Reading comics from my youth offers an intrinsic appeal modern titles do not have – a chance to revisit the stories and creators that shape much of what we find on the shelves today. I chose character instead of author or artist to begin this exploration of bygone titles, and Thanos immediately came to mind.  If one needs a starting point for learning about Thanos, one specific story arc needs to be experienced – “Thanos Quest” by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim.

I remember the story but not the intricate and disturbed nature of its demi – god protagonist/ antagonist Thanos.  Unlike his usual characterization as cosmic badass driven to conquest and destruction, Thanos is a superbly crafted complex character with all the emotions that accompany a journey of a spiritual, mental and material acquisition.  Though Starlin offers the reader cosmic battles and intrigue, he also allows us a glimpse into what can be mastered with focus and discipline.

Thanos is given permission by Mistress Death to find and unite the six Infinity Gems: Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality and Power.  Much like Hercules and his labors, Thanos must overcome powerful beings using strength of mind, body and spirit.  Control of emotion and application of logic is what allows Thanos to overcome each of the Elders, thus uniting the gems.  Starlin uses the battles with the Elders to showcase the many facets of Thanos personality, and highlight how unrelenting he is in pursuit of his goal.

Thanos’s ability to manipulate even the most cunning foes is shown in his dealings with the In-Betweener and subsequent acquisition of the Reality Gem.  Obtaining the Power Gem is simple for Thanos as it requires only strength of body.  This is apparent when he states, “These muscle bound types are all the same.”  Of all the Elders Thanos faces, my personal favorite is the Gardner not only because he exudes serenity through solitude, but also because of what the interaction reveals about Thanos.  Unlike the other Elders, Thanos seems to have an affinity for the Gardner in so much as his nature will allow.  “I have no wish to harm you Gardner” Thanos declares after praising the Gardener for the vitality of his gardens.  Unfortunately, the Gardner refuses to give up the gem and is soon destroyed by Thanos who then expresses remorse for having to destroy this particular Elder.  In this interaction we glimpse another side to the Titan, one that appreciates beauty and how fleeting it is.  Showing his mental prowess, Thanos trades another of the Elders, the Runner, for the Reality Gem, which is in the possession of Collector.  Defeating the Runner is a simple task as Thanos uses this Elders own arrogance against him showing that Thanos is capable of reading a beings’ weakness and then exploiting it. The Grand Master is the last of the Elders Thanos challenges.  As Starlin explains, “He (the Grand Master) is the champion gamesman, has spent a thousand lifetimes devoted to nothing but the contest.”  Possession of the Mind Gem belongs to the victor of the “game” between the Grand Master and Thanos.  Thanos has little trouble dispatching the gamer and has successful completed his quest to unite the Infinity Gems.

Returning Death’s throne, Thanos basks in his cosmic victory only to realize that it is hollow.  He is the most powerful being in the Cosmos, and even Death’s power pales in comparison.  His quest to become the mate and equal of death has failed, he has become too powerful and death is now his servant.
The ending of “Thanos Quest” comes full circle as the Titan stares into the Infinity Well contemplative and somber as only a new god can be.  Starlin allows the god a single tear shed that his goal is accomplished but his end game, the love of Death, is lost.

I argue that Thanos is a being completely deserving of the power of the Infinity Gauntlet.  He has proven himself to be well balanced in terms of physical, mental and spiritual strength.  Who among the pantheon of heroes and villains in the Marvel universe can boast such desire, drive, knowledge, wisdom and forethought to unite the Gems?  Though his intentions remain unclear as of this point, (they won’t in the next series “The Infinity Gauntlet”) how can any reader fault Thanos for attaining his goal?  Sure it is easy to say that he is “evil” and that “good” will ultimately triumph, yet what makes this arc so interesting is that it subtly makes us aware that concepts such as good / evil right / wrong are simply a matter of perception concerning only to humans and above the thoughts of gods.

I have left out much of the plot of the story as to not be a spoiler for anyone who may want to read a well-crafted and drawn series.  I also suggest continue reading “The Infinity Gauntlet”, a six issue mini series that will answer what does one do once they are a god.  As always, let me know what you think.

The rest of the first chapter of Cold Deck is up. The second issue starts going up next week. Click here to read the entire first issue.

-Brad

Yes, that’s right… as of today, As the Grass Grows is now published twice a week.  I’m also starting up a new storyline that introduces Gnorm’s rival, Gned, who defends the yard across the street.

So stop over and check it out when you get a chance.

-Brad

Pages 12-20 of Cold Deck have been added. If you read the last batch and you want to pick up where you left off, click here.

-Brad

I know I’ve been promising this for a while, but the first batch of pages from the Holliday: Cold Deck story are up. Check them out here.

It’s a really good story and I’m glad Dave and Jason are cool with posting it online for free. I’ll be posting more every week, but if you just can’t wait you can always buy a copy of the collection (or the individual issues) from our store.

Hope you enjoy it.

-Brad

So I realize that there hasn’t been much activity around here lately, and for that I apologize, but I write with good news. Starting next week I’ll be posting pages of Holliday: Cold Deck for your reading pleasure.

Also, I’ve been working on more pages of UNO, but instead of posting one page at a time, I think it’ll read better if I hold them back until I get a few done, so look for more of that coming up soon.

-Brad

A while back, Dave, Jason, Ethan and I had the pleasure of hanging out with Tom Mandrake at the Mid-Ohio con. Tom is a great guy and one of my favorite artists of all time so I was stoked that Dave somehow talked him into not only drawing the cover for the War anthology, but also writing and drawing a short story for Silent Screams, the horror anthology published by Dave and Jason’s Saddle Tramp Press (both are available in the store, by the way).

Tom was also gracious enough to let us post his story here on our site. You can find it in the Short Stories section or just follow this link.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

-Brad

You may have noticed some minor changes around here lately. First, we’ve created a forum so stop by and check it out when you have a chance.

Also, Gnorm has his own site now, along with a new title for the strip. As the Grass Grows has just launched and will be updating every Monday. There were a couple of reasons for moving it to a new site. I think the format of the comics here on oddnik is better suited for long form stories with chapters or “books” that you can browse around. As the Grass Grows is going to be a more traditional “strip” style webcomic, so I think the new site will accomodate that better. I also wanted to change the look of it a little, so this gave me an opportunity to re-work the couple strips that already existed and to create a new style going forward, so let me know what you think of the new site/strip.

Last but definitely not least, we’ll be attending the Baltimore Comicon on the 27th and 28th of Sept (which is next week, yikes). I’m really looking forward to it since we haven’t been to a con in a long time. Dave, Jason and I will be there, so stop by our table and say hi if you can make it. I’ve never been to the Baltimore show even though I’ve been working in or around Baltimore for about 7 years now. Should be fun.

-Brad

I’ve been thinking a lot about stories and their movie remakes lately.  My last post about Hellboy is not usually how I feel about stories remade into films.  I understand, respect and appreciate a remake as an artist reworking another artist’s original vision and idea.  I have never bought into that old adage, “the book is always better than the movie.”  A more accurate assessment would reveal that not only is a director working with considerably less time with an audience, they also are limited by what may be accomplished visually as opposed to textually. 

That being stated, I read and research science fiction relatively heavily.  I came upon a story entitled “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr.  Some of you may recognize this story from its film adaptation name, “The Thing” (dir. – John Carpenter – 1982) or “The Thing from Another World” (dir. – Christian Nyby – 1951).  WOW!  I’ve seen both film versions but had never encountered the short story before the other day.  Since I wasn’t exposed to the story before I had seen the film, I was reading it purely objectively.  I don’t want to reveal any plot points … mostly because the plot, in its simplicity, couldn’t be altered too much for the films to work.  The formula is simple: a frozen alien, a remote research facility, and some overly curious scientists (big surprise).   As for the rest I’ll leave it up to you to check out, and I’m curious to know what you think of the film translation or the story in print form.  As a side note I’ve compiled a short list of other interesting adaptations.  If you can add any dimension to this list … please do …

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson – Excellent short story, Excellent adaptation to graphic novel (Steve Niles and Elman Brown) – Okay movie

I, Robot – Isaac Asimov – Cool collection of stories based on the 3 Laws, very creative adaptation to film

The Time Machine – H.G. Wells – Classic Sci – Fi, Decent film (screenplay by Wells grandson)

Lord of the Rings – Fellowship was the best of the movies, all the books were decent if you’re into fantasy.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep – Philip K. Dick – Excellent book and film (Blade Runner)

A Scanner Darkly – Dick – Great story, Creative roto-scope animation for the film

War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells – Radio broadcast (1938) sweet,  Tom Cruise film (SMELLS HORRIBLY EVEN WORSE THAN HELLBOY 2)

I was first introduced to Hellboy through the first movie.  I thought it was great.  It showcased some cool villains, an original antihero, and a creatively crafted story.  Surprisingly, I even enjoyed the love story which is one aspect of plot that is usually so overdone its vomit inducing.  All in all I was fulfilled and satisfied.

Fast forward about two years, the movie had all but seeped out of my subconscious and replaced by whiskey and student papers.  One student, who was particularly interested in mythology, handed me the first Hellboy trade; I was amazed.  I immediately picked up all the trades and enjoyed each one more than the previous.  Given my training in literature with a focus on mythology I am always interested in the subject matter these books have to offer, and this experience was no different.  I was especially drawn to “The Troll Witch” where the Rasputin character was given a dimension the film never explored.  Again, the old adage came to mind…the movie is never as good as the book, though in this case it did come close.  “The Chained Coffin” and “Weird Tales” was also impressive with the use of various mythologies like vampires, ghosts, gods and demons, magic and science.

Fast forward another year.  Since I was impressed by the Hellboy series, and had just finished reading Busik / Nord’s ”Conan” series (another great series both in story and artwork) I decided to give “BPRD” a chance.  Again I was blown away.  I liked these characters and stories more so than Hellboy, though a lot of them overlap from that series.  I thought Roger and Johann Krauss stole the series though they are secondary characters.  I’ll admit I have a soft spot for characters like Roger who is childlike giant with a big heart and playful personality; and Johann who pays a steep and unusual price for love.

As you can probably tell I did admire the work put into the books, and then I saw the second movie.  WHAT A STEAMING PILE OF STINK.  The love story was McTarded but that is just the edge of the toilet paper on this one.  Other elements of the plot were equally ridiculous.  The elf twins? COME ON! Then they tried to balance out that little slice of stupidity by having Liz being pregnant with twins … stroke of genius … for me to POOP on.  When the elf brother was hurt, his sister felt the pain also.  Remind anyone of Tomax and Xamot, the Crimson Twins from G.I. Joe?  What happened?  I think Guillermo del Toro’s ego got the best of him.  His visual style had really started to blossom, and he wanted to showcase his talent for character design.  Listen up Guillermo, we know you can direct movies.  We’ve all seen “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Devil’s Backbone”, “Blade 2″ etc…  Everyone thinks your vision for characters (especially the ones with strange eyeball placement) is exceptional but please, please, please take more than two hours working on the story.  You can’t compensate for a bad story with beautiful or stirring imagery, it just doesn’t work.  You dropped the ball on this one.  You sold out fans and tried to force the characterization to fit into you’re world instead of you understanding and showing us your image of their world.  I know it’s only $8.00, but I want my money back.  I haven’t been this disappointed since dating that girl in college for two weeks before I noticed the bulge in her pants….yeah very disappointing and uncomfortable the next morning.  But these are just my opinions.  So all the other Hellboy fans (comics and films) out there; I’m very curious to know … what do you think?