Jim Starlin has been doing Thanos stories for a long, long time now. Some are good, some are great and some simply are not. Such is the way with everything, comic book stories included. Sadly, The Infinity Revelation is not the best story to feature the villain. It is by no means terrible but neither was it fantastic. It is a middle of the road tale that does little to excite mainly for the fact it does very little new with the character. After so many stories with everyone’s favourite despot, it might be best to get a new voice to tell his stories, or at the very least, try and think of something new to do with him because sadly, this is similar to many of the recent stories that Starlin has written. It is not this way because Starlin is a bad writer, far from it, it simply brings nothing new to the table. As Thanos is going to be the big bad in the Marvel cinematic universe though, more of these are to be expected so hopefully they end up being little bit more exciting than this one turned out to be.

In this particular tale, the Mad Titan is not nearly so mad as perplexed as to what his position in the universe is at the moment. He has seen much and done even more and at this moment he is a little aimless. What follows is a meeting with Mistress Death where she actually talks, the quest for a mystical object, the return of Adam Warlock, a battle with a Spaceknight, a fight with the Annihilators, a rearranging of the universe to suit Thanos’ will and then a return to what it was as everything ended up in complete madness. The best part of the book is the ending though and it is here that Starlin gave everyone what they had been hoping to see for years. It is something that has not been seen in a long time and if it holds true, it should make for some very interesting stories going forward.

What is most problematic about these stories that Starlin has been telling has nothing to do with him in fact but with Marvel and where they fit continuity-wise in the Marvel Universe. Supposedly these stories are all in continuity and that they matter but at the moment, they simply do not gel with what has been going on as of late with the way Thanos has been portrayed. Perhaps it is just a case of old-school versus new-school or maybe it is just a bit of oversight by the editors of these books, but it is almost like there are two different timelines running and it is a little confusing for those that might follow said books starring the mad god.

The Infinity Revelation has its ups and downs with Starlin’s writing being as good as ever and his artwork not far behind. The only problem with the entire story was it being a bit repetitive of things we have seen before and it lacking any moments that you would call thrilling, aside from the ending that is. Having Adam Warlock return has been a long time in the coming and that was another bonus to be found within the tale and hopefully it will not be the last we see of him. The book might have ended strong with the promise of more but the way it jibed with the current incarnation of Thanos felt like reading something from years ago instead of today. On the whole it was good, but for an original graphic novel that is supposed to be the showcase for big stories, it was not great. Still, for any fan of the characters or of Starlin, this is a must-have.

3 out of 5