The grandest cosmic epic of all time looms on the horizon as Marvel marches toward Infinity! But how did Earth's heroes reach this perilous tipping point? Learn the secret origin of the Inhumans, Marvel's strangest and most isolated community. What are the mysteries surrounding the Terrigen Mist that gives them their uncanny abilities? Then, witness the boyhood of Thanos of Titan! How will his obsession with death change the Marvel Universe's very nature? Finally, as the Avengers "go cosmic," putting together an expanded strikeforce to battle threats from the start, the illuminati work in secret to prevent incursions from other dimensions! All the threads come together as the Marvel Universe teeters on teh brink of intergalactic war! Infinity is coming!COLLECTING: Inhumans (1998), Thanos Rising 1, Avengers (2012) 1-2, New Avengers (2013) 2 and material from Thor (1966) 146-149
Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia
Infinity Incoming! is a collection of random stuff that doesn't necessarily tell a coherent story, but was overall pretty fun to read.
Up first is a collection of old Thor comics (Thor not included) that tells the origin story of the Inhumans. You also get a bonus Baby Black Bolt and Teen Black Bolt story out of this one. Neato!
Then it transitions into Inhumans #2, which is a creepyish story about how maybe everything isn't so perfect with that whole Terrigen Mist thing. I liked this one, and it made me want to find some other Inhuman comics. So far, that's a no-go, but I'm gonna keep looking.
Baby Thanos is the next story on the list, and this one comes from Thanos Rising #1. Get out your hankies, ladies! We've got a tear-jerker here! So, this is the story of Thanos before he was THANOS! Poor little T was all artistic and sweet, but then a creepy little girl stepped in and shot that all to hell. Moral of the story: Girls are evil and will ruin your life. Or at least, that's what I tell my boys....
Ok, I'd already read Avengers #1-2 in Avengers, Vol. 1: Avengers World, so this wasn't anything new to me. And yet...it was still fairly confusing. Three godish beings (Robot god, Dark-n-Smokey Girl god, and Gold god w/ Horns) are going to either destroy Earth or turn it into some mutated version of itself. Avengers Assemble!
Last on the list is New Avengers #2. This is an issue dealing with the Illuminati and the part they are playing in the Infinity event. Very cool. I'm still trying to find the volume that contains what the hell happened between T'Challa and Namor.... Anyone got a link?
Overall, if you haven't read this stuff before, it's a worthwhile way to spend your time.
A badass spinup for Infinity if I do say so myself!
The beginning is a blast, with some old Thor-less Thor excerpts (penned and drawn by the Lee/Kirby dream team.)
Afterwards, there’s an interesting Inhumans story, a Thanos origin excerpt (the whole story can be read in the slightly better than ok “Thanos Rising”) and some epic setup in Avengers and New Avengers.
This was enjoyable, and for people who get most of their story from TPs, this is a good way to be brought up to speed of you are about to read Infinity.
I'm pretty sure that I've read all of these issues in other volumes, maybe the large Infinity collection and the Avengers World single volumes? Anyway.
There is some disconnect between these stories if you aren't familiar with what is coming, or what has happened. The Inhumans stories were good and great background on the characters but they weren't actually connected to Infinity via this collection in a cohesive way.
Collects Inhumans (1998) #2, Thanos Rising #1, Avengers (2012) #1-2, New Avengers (2013) #2, and material from Thor (1966) #146-149
This is a collection of multiple stories from multiple older comics, all collected to prepare for "Infinity."
-This collection opens with what appears to be old backups, I’m guessing from the 1966 Thor. Here we learn about the origin of the Inhumans. Some guy named Randac is the first one to enter the Terrigen Mist. Interestingly, when this mist was still a newer thing in the Marvel Universe, it was misspelled “Terrogen” in Thor #146. We learn in this story, what I have long known, that the Kree are responsible for the creation of the Inhumans. They were part of an experiment that either the Kree got bored with, or forgot about. The next portion of the Inhuman origin story featured a young Black Bolt.
-I haven’t read Infinity yet, so I’m not certain why Inhumans #2 was included in this collection. The main story shows a group of Inhuman teenagers as they are preparing for the transformation that will come when they go through the ritual of exposing themselves to the Terrigen Mists. One of them transforms in an Alpha Primitive, whatever that means.
-Thanos Rising #1 tells Thanos’ birth story. We meet his parents, and see some scenes from when he was a kid. He has a brother named Eros that I was unfamiliar with. He liked to draw when he was a child. His mom tried to kill him on the day of his birth, realizing that he was a monster and that he would be the death of many. His dad, known as Mentor, saved his young life. His dad is the ruler of their world. Thanos starts as a gentle kid, but is led to become a killer by a mysterious young girl.
-I have reviewed Avengers issues #1-2 and New Avengers issue #2 elsewhere, but I will say that I love those books. Definitely the best reads of this entire collection.
The back of this collection reads "the Grandest Comic epic of All Time" really? How can each one be more epic then the last? Well this time Hickman is on board so it will be weird and may actually be the most epic as universes collide and all that. But some stuff is just plan dumb in this collection like the ex nihilo character with mismatched horns....on Mars trying to conquer us? Weird. But bring on more Thanos that part of this story was great! I will keep reading so I guess it was not that bad
The different stories in this collection were good but they were so over the place. There were times where I thought I was reading a specific plot that would further drive any plot, but I never got that.
I love Marvel but this was a little... off. The stories weren't bad, but a different pick would have definitely benefited in the long run.
This book is mostly a reprinting of stories that I have read in other forms. And not good ones at that. There is an early Inhumans story reprint that was a little better. And a pretty good Inhumans story that sort of explains a bit about the society there. Truly a volume that could be skipped.
I can honestly say this was one of the least enjoyable collections I've read in a long time. Uninteresting stories sort of linked over time and across different titles.