Warlock has always been one of those Marvel Comics characters that won without being a best seller or consistently staying in the legendary ranks. In this case, we are talking about the space body, which achieved the highest level of fame thanks to the incarnation of the actor Will Poulter in the third movie part of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. That’s why a fantastic edition of the stories created by Panini Comics by Jim Starlin came out in Marvel Gallery Edition 2: Warlock by Jim Starlin.
Warlock, a god with feet of clay
To see the origin of this character, we have to go to the end of the sixties, when he first appeared in the regular series “Fantastic Four”, when we saw his presence in the series made up of the legendary couple. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. But here he is presented to us under that name, a decision Roy Thomas and Gil Kane made a few years later when they christened him as Adam Warlock in the first issue of Marvel Premiere during the Counter-Earth saga.
He was artificially created on the Earth of the Enclave as an attempt to create the perfect being, the next step in human evolution. After rebelling against his creators and nature, he becomes another hero, a formidable opponent to cosmic-level threats. He is the most common carrier of the Soul Stone, a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the leader of the Infinity Guard.
Perhaps what makes this character unique is the internal conflicts (both literal and figurative), that contrast between the all-powerful Golden God and the fragility that those who know him truly can perceive. And when Mr. Starlin took over the leadership of all this…
Philosopher Starlin became a writer
There’s no doubt that if Starlin goes down in his generation for one thing, it’s not because of what’s in this volume, but because he’s the creator of Thanos, who can be named the greatest villain in the house of ideas these days. Or for killing the second Robin in Batman: A Death in the Family. But that doesn’t mean we’re not looking at one of his best works.
In taking on Adam, Starlin has the difficult task of turning a well-grounded character with no polish into something powerfully impressive and different. And he really succeeds in showing the familiar trope, the space arguments from the philosophical background and the way he describes and develops his special features.
We’ll see how he deals with Magus, the dark version of himself from the future, acting in a similar way to what we’ve seen with Void and Thanos in the recent Sentry, which isn’t surprising considering his name. Author. But we see characters like Pip the Troll or Gamora play here for the first time and witness the first meeting of the Infinity Stones. And we’ll have more common plots like in superhero comics that connect our heroes with Spiderman, Captain Marvel (before that, Starlin was also wax) and the Avengers.
Visual challenge
It is difficult to understand in today’s light just how important Starlin’s art was at the time. And in mid-2023, it’s still amazing. But if we step back decades and see these comics in their editorial context, it’s not unreasonable to say that we’re looking at an auteur as incredibly challenging to the medium as Jim Stranko could be.
It’s about the composition of the page, the look, the visual narrative and the powerful power of the images. The sum of all these aspects, and nothing to do with them, is something indescribable, edited with such care in this large-scale edition (and that color!) that shines in its glory. And browsing this size in the store is undoubtedly the best incentive to find it.
Published in hardcover by Panini Comics, it contains 360 color pages measuring 23.5 x 33 cm. And the American edition includes #178 to #181 of Strange Tales, issues #9 to #15 of Warlock, The Avengers Seventh Annual and Marvel’s Two-in-One Second Annual and all issues. Covers included and a spacious room with lots of fun extras at the end. It has a recommended retail price of €55 and goes on sale in September 2023.
Marvel’s Gallery 2: Warlock de Jim Starlin
In the year In the 1970s Marvel, no one mastered the scope of epic space adventures like Jim Starlin. In this stellar performance, Starlin takes Adam Warlock to the next level, imbuing the character with a goddamn inner demon on the brink of madness.
Forced to face his own and the nihilistic threat Thanos, Warlock’s battles consisted not only of epic battles, but of existential battles for his soul. This volume includes the first meeting of the Infinity Stones, the debut of Gamora and Pip the Troll, and the all-out fight with the Avengers, Captain Marvel, and Spider-Man to save the universe. All the greatness of the Starlin saga is unleashed in the pages of the essential Marvel Gallery issue!
Author: Jim Starlin