For this week's review, Tim decided I needed to read Thanos Rising. Thanos is his favorite comic book character, so this wasn't a huge surprise to me.

*Let me start my saying my opinions in this post do not reflect those of Izzy's Comics and Collectibles. In fact, he will probably rethink our entire marriage once he reads this post. Ha!

Who is Thanos?

My only knowledge of Thanos is from watching the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films. I was a big fan of the films, and thought Thanos' story could be really interesting. 

From my understanding of the films, Thanos is a villain whose goal in life is to get all 6 infinity stones so that he can destroy half of the living beings in existence. I got the impression he didn't like the direction things were going and thought, by wiping out half of everything, he could create more balance and make the universe a better place. (Remember, I'm not experienced with comics, so don't trash me if I got that wrong.)

Thanos Rising

When Tim gave me Thanos Rising to read, I thought "Ok, I'll get to see what led to his thought process. It might help me understand his reasoning."

Wrong. 

Thanos Rising is an origin story of Thanos, but I honestly didn't see a similarity to the Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

I don't want to go too deep into the story of Thanos Rising, because some of you may not have read it yet and might have it on your list to read. 

I will, however, give my opinion of the story from the perspective of someone who doesn't follow comic books as closely as some of you do. 

I felt like the series as a whole was decent. I would have liked to see more character development because I honestly have more questions now than I did before reading it. 

To me, this version of Thanos screams VICTIM MENTALITY. He's kind of whiny the whole time, looking for love from someone who doesn't want to give it but ignoring the love he receives from so many around him. I would like to have seen more depth and meaning, and not just a crazy serial killer.

I wanted some explanation about why he was born with this mutation. Did his mom secretly have an affair with a God from a planet full of crazy beings, thus giving birth to this lunatic? Or did she maybe have a Rosemary's Baby experience and ultimately gave birth to Satan's spawn?

I didn't get the answers I needed. 

Pleasant Surprises

There were a few moments that got a chuckle out of me while reading this series. When I came upon sexy Thanos, I will admit I let out a giggle.

Here I am, thinking how mean and scary this monster is, then BAM! there's a pic of Thanos half naked laying in bed. Nice!

I got another chuckle from the art in this frame of Thanos swearing he'll never kill again, while looking like a Kardashian walking the runway at New York Fashion Week. 

Another pleasant surprise was seeing pictures of all of the different variant covers for the series. I read the tpb, so that might be typical-I'm not sure. But that, along with the character sketches and original art were a great touch!

My favorite variant was the #1 Hastings Variant by Carlo Barberi and Javier Rodriguez. Very funny. 

Does Thanos Rising Make Me Want to Read More Comics?

Actually yes, yes it does. I like that I was able to follow the format of the comics easily and I enjoyed the short read. Seeing the character sketches at the end gave me a great appreciation for the thought the artists put into their work. I would be  especially interested in reading other versions of Thanos' story if there are any out there. 

How would I rate Thanos Rising?

If I had to rate Thanos Rising on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 4. The art was good. The format flowed well. But the story just left me feeling underwhelmed.

I wanted to FEEL something for Thanos. Like I FEEL something for Noah from The Notebook. Instead I subconsciously rolled my eyes too many times to count, and was pretty bored by the Death storyline. All in all, it could have been better.

Keep the Ideas Coming!

I've gotten several recommendations for comic series to read and review, and I can't wait to get to it! If you have a suggestion, please leave me a comment below and I'll be happy to check it out!

While you're here, check out some of the great comics Izzy's has in stock right now! Inventory is updated constantly, so be sure to keep coming back!

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