There are a handful of people that you could elevate to the class of ‘comic book giants’, those that have made a lasting impression on the art form and the industry with their incredible creations, along with their indelible art and writing; there are even fewer that you could say have shaped the face of pop culture as we know it.
However, with the creation of the Mad Titan Thanos in February 1973, in the pages of THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #355, writer/artist Jim Starlin – even though he may not have known about it at the time – was going to come up with a character that would go on to form the backbone on central threat to the hugely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although, curiously enough, he didn’t learn that his maniacal and homicidal behemoth was even going to feature in the Marvel Studios films until days before he reared his head in the post-credits scene to 2012’s MARVEL’S AVENGERS, directed by Joss Whedon.
As fans gear themselves up to witness the final battle between the beloved heroes that have featured over an eleven year, twenty-two film span and Thanos – resting after his cataclysmic efforts in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, Leonard Sultana (The Convention Collective EIC) talks to Starlin about his history with Thanos, his impressions of the Russo Brothers, as well as screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, his relationship with both Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics, and his satisfaction with the final result of AVENGERS: ENDGAME, which he saw as invited Special Guest to the premiere, held in Los Angeles on Monday 22nd April.
He does keep the conversation relatively spoiler-free, with one or two nuggets of characters that may or may not make an appearance in the film – if you want to go in completely fresh to AVENGERS: ENDGAME, please bookmark this page and come back to it only once you have seen the film. This is a great conversation, I think, and I hope you enjoy it…
image: comicbook.com
intro music: 'Punky', bensounds.com
