Infinity Countdown #1

By Gerry Duggan, Aaron Kuder, Jordie Bellaire

Word on the street is that there is a new Marvel movie coming out soon about the Infinity Gauntlet. It makes sense that Marvel comics would start to put out books that focus on the infinity gems. Now we’re entering Infinity Countdown. This series focuses on the gems and the people who have them. The first issue deals with Drax and his possession of the power gem. As always, there are a slew of people who want to get their hands on the gems.



Gerry Duggan has done pretty well for himself at Marvel. His handle on Deadpool is very good, and he filled in for a nice run on Uncanny Avengers. Duggan’s now been tapped to write Infinity Countdown, which is a bit of a big deal. The Infinity Stones are always an interesting device in the Marvel Universe because they’re so powerful and so many different people want to get their hands on them. Duggan shows us that people are crawling out of the woodwork to make an effort to capture them as the raptor people attack Drax. The Guardians of the Galaxy are of course involved, but they’re dealing with their own problem, The Gardener. Duggan seems to like to bring obscure villains back into the fold, which is cool to see because many of these characters have long been forgotten. Duggan does a nice job with Ant-Man being the comic relief. He makes a crack about The Gardener not wearing any boxers that is sure to get a laugh. Event issues like this can be throwaways at times, but something big does happen to a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s a very good change for the character. Duggan continues to show that he can handle any character Marvel throws at him.

The pencils this issue are handled by Aaron Kuder with colors by Jordie Bellaire. Kuder has a distinct style with his pencils; there is a texture to his work. He shines in panels where he draws large villainous Groots. The action sequences, like Rocket flying toward The Gardener to attack, seem lifelike. The inks help a lot this issue too. A panel where Drax is silhouetted and the red on his skin shines through is amazing. You also really can’t say enough about the colors by Jordie Bellaire. Her work, which is always amazing, really shines this issue. In pages with Drax, there is a lot of pastel pinks being used, and it comes off wonderfully. One of the best pages in the book involves an assault by Nova on The Gardener. He blasts towards him and the bright light from his flight dominates the perfectly dark surroundings. A great job by both Kuder and Bellaire on the art for this issue.

Infinity Countdown is not just another worthless event. There are things that happen in this issue that will change characters moving forward. This is a must read for anyone who is a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy.