Infinity #1

Writer:  Jonathan Hickman

Art:  Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, John Livesay, David Meikis

Get Caught Up...

If you’ve been living under a rock, Infinity is a big deal.  Age of Ultron left a bad taste in many people’s mouths, and Jonathan Hickman gets to play the crossover game now.  Infinity will deal with many of the subplots Hickman has been playing with the past year in his two Avengers titles.  And Thanos will be there.  Who doesn’t love Thanos?  And, who doesn’t love a $4.99 price point?

What’s Good?

There is a lot of content here.  This beast is over fifty pages of story, and there isn’t a dull moment there.  We get glimpses of everything that’s going on throughout the 616 universe, and a good feel for what the overarching premise of the event will be.  The atmosphere created with this story is fantastic.  We get a feeling that wasn’t present in Age of Ultron:  the possibility of lasting repercussions.  Age of Ultron was the “fun” story of the summer, but it changed nothing.  Infinity seems to be it’s older, wiser and somewhat grizzled cousin that looks to shake things up for storylines to come.  This is what I want out of an event book.  Drama.  Change.  

I’ve been a fan of Cheung since his run on the first Young Avengers title.  His work has just gotten better since then.  He handles the various set pieces very well.  The scope of the story leads to a somewhat disjointed feel, but Cheung’s art keeps the flow going and makes the transitions easier to handle.  It’s unfortunate that he won’t be continuing on this title.  I look forward to seeing how Jerome Opena handles the duties for the next few issues.

 

What’s Not So Good?

There’s a lot of content here, but we’re paying for it.  The opening of the book is a reprint of the Free Comic Book Day story, so those ten or so pages we’ve already seen.  I’ve mentioned the scope of the story being a strong point, but it can easily become a detriment.  This is an ambitious project.  Hickman has been building a house of cards with his other titles, and I’m hoping the story doesn’t collapse under its own weight.

We get a lot of quick glimpses, and some throw-away moments that are designed to get us invested in what the mysterious Builders are doing to other worlds.  However, not all hit the mark.  Maybe I’m dead inside, but the scene on Galador was one of the weakest moments in this book.  It served its purpose, but I never connected to the characters and actually found the “Space Knights” to be somewhat ridiculous.

 

The Verdict...

I’m sold.  This massive tome is a good, but not great, start to this crossover.  Beautiful art and a thick, but digestible story mean you do get your money’s worth.  I’m not sold on getting all of the tie-in books beyond Hickman’s Avengers titles, so I’m hoping that doesn’t cause problems down the line.

Oh, Yeah, And...

How awesome is that Adam Kubert/Laura Martin cover?  If you’re wondering if it is my new desktop background, it is.  And the digital back-up with Silver Surfer isn’t half bad, either.