Events

[COMIC BOOKS] Comics creator Jim Starlin, whose five-decade career is studded with highlights, is having another big moment right now: His character Thanos, whom he first introduced into the Marvel cosmos in 1973 in Iron Man #55, is the central villain of Avengers: Infinity War, which just posted the largest grossing opening weekend ever. The feather in the cap is fitting for the man who also created Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, and Shang-Chi, Master of King Fu; who breathed new life into Captain Marvel and the Silver Surfer; and who is, in his own right, as elemental to American comic book culture as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, or Steve Ditko. Thanos is now a movie star, but he’s also the subject of a new series of graphic novels by Starlin. “Depending on what story I want to tell, he’s either the chief villain, or he’s the strange hero that nobody expected,” Starlin says of his creation. Wonder what Starlin thinks of cinematic adaptations of the Marvel and DC universes he has helped to shape? Ask the man himself when he comes to Tonawanda on Saturday, May 5—national Free Comic Book Day—thanks to the folks at Sleeping Giants Collectibles and Ominous Press, which is working toward bringing out a collection of Starlin’s sketches and notebooks. Attendees get to meet a legend and walk away with a free Starlin comic book!

Here’s video of Starlin talking about Thanos: