Little To Excite In Infinity Wars: Infinity #1
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
A man named Hector Bautista is on death row in a Texas penitentiary for murders he claims to not have committed. He’s fascinated by the stars, even as his last day on Earth draws near. Across the universe, Phyla-Vell and Moondragon come across a group of Talons seeking the Infinity Stones and the new Infinity Watch. On Earth, Adam Warlock has just used the Soul Gem to imbue the other stones with new life that may protect them better than any outside Infinity Watch could. Finally, Loki is cast out from the company of Flowa for not sharing what he learned in the Prime Universe of the Celestials.
Infinity Wars: Infinity #1, besides having an awful name, is something of an epilogue to last year’s Infinity Wars story by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr. Personally, I wasn’t a fan, and the final issue left me more frustrated and baffled than just about any other book that came out in 2018.
Infinity doesn’t clear it up any and barely has a coherent or flowing story of its own. We learn the identity of one of the new hosts connected to the Infinity Stones, Adam Warlock barely has a cameo, and easily the best scenes are dedicated to Moondragon and Phyla-Vell
The Loki parts are aimed to gear us up for Jason Aaron’s War of the Realms story coming in a couple of months. It’s not uninteresting, but it doesn’t do much for the comic itself.
And there’s still (at least) one more epilogue book coming up in Wolverine: Infinity Watch #1.
Mark Bagley’s artwork is a welcome aspect of the book. I didn’t follow Venom: First Host, so I’ve not gotten to enjoy a comic with Bagley art since the end of Mike Costa’s mainline Venom run. I’m ever a fan of Bagley’s work, and he gives this book a good and distinctive treatment. It’s aided by Andrew Hennessy’s excellent inkwork and the lively color art of Guru-eFX.
Infinity Wars: Infinity #1 is an unexciting read. It teases somewhat at stories to come, particularly War of the Realms and (I suspect) Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy title. Beyond that, it adds little to the Infinity Wars story itself nor does it give really anything at all for the reader to grab onto. It has a loose and disjointed narrative, and I find myself unable to recommend it.
Infinity Wars: Infinity #1 comes to us from writer Gerry Duggan, artist Mark Bagley, inker Andrew Hennessy, color artist Guru-eFX, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, and cover artist Mike Deodato Jr. with Rain Beredo.
