The Infinity Gauntlet (Secret Wars) Issues 1 to 3

The Infinity Gauntlet (Secret Wars) Issues 1 to 3

Written by Gerry Duggan and Dustin Weaver

Art by Dustin Weaver

Like many of the Battleworld stories being published, the titles are very misleading. While Marvel was never clear about what they would be putting out, they did promote each storyline with the lettering from those great crossovers. There are some great storylines in the Battleworld universe, but many readers have come away dissappointed. Many of these readers, myself included, expected stories from those crossovers. While many of them have nothing to do with those crossovers, there are a few that stand out. Infinity Gauntlet is one of those.

The story centers around a family, the Bakians, that consist of a dad, two daughters, granddad, and even a dog. In this part of Battleworld, giant bugs have invaded Earth and killed most of the population. The mother of the Bakian clan, Eve, is off fighting the bugs with an atrophied Nova Corps. This provides tension within the family. While Anwen, the eldest child, is resentful that her mother went off to fight, while the youngest, Fayne believes that her mother is right around the corner. Menzin Bakian, the father is ambivalent about her return. Some moments he is hopeful and in others, he becomes fatalistic. Issue one does a great job of introducing the entire clan.

Issue number two comes right into the action as the Eve Bakian returns to save her family and bring them into the Nova Corps. This is my favorite part of the series so far. The Bakian battles hordes upon hordes of bugs. At one point, Eve uses the Infinity gems she possesses to defeat their opponents. This issue also introduces Gamora and Peter Quill (Star Lord) who are also in search of the Infinity gems. Finally, the reader is introduced to Thanos and his scheme to acquire the Gauntlet.

The third issue dials back the action a bit. Thanos is continuously defeated when trying to acquire the Infinity Gauntlet from a yet unnamed Nova. He jumps back in time to try again. This time, he decides to take a more diplomatic approach by befriending the Bakian clan before they reunite with Eve Bakian. Thanos gains their trust and watches as they find more gems and meet up with Gamora and Peter Quill.

Readers might wonder why members of the Guardians of the Galaxy are teaming up with Thanos. It seems that in this Battleworld reality, no one knows about this version of Thanos. It also seems that in this region of Battleworld, the humans are used to interacting with beings from other planets.

Again, I must point out that this Infinity Gauntlet storyline is completely different from its predecessor. So if you are looking to see your favorite heroes and villains battling for control of the Gauntlet, it's not going to happen. Instead we are introduced to a new family, particularly one of color. Dustin Weaver's artwork does a beautiful job of fleshing out the Bakian clan.

I think any parent can relate to this story. The stakes are high. Eve Bakian is not just fighting off an international menace or two, she is fighting to keep her family together. While the foreshadowing isn't clear, it looks like Thanos will be facing off Anwen. Black girls are magic.

I haven't seen anything that states that any of the Bakian clan will be returning with their own series or part of a superhero group. This is dissappointing. This story, like many other Battleworld stories, is compelling and one can't helped but be attached to the characters. Hopefully, they will pop up in future stories as guests.

Some of the Best of 2010

Yes, I am late with this. My apologies. I got a little bit carried away with the festivities of last week of December. I will admit that 2010 was a great year for comics. There has been so much great writing for the major publishers as well as the independent ones. The competition is fierce as writers start to go the indie route. Also even the movie houses are getting in the game. Movie adaptations of comic books are getting better. It was quite a few tough picks out there. I normally stay away from the major comic companies for these but this year, Marvel hit it out the park. Yet here it is, enjoy:





Best Comic Book mini series – “Thanos Imperative” - Dan Abbet and Andy Lanning did a great job breathing life into many 70's Marvel Characters. The Guardians of the Galaxy is a good example of that. It is a group made up of many characters that were made in the 70s. Here is a good example of great writing. Abbet and Lanning did a great job bringing these characters back to the fold. While Thanos is a great villains, few writers do him justice. The artwork by Miguel Sepulveda is also great. I love the fact that Marvel chose not to make this a huge crossover event. The reader did not have to go back to the lab and read back issues of those 70's issues. The storyline included the story of Captain Mar'Vell. It was stellar with huge spaceship battles and super hero beatdowns. I am so glad that the story of the players will continue.




Best Story Arc – Image Comic's Invincible: The Viltrumite War – I always loved Robert Kirkman's and Cory Walker's Invincible. Its a great spin on the Superman/Spiderman archetype. There is even a great father/son plot line with Invincible and his father Omni Man. Invincible does remind me of the early Spiderman stories where Peter Parker consistently doubted himself at every turn and fought to keep his life in order. Invincible is in the same situation but he has powers that rival Superman. Unfortunately, his father hails from a race of beings who intend on conquering the universe. Finally, we find Invincible, Omni Man, and several allies gearing up to take the fight to the Viltrumites, the race of beings Invincible is a descendant of. Even in the face of battle, Invincible questions his role as a superhero and his relationship with his father. The space battles are great and the artwork renders an epic assault throughout the universe but the writing really keeps me captivated. It is truly one of the best comic books out now.

Best Issue: Unlike the previous categories, this one was easy. Nemesis issue #1 is awesome and was probably the best issue of 2010. Mark Millar does it again. He also teams with Steve McNivens. Previously, they did Old Man Logan for Marvel which in my opinion was the best story arc of 2009. If you have been reading this blog for the past year, you know how I felt about it. There are rumors that it will be another movie adaptation. Let's see what happens. Millar will finish the series however, so stay tuned for that.


Best Movie Adaptation of Comic book: “Kick Ass” Although Hollywood screwed up Millar's “Wanted” in so many ways, they really knocked it out of the ball park with “Kick Ass.” I know folks who don't even read comics pick up the book after watching the movie. There were many comic book adaptations on the silver screen, but “Kick Ass” set the standard. The writers for the next Dark Knight installment have their work cut out for themselves.

You know 2011 is going to be all the way live. You can count us to be there. We will have many more comic books of color on the independent tip reviewed here. Stay tuned.

Happy New Year!