[Help] Thanos / Infinity / Gauntlet - reviews / must reads

[jb681131]

Hello everyone.

I've looked around to find the important Marvel stories to read. Thanos by Jim Starling, and now by Jeff Lemir often come-up. I think I've found the major stories concerning Thano:

Before the Infinity Saga

1. Avengers vs. Thanos - aka The Cosmic Cube - Infinity Saga prequel
2. The Power of Warlock - Warlock by Jim Starlin
3. Avengers: The Legacy of Thanos
4. The Death of Captain Marvel

The Infinity Saga

1. Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos - aka The Thanos Quest
2. Infinity Gauntlet
3. Infinity War
4. Infinity Crusade
5. Infinity Abyss

After the Infinity Saga

1. Thor vs. Thanos
2. Thanos: Cosmic Powers
3. Marvel Universe: The End
4. Thanos vs. Hulk

The New Thanos

1. Redemption
2. Annihilation
3. The Thanos Imperative
4. Thanos Rising

Infinity

1. Infinity
2. The Infinity Entity
3. Thanos The Infinity Revelation
4. Thanos The Infinity Relativity
5. Thanos The Infinity Finale

The Return

1. Thanos Return
2. The God Quarry
3. Thanos Wins

It's a big list.
I - First of all, have I got all the major stories ?
II - Second, are they all in the correct order ?
III - Third, which ones are really essential and must reads, and which ones can be skiped ?

I think I can shorten the list to (see bellow), what do you think ?

1. Avengers vs. Thanos
2. Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos
3. Infinity Gauntlet
4. Infinity War
5. The Infinity Revelation
6. The Infinity Relativity
7. The Infinity Finale
8. Thanos by Jeff Lemir

thanks for you help.

[jb681131]

No one can suggest me how to go on with this ?

[Grapeweasel]

The only important Thanos appearance was in Spidey Super Stories #39.

[your_name_here]

Out of your “The Return” section I’d only include Thanos Wins.

[kalai]

Jeff Lemire's run was alright, wasn't groudbreaking or anything.
Thanos Wins by Donny Cates was pretty cool, and you should read that.

Jim Starlin stuff really comes down to how much you like his work.
For me, the essentials are
Captain Marvel-Avengers (Cosmic Cube saga)
Warlock (Magus saga)
Final Threat/Death of Captain Marvel(Soul Gem stuff)

then you get to Rebirth of Thanos
Silver Surfer
Thanos Quest
Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity War
Infinity Crusade

After that,
Infinity Abyss
The End
Thanos (the solo series, first half by Starlin, second half by Keith Giffen, this is pretty solid stuff)
Annihilation (In which Thanos dies)
Guardians of Galaxy(in which Thanos returns)
Thanos Imperative( in which Thanos was trapped in Cancer-verse)

After that, Jim Starlin work was really set in his own OGN universe,
Infinity Revelation
(There is a Thanos annual here in between, later mentioned in Finale)
Infinity Relativity
(There is also Thanos vs Hulk and Infinity Entities here in between)
Infinity Finale

After that, Jim Starlin and Alan Davis had another trilogy
Infinity Siblings
Infinity Conflict
Infinity Ending (which was Starlin's final work at Marvel)

For the main universe,
after Thanos Imperative,
Thanos Rising(controversial take by Jason Aaron)
Infinity
He also plays a part in Hickman's Avenger saga and Secret Wars but wasn't exactly essential.

After Secret Wars
Thanos run by Lemire and Cates,
and Thanos died again in Infinity Wars,
returned in Guardians of the Galaxy,
that's pretty much all the Thanos stuff.

There's also
Captain Marvel team up by Peter David,
the Thanos vs Odin during Stalin's Thor run, Blood and Thunder,
Al Ewing's take during Ultimates might be worth mentioning,
which are all pretty cool.

[pinoypanzer]

If you don't want to read all of it I would recommend these stories:

For early Starlin:
The Warlock Saga which is collected in the Warlock the Complete Collection by Jim Starlin TPB
The Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel (You could read the Cosmic Cube saga for some added context but you don't really need to, this OGN works as a stand-alone)

For the 90's Starlin
The Rebirth of Thanos TPB
Infinity Gauntlet plus maybe the Silver Surfer tie-ins and maybe the Doctor Strange Tie-ins
Infinity War plus the Silver Surfer and Warlock and the Infinity Watch Tie-ins

For the 00's (Giffen)
Thanos: Redemption TPB (mainly the second story)
Annihilation

I'd probably give an honorable mention to Thanos: Cosmic Powers but I would not call it essential. Most of the other Starlin stuff I would only recommend if you are a fan of Starlin's characterization and voice for the Mad Titan. The other stories, you can check them out if you want a different take on Thanos but I would not call those stories essential though some are fun.

[jb681131]

If you don't want to read all of it I would recommend these stories:

For early Starlin:
The Warlock Saga which is collected in the Warlock the Complete Collection by Jim Starlin TPB
The Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel (You could read the Cosmic Cube saga for some added context but you don't really need to, this OGN works as a stand-alone)

For the 90's Starlin
The Rebirth of Thanos TPB
Infinity Gauntlet plus maybe the Silver Surfer tie-ins and maybe the Doctor Strange Tie-ins
Infinity War plus the Silver Surfer and Warlock and the Infinity Watch Tie-ins

For the 00's (Giffen)
Thanos: Redemption TPB (mainly the second story)
Annihilation

I'd probably give an honorable mention to Thanos: Cosmic Powers but I would not call it essential. Most of the other Starlin stuff I would only recommend if you are a fan of Starlin's characterization and voice for the Mad Titan. The other stories, you can check them out if you want a different take on Thanos but I would not call those stories essential though some are fun.

