Jason Aaron made the right choice with this mini-series; he had the chance to present long-time and new readers with an iconic and complicated villain from his earliest days, and the desire to strip away the character must have been immense. But by keeping things very evocative, by telling a story as disaffected and focused as the title characters' biological experiments, he gave us a story that only makes Thanos more of an unforgettable and chilling character. THANOS RISING is incredibly unique – it doesn't tell the story you were expecting at all, but that's what makes it such a worthwhile chapter in the Mad Titan's life. You many not understand Thanos any more after reading this series, but you'll be even more scared of him. Read Full Review

In the end, that's exactly what "Thanos Rising" is: it is the definitive story of who Thanos is and how he came to be. For new readers, it's a great introduction to one of Marvel's best villains. For older readers, it redefines the character in a way that still retains all of his old characteristics, but realigns them in a way that makes Thanos a much more solid character. The book is definitely not for someone looking to see a bunch of massive explosions or dismembered heads, but as of now is a medium-burn with the violence quick, quiet, and mostly off-screen. At the very least, "Thanos Rising" is a great jumping on point for all the readers who are going to want to know the Mad Titan after he appears in roughly everything Marvel makes for the next few years until Avengers 2. Read Full Review

Lines are crossed, ties are broken, and wounds are torn wide open into scars that will never heal. This is the turning point. This is what nightmares are made of. You may not like what you read in this book. I did, but it still has me thinking, should Thanos be my favorite character? Read Full Review

It's a well-told tale and enjoyable, but hardly essential reading for Thanos fans. In fact, it humanizes him somewhat, as he's being pushing into things by the mystery girl (three guesses who this turns out to be), which may or may not be a good thing. Read Full Review

Although this series isn't perfect, it is however still interesting, and I still have hopes that it will become exciting. Although slow the developments of this younger Thanos are also very interesting, and I for one am loving learning how this evil creature wasn't always evil, and why he's became evil. I'd recommend this issue, as well as the previous issue to anyone, as although some people aren't happy that this origin, which they like to remain a mystery is being told, is being told, I personally think it's perfect for anyone whether Thanos fan or not, as it is moving at times, and shows how easily someone can change. Read Full Review

Weaving a backstory for an established villain like Thanos is not an easy task, and Aaron should be lauded for delivering such a compelling personal narrative for a character who becomes the Avatar of Death. We know where this ends for Thanos. This is only issue 2 of 5, and I'm overwhelmed with morbid curiosity for the next stage of the journey. Read Full Review

I'm not sure how to feel about a story that wants me to empathize with Thanos. In tracking his early development on Titan, Aaron's bildungsroman is part Damien: Omen II and part Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. With a bit of Dexter thrown in. Read Full Review

A little better than last issue as a lot more transpires and there's some key character development for Thanos, but the overarching feel doesn't yet exude "This. Is. Thanos." quite yet. Not to say Aaron can't get us there, but we need to see a bit more from the series than what we've been given thus far. Read Full Review

Thanos Rising #2 is an impressive book; I only hope the series continues to deliver on more action that we don't see in this chapter. Read Full Review

With the story taking up a bit in pacing and the general feeling of creepiness adding a lot to the book overall, this issue improves the overall quality of the series so far. While Bianchi seems to have some trouble with some of the faces, he still manages to bring a good deal of alien designs to life thanks to his lines and the colors of Ive Svorcina. Read Full Review

Simone Bianchi expertly captures the creepy, mythical aspects of Thanos that the script sometimes misses. In that sense there's a divide between the writing and art at times. Aaron seeks to provide ordinary, dialogue-driven scenes that Bianchi's powerful but not terribly emotive figures aren't well-suited for. On the plus side, Bianchi's page construction and sequential storytelling are leaps and bound above his early Marvel work. Read Full Review

I generally enjoy Jason Aaron's writing, but this one was never going to be an easy nut to crack. The origins of Thanos' obsession with Death was already a long-shot to be a worthwhile payoff so late after the character was first introduced, and I'm not saying that there need to be a massive conspiracy or that Thanos had to emerge from the story as a truly sympathetic character, but this is one time a little bit of psychological unrealism could have been appreciated. Honestly? With all of his past misdeeds, this origin probably does make sense on paper, but the revelation that Thanos is flawed in that specific way, such a "standard" way, is a little disappointing. The story's not over, things could change, but what this issue revealed could have been left unsaid and conjectured about it. Answers in fiction are only necessary if they suit how interesting the question is, and that's simply not the case here. Read Full Review

I found it really weird that Thanos was able to kill 17 people and yet no one was able to pinpoint it down to him? Andy Griffith must be the mayor of his city because this police force is an absolute joke. I also dont get why this girl is absolutely pushing Thanos into killing and yet she never kills? Read Full Review

If they continue this route and don't give us something more substantial soon I'm going to be extremely let down by this title. Read Full Review

This issue holds together a little better than the first, no longer treading dangerously close to Saturday morning cartoon territory. Genuine character traits are revealed in Thanos, and his transition from disenfranchised teen to galactic genocidal giant is a little easier to connect to. However, it has instead borrowed heavily from another genre, with this essentially being the story of the rise of a serial killer, not someone who will one day bring the galaxy to its knees in his mad pursuit for power. In other words, we've seen it all before. Read Full Review

I loved the art. How can you not? Simone Bianchi is at the top of his game and his Thanos design is fantastic. The classic Thanos garbs are iconic for sure, but seeing a younger developing T-man in his newish uniform is geekily cool. His art does what it can to save the story, but at the end of the day it’s just a bad serial killer remix with a sage like love interest that awkwardly pushes the plot forward. I don’t recall who the original creative team was supposed to be on this series, but I wish Marvel had kept the writer at least. Maybe then I would have enjoyed this series rather than watch it pretend to bring something to one of Marvel’s few iconic space villains and fail. Read Full Review

While most of my experience reading about Thanos involves him pining for Death or lusting after the Infinity Gems and being soundly defeated, I'm itching to see Thanos being bad. I don't want downtrodden Li'l Thanos dissecting things looking for the answer to the universe's questions, I want Thanos hunting down answers and squeezing them from the skulls of his prey. You know, kind of like Darth Vader did in the first "Star Wars" movie thirty-some-odd years ago. Aaron and Bianchi have the talent and the power to make Thanos being bad a good thing. I just hope they get to it soon. Read Full Review