Cosmic Ghost Rider. Let the spirit of vengeance be your guide on a tour through the worst of the worst, as he reveals the most heinous deeds ever perpetrated by the Mad Titan…or by anyone else!

“Thanos Annual” #1 is a comic that is, in some ways, at war with itself. There are six stories in this annual, most of them only about four pages long, and each of them varies wildly in both tone and content. Like Thanos himself, these stories go from cosmic in scope, to petty evil just for evil’s sake. I’ll try to touch on each of these stories, first starting with the frame story that all these short stories fit into. The stories start with a frame story focused on the Cosmic Ghost Rider that was introduced in the ‘Thanos Wins’ arc of the monthly version of this title.

Cosmic Ghost Rider was one of the most flat-out fun parts of that arc, and each of these stories uses his narration to various effect. In the first story, ‘Titan’s Greatest Dad,’ by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, and Antonio Fabela, Ghost Rider’s narration is used to lighten up a story that is in every other way, pretty brutal. Focusing on Gamora and her training under Thanos, the story deals with some of the terrible things that she was forced to endure during her training. I won’t spoil exactly what the story is, but it’s pretty messed up. Shaw and Fabela do a good job portraying the violence of the story, and the desperation in the eyes of Gamora. It’s a violent story, and one that would be fitting a collection that was actually about the most terrible things that Thanos had ever done.

However, it is followed directly by ‘What to Get from the Man Who Takes Everything’ by Chris Hastings, Flaviano and Fedrerico Blee, a story of Thanos at his most petty. The premise is pretty simple. Once a year, on his birthday, David is visited by Thanos, who proceeds to destroy his life, mostly in the pettiest ways possible, and it’s hilarious. Out of the collection, this one is my absolute favorite. The facial expressions and body language from the characters, especially of Thanos, whose design is more at home on alien worlds and when put into a normal person’s apartment, is inherently funny, and Flayiano and Blee milk this for all its worth. The script from Hastings is also really well done, and there were a few moments in this story that actually had me laughing out loud.

The next story, ‘Exhibition,’ from Kieron Gillen, Andre Araujo and Chris O’Halloran takes place during the events of “Infinity Gauntlet.” Gillen does a good job of capturing the more traditional Thanos, one of over the top bluster and unthinking cruelty, as Thanos is told that he must try to woo death with a display of art, and he proceeds to destroy a number of planets who had a solely artist focus. There is a moment where Thanos explains what the purpose of this display was, and the facial work from Araujo, especially the small smile at the end, helps sell a story that, on it’s face, doesn’t have much to say about Thanos that hasn’t been said many, many times before.

After that, another story in a more comedic vein, ‘My Little Thanos’ from Katie Cook and Heather Breckle. The art here is very much of a cute, cartoonish variety, as Thanos lands on a planet of little, cartoon bunnies, and accidentally causes them to massacre themselves. While the art is pretty much perfectly suited to the idea of the story, the story itself falls flat. Unlike the previous funny story, this one feels like its missing something. Thanos isn’t really an instigator of terror here, instead acting as a kind of straight man, which at least in this particular comedy story, is a role that doesn’t quite work for him.

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Next up is ‘That Time Thanos Helped an Old Lady Cross the Street!’ by Ryan North, Will Robson and Rachelle Rosenberg. This story is, basically, what it says on the tin. Using the time gem, Thanos goes back to help an old woman cross a street, but in doing so sets off a kind of terrible butterfly effect that makes the world a worse place. This story also falls a little flat, as it’s pretty clear what the end result of the story is going to be from the beginning. But, Robson and Rosenbergs art, especially in the small bit at the beginning of the story where they depict a number of super heroes, is very fun.

The last story, ‘The Comfort of the Good,’ from Al Ewing and Frazer Irving is the best of the series stories in this issue. This story focuses on a people who have a very definite idea of what their afterlife is and are in direct contact with the god that runs it for them. Because of this, they know for a fact that if they are good, they will be rewarded. Thanos, as he does, murders their god and destroys the mechanisms powering this afterlife, just to see what will happen to this society when they no longer have a reason to be good. The ending is a bit obvious, but Irving’s art is ethereal and beautiful, and it all comes together in a very satisfying way.

Overall, “Thanos Annual” #1 is a mixed bag of short stories. Some of them, ‘What to Get from the Man Who Takes Everything’ in particular, are really great. Others just retread the ground that has been covered so many times with a character like Thanos. To rate the collection as a whole, the jumps between stories are so jarring that it doesn’t quite work. But, this doesn’t take away the effectiveness of the stories that do work. In the end, the question of whether a few good stories can carry the rest is up to each reader.

Final Verdict: 6.5 – “Thanos Annual” #1 is a mixed bag of short stories, but one that has a couple of great highlights.


Reed Hinckley-Barnes

Despite his name and degree in English, Reed never actually figured out how to read. He has been faking it for the better part of twenty years, and is now too embarrassed to ask for help. Find him on Twitter

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