As basically Marvel's entire roster of cosmic characters wages war on the twisted dopplegangers of the Cancerverse, Thanos finds a new mission to spread death into this death-less alternate dimension.
The Good
Thanos has always been one of my favorite Marvel characters, so I was so pleased that this title's giving his death worshipping a new purpose that's actually heroic (in a perverted way.) The scene where he defies the Revenger's death-defying powers was a stand-out for this issue, right up there with anything from the Infinity Gauntlet. I've also always been a fan of Marvel's pantheon of cosmic entities, so I really got a thrill of seeing Galactus and the Celestials on display (even if their appearences were a little compromised, as I'll get in to.) Also, despite issues I have with the balance between the coloring and pencils, I enjoyed the new approach the art team took to rendering the Silver Surfer in this issue. He actually looks more like a primordial force of nature, a being of pure energy.... in marked contrast to the "shiny bald dude" he's been traditionally.
The Bad
My problems with the first issue have carried over into this issue. I really wish there were a ban on coloring pencils because it almost never looks good. Worse, it takes art that would've looked great in pencils and makes it murky and muddled. Ramos' colors are fantastic, but the lack of neccessary ink in this issue is so glaring, it's like a wheel missing from a sedan. I also wish Abnett and Lanning had created different villains instead of yet another group of dopplegangers for the Avengers. Outside of the evil Marvels, there doesn't even seem to be that much thought put into these Revengers, either. For example, the evil Hulk is basically just the regular Hulk... with ram horns.
The Verdict - 3.5/5
I've always had a special spot for Marvel's cosmic side, so I'm enjoying the updating and recontextualization Abnett and Lanning are putting these characters through. I'm eager to see how they develop Thanos' new, ironically-heroic mission. However, I have to qualify much of my enjoyment of this issue because of my problems with the production choices. Instead of being able to drink many of the epic vistas, I was thinking about what they could've looked like with ink.
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