Some stories were great and highly character centered, while others were as much a mess with seeming ignorance of characters over the plot that hampered my enjoyment of INFINITY (the core story collection). ( )

You know when you catch yourself talking out-loud and telling a character in a story to shut-up because they are so unbelievable/unrealistic that you're dealing with bad writing. This book contains two mini-series and some issues in the midst of several characters normal runs. The Infinity Heist mini-series was interesting as a few c level villains try to steal some of Stark's armor while he is off planet. Decent dialog and story. The second mini-series is another box of rocks though. Infinity The Hunt is a good idea done poorly. Students from around the world in super-hero school end up taking part in repelling the alien invasions. Terrible dialog and some substandard art make this one of the worst things I've read in a while.

The issues of Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy left me wanting more. The Thunderbolts issues were fun as Deadpool, Punisher, Red Hulk, and Electra hunt for some mafia baddies during the invasion. Nova might be good too. Though the protagonist is a little young. ( )

I enjoyed the Infinity event mainly because it was a refreshing, albeit meaningless, break from the utter boredom of the Incursion storyline in the Avengers/New Avengers series. Thanos attacks Earth while the Avengers are in space trying to stop an alien armada intent on destroying Earth and any civilizations it encounters along the way. Of course, only the main team has left Earth, meaning there are still a host of super-powered people left behind to fight off the Titan.

Though this wasn't the best I've read, I do love Marvel's event "companion" collections. These hardcovers are a beautiful and space-saving way to see the full picture without having to collect single issues from every published series that intersect with the event. It's great to see a large-scale event from the POV of individual characters. The Infinity Companion opens with Captain Marvel's view of the Avengers attack on the Builder fleet, and then jumps to Spider-Woman's viewpoint as part of the Avengers Assemble series. This section was excellent, bringing the reader right into the action. Even Nova's story, which was mostly self-contained, was interesting. What disappointed me about these tie-ins was the Avengers Academy section. This was a significant chunk of the companion, and it wasn't that good. It jumped from one mindless battle between teen heroes fighting Thanos' army to another. None of these "heroes" are particularly memorable and they have little impact on the overall event. The remainder of the book, in particular the Secret Avengers section, expands on the only long-term consequence this event has in the Marvel Universe - the expanded Inhuman population. Black Bolt releases the Terrigen mists on the entire planet after Thanos threatens his people, so not only do the heroes have to fight off Thanos's army, they have to deal with people emerging from cocoons scared and suddenly super-powered. This part has made me eager to read the Inhumanity collection. The book concludes with Kid Gladiator helping defeat the Builder armada. I knew nothing about him before this, but it was so well written I became a fan on the spot. His father rules the Shi'ar empire, which gives him a more specific tie to the event.

Overall, this companion is a mixed bag of issues related to Infinity, but is never-the-less a solid collection and good value for the amount of material it contains. Highly recommended! ( )