Nice breakdown.

What do you think of the trade "Avengers vs. Thanos" instead of "Warlock by Jim Starling" ?
content: Iron Man (1968) 55; Captain Marvel (1968) 25-33; Marvel Feature (1971) 12; Daredevil (1964) 105-107; Avengers (1963) 125; Warlock (1972) 9-11, 15; Avengers Annual (1967) 7; Marvel Two -In-One Annual 2; material from Logan 's Run 6.

[jb681131]

Jeff Lemire's run was alright, wasn't groudbreaking or anything.
Thanos Wins by Donny Cates was pretty cool, and you should read that.

Jim Starlin stuff really comes down to how much you like his work.
For me, the essentials are
Captain Marvel-Avengers (Cosmic Cube saga)
Warlock (Magus saga)
Final Threat/Death of Captain Marvel(Soul Gem stuff)

then you get to Rebirth of Thanos
Silver Surfer
Thanos Quest
Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity War
Infinity Crusade

After that,
Infinity Abyss
The End
Thanos (the solo series, first half by Starlin, second half by Keith Giffen, this is pretty solid stuff)
Annihilation (In which Thanos dies)
Guardians of Galaxy(in which Thanos returns)
Thanos Imperative( in which Thanos was trapped in Cancer-verse)

After that, Jim Starlin work was really set in his own OGN universe,
Infinity Revelation
(There is a Thanos annual here in between, later mentioned in Finale)
Infinity Relativity
(There is also Thanos vs Hulk and Infinity Entities here in between)
Infinity Finale

After that, Jim Starlin and Alan Davis had another trilogy
Infinity Siblings
Infinity Conflict
Infinity Ending (which was Starlin's final work at Marvel)

For the main universe,
after Thanos Imperative,
Thanos Rising(controversial take by Jason Aaron)
Infinity
He also plays a part in Hickman's Avenger saga and Secret Wars but wasn't exactly essential.

After Secret Wars
Thanos run by Lemire and Cates,
and Thanos died again in Infinity Wars,
returned in Guardians of the Galaxy,
that's pretty much all the Thanos stuff.

There's also
Captain Marvel team up by Peter David,
the Thanos vs Odin during Stalin's Thor run, Blood and Thunder,
Al Ewing's take during Ultimates might be worth mentioning,
which are all pretty cool.

Better list than mine.

Should I read all that, or can I skip some ? What are for you the most important/best part of the story of Thanos ?

[pinoypanzer]

Nice breakdown.

What do you think of the trade "Avengers vs. Thanos" instead of "Warlock by Jim Starling" ?
content: Iron Man (1968) 55; Captain Marvel (1968) 25-33; Marvel Feature (1971) 12; Daredevil (1964) 105-107; Avengers (1963) 125; Warlock (1972) 9-11, 15; Avengers Annual (1967) 7; Marvel Two -In-One Annual 2; material from Logan 's Run 6.

Looking at the content of The Avengers vs. Thanos TPB, it is missing the Strange Tales #178-181 portion of the Warlock Saga so your only getting like 75% of it. The rest of that is basically the Cosmic Cube saga with some non-essential tie-ins (Daredevil #105-107, Avengers #125) and Logan's Run is basically a one-shot story that isn't really of note. If you want to read the Cosmic Cube Saga then feel free to check this out but you would not be getting the complete Warlock Saga.

[jb681131]

Looking at the content of The Avengers vs. Thanos TPB, it is missing the Strange Tales #178-181 portion of the Warlock Saga so your only getting like 75% of it. The rest of that is basically the Cosmic Cube saga with some non-essential tie-ins (Daredevil #105-107, Avengers #125) and Logan's Run is basically a one-shot story that isn't really of note. If you want to read the Cosmic Cube Saga then feel free to check this out but you would not be getting the complete Warlock Saga.

Thanks, I'll get the Warlock by Jim Starling then, it seems better.

[kalai]

I think just read the Cosmic Cube saga, Warlock saga, and Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War series is fine.
I think there is a trade for Starlin's Warlock in 2014 and a trade for Starlin's Captain Marvel collection in 2016.
The other stuff are really optional.

[your_name_here]

I think just read the Cosmic Cube saga, Warlock saga, and Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War series is fine.
I think there is a trade for Starlin's Warlock in 2014 and a trade for Starlin's Captain Marvel collection in 2016.
The other stuff are really optional.

Got to agree. I’d throw in Annihilation just because it’s great, and for abit more modern version of Thanos I’d say Thanos Imperative, Infinity and Thanos Wins

[jb681131]

I think just read the Cosmic Cube saga, Warlock saga, and Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War series is fine.
I think there is a trade for Starlin's Warlock in 2014 and a trade for Starlin's Captain Marvel collection in 2016.
The other stuff are really optional.

Got to agree. I’d throw in Annihilation just because it’s great, and for abit more modern version of Thanos I’d say Thanos Imperative, Infinity and Thanos Wins

Thanks to both of you.

[stingray]

Thanks to both of you.

Yeah, those two trades have all the early Thanos stuff collected, and aren't expensive. Thanos Quest and Infinity Gauntlet of course, and the Death of Captain Marvel is outstanding, but Thanos has more of a cameo in that for a few pages. Those few pages are well worth the price of the book though! Stuff like Infinity Abyss and Thanos The End weren't great though. They were milking the character's popularity by then. For later stuff Thanos Redemption is a trade that reprints the Jim Starlin, Keith Giffen 12 issue series, which is very good. Annihilation is great, but it's not specifically about Thanos. Well worth reading though. Cates Thanos Wins is quite good too, but avoid Thanos Rising. Aaron turned the character into a vicious murdering bastard with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Seemed like a totally different character.