Ron Lim

It's arguably the most flawed, yet brilliant, Marvel mini-series that changed the history of comics. There are numerous things that annoyed me through the first half of this collection. However, it kind of grew on me and by the end, it was just sheer fun.

Jim Starlin created Thanos and revamped Adam Warlock in the 70s, writing them successfully in several series. After over a decade-long hiatus, when he returned to Marvel, he wanted to bring them back big time! The only problem was, that he had killed them both before and got Silver Surfer to run instead. To make The Infinity Gauntlet happen, he needed to pull several tricks. As the result, the introduction of these three main characters in this mini-series is very awkward and makes no sense for a reader not familiar with other comic series. So the whole book gets off to a bumpy start.

Once the story gets going it becomes EPIC! (yeah, all caps)
The dialogues (and monologs) are dramatic, the art is appropriately spectacular, and everything feels larger-than-life. There is no irony or jokes to undercut this grandiose setting. It's kind of pompous but also adequate to the stakes (the end of the universe). It might take a while to get used to but eventually one can really enjoy this style.

At least as long as authors keep the story on track. There are strange moments where we get a page or two that has little to do with the main story and seems to be an unnecessary distraction. I assume these are links to events described in other Marvel comics at the time of The Infinity Saga publication. Nevertheless, they break the flow and make me wonder "Why authors decided to show me this? Why now?".

Despite all those issues, the story pulled me in and I couldn't put the book away. Somehow it all works pretty great. The story and art feel dated and, by modern standards, are not very remarkable. However, it must have been groundbreaking in the early 90s. The audacity and vision necessary to bring this story to life and get it published are the most impressive. This was the first Marvel crossover of this cosmic scale and it delivers what it promises. It started the Marvel (comics) Universe as we know it and was fundamental to the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (love it or hate it).

I should have rated it 3 stars at most, but when I finished it I thought "It was fun!". The Infinity Gauntlet is such an important milestone in comics history that deserves more - an oldie but a goldie. It clearly comes from a different era of comics but can still entertain, impress, and it's a joy to read.… (mais)