Thanos #1

History

Starlin was assigned the solo Thanos title directly off the back of his work writing and drawing the Marvel Universe: The End miniseries (2003), in which Thanos briefly attained god-like power via the Heart of the Universe before surrendering it — an event that Thanos #1 immediately picks up as its jumping-off point. The series was edited by Tom Brevoort (editor-in-chief Joe Quesada overseeing), with Marc Sumerak and Andy Schmidt serving as assistant editors; Starlin handled both writing and penciling duties, with Al Milgrom inking and Christie Scheele providing colors. The title's first arc, 'Epiphany,' ran issues #1–6 under Starlin's full creative control, while the back half of the 12-issue run ('Samaritan,' issues #7–12) was handed off to writer Keith Giffen with art by Ron Lim — a creative transition that the series did not survive, concluding in September 2004.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First solo ongoing series ever headlined by Thanos, published by Marvel Comics; on-sale October 1, 2003 with a December 2003 cover date and titled 'Epiphany!'
• Written and penciled by Jim Starlin — Thanos's original creator — with inks by Al Milgrom, colors by Christie Scheele, and letters by Dave Sharpe; edited by Tom Brevoort.
• Contains the shadow-only cameo first appearance of Hunger (Devourer of Realities), a multiversal entity who had consumed countless universes after detecting energy surges from the Infinity Gauntlet — he becomes the central villain of the opening arc.
• The story picks up directly after Marvel Universe: The End (2003), depicting Thanos in self-imposed exile on the devastated planet Rigel-3 — a world he himself destroyed — where he is found by Adam Warlock and declares his intent to seek redemption.
• Adam Warlock co-stars throughout the issue, framing Thanos's quest for atonement through their uneasy partnership, a dynamic Starlin had developed since the original Infinity trilogy of the early 1990s.
• The series ran 12 issues total (October 2003 – July 2004), structured as two six-issue arcs: 'Epiphany' (Starlin, #1–6) and 'Samaritan' (Giffen/Lim, #7–12); the back half serves as a direct narrative on-ramp to the 2006–2007 Annihilation cosmic event.
• The full 12-issue series has been collected in trade paperback as Thanos: Epiphany (#1–6), Thanos: Samaritan (#7–12), and later in the combined Thanos: Redemption (2013 edition); issue #1 was also individually reprinted in Thanos #4 and in the French Marvel Méga Hors Série #22.
• Galactus is introduced as a major supporting character in the arc, with the plot revealing he has been unwittingly manipulated by Hunger into collecting the Infinity Gems — and Thanos must outwit both to prevent a multiversal catastrophe.

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