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Infinity Watch
Infinity Watch, Vol. 1
Collects Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1-22. Run the Gauntlet from War to Crusade in this essential companion to Jim Starlin's Infinity Trilogy! In the aftermath of INFINITY GAUNTLET, Adam Warlock wears the almighty glove - but no single being should wield all six gems. Adam recruits his most trusted allies to guard one each - including the deadly Gamora, the destructive Drax, the demanding Moondragon and the diminutive Pip the Troll! But who holds the Reality Gem? The team finds a home on Monster Island, but INFINITY WAR rages when Adam's dark side, the Magus, strikes! This sounds like a job for…Thanos?! Warlock wrestles with himself, Drax battles the Hulk, and Pip takes charge when the Goddess sets the Marvel Universe on an INFINITY CRUSADE! Before the Guardians of the Galaxy, there was the Watch!
512 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2016
14 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Jim Starlin
1,338 books444 followersJames P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story for Ghost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew for The Rampaging Hulk magazine.
In the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).
When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (
In the late 1980s, Starlin began working more for DC Comics, writing a number of Batman stories, including the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988), and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989), in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. For DC he created Hardcore Station.
In the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).
When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (
In the late 1980s, Starlin began working more for DC Comics, writing a number of Batman stories, including the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988), and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989), in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. For DC he created Hardcore Station.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 3, 2023
This review is for the first 6 issues only. Finished this the same day I started and forgot to put a review up. The rest I’ll be reading in the pages of the Infinity War omnibus, Infinity War Aftermath trade and the Infinity Crusade omnibus. So stay tuned for that. Anyhoo, the first six issues were pretty cool. After the events of Infinity Gauntlet, Warlock was made to break up the Infinity Gems. So he created the Infinity Watch and gave a gem to Gamora, Pip the Troll, Drax, Moon Dragon and kept one for himself. He also gave the Reality gem to a secret person that we still don’t know who that is. On paper, this seems like not the best group to have these gems and we soon found out that is definitely the case. Warlock immediately has to deal with that poor decision. Fun stuff.
April 12, 2017
The hele (originele) Infinty saga is een must have voor de superhelden comic liefhebber. Deze reeks, die ooit startte ergens in de jaren 50/60 verliest niet aan kracht. Ook The infinity watch niet.
Adam Warlock is zo langzamerhand wel een van mijn favoriete figuren. Jammer dat hij niet in de films zit... of misschien komt dat nog.
The watch vol 1 is een aanrader...
Adam Warlock is zo langzamerhand wel een van mijn favoriete figuren. Jammer dat hij niet in de films zit... of misschien komt dat nog.
The watch vol 1 is een aanrader...
May 14, 2019
Seems for a while that the Infinity Gems were going to take over the Marvel Universe. Almost everyone had some kind of connected story line with them. The main book for this was of course Warlock. Not to bad a set of stories with a decent amount of humor. Recommended
July 20, 2016
Better than I remember it being. I haven't read many of these comics since the single issues came out and at the time I remember being mostly underwhelmed by them. Partially because of the art, which suffered greatly from not being Ron Lim, but also because the stories weren't epic. I was much more interested in seeing Adam Warlock fight for the fate of the entire universe than seeing him talk to Mole Man.
Reading it again now, though, I enjoyed it. The art is still pretty bad in a lot of spots ( and really bad in some others), but I was still able to enjoy it for what it was.
REALLY dislike Moondragon's costume, though. I've never liked it, but it bugs me even more now.
Reading it again now, though, I enjoyed it. The art is still pretty bad in a lot of spots ( and really bad in some others), but I was still able to enjoy it for what it was.
REALLY dislike Moondragon's costume, though. I've never liked it, but it bugs me even more now.
May 22, 2017
I'm cheating a little bit here. Because the first 6 issues are included in Infinity Gauntlet Aftermath, issues 7-10 are in Infinity War, and issues 18-22 in Infinity Crusade - Volume 1 and Infinity Crusade - Volume 2, I only read issues 11-17. That's actually the reasons I am giving it 3 stars instead of 4. A lot of the stories are great, but it's series that doesn't need to exist in 2 volumes.
May 15, 2020
Reprints Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1-22 (February 1992-November 1993). Thanos has been defeated, but the war over the Infinity Gauntlet continues. When Warlock convinces the cosmic deities to allow him to spread the Infinity Gems among heralds so they are never joined again, the Infinity Watch is formed! Now Warlock, Drax, Gamora, Pip the Troll, and Moondragon are heralds of the greatest powers in the Universe…but who possesses the Reality Gem? As Warlock faces a threat he thought he long buried in the Magus, a second danger is arising in a new villain. Who is the Goddess and what is she planning?
Written by Jim Starlin, The Infinity Watch—Volume 1 collects the Marvel Comics Infinity Gauntlet spin-off title Warlock and the Infinity Watch. Featuring art by Angel Medina, Rick Leonardi, Tom Raney, Tom Grindberg, Steve Carr, and Deryl Skelton, the issues in the volume include crossovers with Infinity War and Infinity Crusade and were also included in Marvel Firsts: The 1990s—Volume 1, The Infinity War Omnibus, Marvel Tales: Thanos, The Infinity War Aftermath, and The Infinity Crusade—Volume 1 among others.
The Infinity Gauntlet was big. It was a solid story with a great villain and featured some big moments. Warlock returning as a title character was a natural spin-off for the limited series, but Warlock and the Infinity Watch wasn’t necessarily what was expected.
The first issue of the collection sets up the rest of the series. Warlock is too powerful and the power needs to be divided. Once this was established, it was kind of obvious that Drax, Gamora, and Pip would become supporting characters, but the addition of the attitude filled Moondragon was a nice surprise. The team was later rounded out by the enigma known as Maxam though the first collection also doesn’t deal with the “mystery member” who is in possession of the Reality Gem.
For what it is, Starlin does a decent job with the volume since he already had a handle on Warlock. It deals a lot with the past of the characters and how the past cannot be put behind us. The series is like a lot of 1990s Marvel comics where Marvel was trying to rediscover its identity due to the spin-off of Image Comics which upended the industry and led to the overproduction of comics. It is amazing that Warlock and the Infinity Watch ran for forty-two issues, but many titles had a better shot at this time to last.
The series also faces the typical problems of “Big Events”. Not collected in this volume are any of the Infinity War or Infinity Crusade which play important roles in the events going on in the comic. Unlike something like Infinity, it is less necessary to read Infinity War or Infinity Crusade, but it does enhance the story and fill in gaps (especially the Infinity Crusade which actually crossed over more).
The Infinity Watch—Volume 1 will always be Warlock and the Infinity Watch—Volume 1 to me because the series really was all about Warlock with the Infinity Watch as a supporting group. The rise of the Marvel movies and interest in the Infinity Gauntlet led to the reprinting of this series as a whole, but it doesn’t necessarily deserve it. Still, the comic is rather mundane, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Fans of the Avengers films might want to start out with The Infinity Gauntlet and continue on into this series to see where Marvel really went with the story. The Infinity Watch—Volume 1 was followed by The Infinity Watch—Volume 2.
Written by Jim Starlin, The Infinity Watch—Volume 1 collects the Marvel Comics Infinity Gauntlet spin-off title Warlock and the Infinity Watch. Featuring art by Angel Medina, Rick Leonardi, Tom Raney, Tom Grindberg, Steve Carr, and Deryl Skelton, the issues in the volume include crossovers with Infinity War and Infinity Crusade and were also included in Marvel Firsts: The 1990s—Volume 1, The Infinity War Omnibus, Marvel Tales: Thanos, The Infinity War Aftermath, and The Infinity Crusade—Volume 1 among others.
The Infinity Gauntlet was big. It was a solid story with a great villain and featured some big moments. Warlock returning as a title character was a natural spin-off for the limited series, but Warlock and the Infinity Watch wasn’t necessarily what was expected.
The first issue of the collection sets up the rest of the series. Warlock is too powerful and the power needs to be divided. Once this was established, it was kind of obvious that Drax, Gamora, and Pip would become supporting characters, but the addition of the attitude filled Moondragon was a nice surprise. The team was later rounded out by the enigma known as Maxam though the first collection also doesn’t deal with the “mystery member” who is in possession of the Reality Gem.
For what it is, Starlin does a decent job with the volume since he already had a handle on Warlock. It deals a lot with the past of the characters and how the past cannot be put behind us. The series is like a lot of 1990s Marvel comics where Marvel was trying to rediscover its identity due to the spin-off of Image Comics which upended the industry and led to the overproduction of comics. It is amazing that Warlock and the Infinity Watch ran for forty-two issues, but many titles had a better shot at this time to last.
The series also faces the typical problems of “Big Events”. Not collected in this volume are any of the Infinity War or Infinity Crusade which play important roles in the events going on in the comic. Unlike something like Infinity, it is less necessary to read Infinity War or Infinity Crusade, but it does enhance the story and fill in gaps (especially the Infinity Crusade which actually crossed over more).
The Infinity Watch—Volume 1 will always be Warlock and the Infinity Watch—Volume 1 to me because the series really was all about Warlock with the Infinity Watch as a supporting group. The rise of the Marvel movies and interest in the Infinity Gauntlet led to the reprinting of this series as a whole, but it doesn’t necessarily deserve it. Still, the comic is rather mundane, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Fans of the Avengers films might want to start out with The Infinity Gauntlet and continue on into this series to see where Marvel really went with the story. The Infinity Watch—Volume 1 was followed by The Infinity Watch—Volume 2.
June 22, 2019
So continues an infinite round of Infinity storylines that began with Infinity Gauntlet. In what is probably the longest-running title Adam Warlock ever graced, a collage of cosmic deities commands our golden protagonist to give up the Infinity Stones. Sort of. He winds up dispersing them to a group of colleagues uniquely disqualified to hold them. We have the usual gang from Jim Starlin's gallery--Warlock, Gamora, the troll Pip, Moondragon and Drax the Destroyer, plus a jaw-dropping choice to hold the Reality Stone. These stones are not supposed to be used in unison ever again; yet in their first story, all the members of the Watch with the exception of Warlock are captured and used in an inane revenge plot. and this won't be the last time that happens.
I think what this collection suffers from most is the weakness that plagues comics to this day: once a year, during the summer, every storyline gets dropped for four or five months in order to participate in the annual Cosmic Catastrophe that all comics have to tie into. This happens twice, four issues tied into a separate miniseries, which is intended to force you into buying yet another graphic novel collection to know what exactly the F--K is going on!
Even worse, the thing that always happens with a Starlin series continues here, ie, we're forced to endure a rotating roster of artists, inkers, colorists etc. of varying talent, leaving the impression of an inconsistent visual style. Now Angela Medina-Terry Austin-Ian Laughlin are magic; Tom Grindberg-Bob Almond & Laughlin less so. I wanted to love this, but the sum is less than spectacular. 3 out of 5.
I think what this collection suffers from most is the weakness that plagues comics to this day: once a year, during the summer, every storyline gets dropped for four or five months in order to participate in the annual Cosmic Catastrophe that all comics have to tie into. This happens twice, four issues tied into a separate miniseries, which is intended to force you into buying yet another graphic novel collection to know what exactly the F--K is going on!
Even worse, the thing that always happens with a Starlin series continues here, ie, we're forced to endure a rotating roster of artists, inkers, colorists etc. of varying talent, leaving the impression of an inconsistent visual style. Now Angela Medina-Terry Austin-Ian Laughlin are magic; Tom Grindberg-Bob Almond & Laughlin less so. I wanted to love this, but the sum is less than spectacular. 3 out of 5.
March 30, 2018
Adam Warlock forms a team of his friends, so that each of them can wield an infinity stone for what amounts to good. Warlock, Gamora, Drax The Destroyer, Moondragon, Pip The Troll. Basically just a crystallization of what was going on in Warlock's solo comics.
It started out amazing, with great artwork (and the artwork is always great here) and imaginative writing from the great Jim Starlin. For example, the first issue has Adam Warlock talking to Eternity and Eon and all the cosmic entities in a pseudo courtroom setting. Awesome.
And in general, there's a great mix of cosmic awareness and introspection and more general superhero beat em up action. Both sides intrude in unique ways, and the conception of the universe as an interconnected whole, with meditation and stuff, it's always a fun read.
Admittedly, the story drags with the tie-ins, as the mag was basically used to offer side stories and non-resolution stories to both the "Infinity War" and "Infinity Crusade" mini-series. Basically bragging that some unique characters will show up, but nothing substantial will be resolved unless you buy the actual mini-series.
That being said, the universe that is built here is incredibly unique and interesting and entertaining. Anything with Adam Warlock, and anything by Jim Starlin, is must read and must be seen to fully believed/understood by review readers.
5/5
It started out amazing, with great artwork (and the artwork is always great here) and imaginative writing from the great Jim Starlin. For example, the first issue has Adam Warlock talking to Eternity and Eon and all the cosmic entities in a pseudo courtroom setting. Awesome.
And in general, there's a great mix of cosmic awareness and introspection and more general superhero beat em up action. Both sides intrude in unique ways, and the conception of the universe as an interconnected whole, with meditation and stuff, it's always a fun read.
Admittedly, the story drags with the tie-ins, as the mag was basically used to offer side stories and non-resolution stories to both the "Infinity War" and "Infinity Crusade" mini-series. Basically bragging that some unique characters will show up, but nothing substantial will be resolved unless you buy the actual mini-series.
That being said, the universe that is built here is incredibly unique and interesting and entertaining. Anything with Adam Warlock, and anything by Jim Starlin, is must read and must be seen to fully believed/understood by review readers.
5/5
June 15, 2018
An outstanding book, both artistical and literary-wise. I never expected such depth and narrative details from.a comic book, especially one by Marvel, judging by the companies current state, leaned more towards social policies and movie making. The flow of consciousness vastly used as way of conveing plot in the first half of the antology realy caught me.off guard, as well.as the clarity of the story and it remarcable "uncheesyness".
In the second half though, both the story arc and the art direction seem to go downhill. The story becomes way overcomplicated and goofy, with the whole Pip king of the universe and Infinity Crusade bits which seem highly unnecessary. While there is dome social debate regarding mysoginy ams chauvinism, it is done in such a poor manner that totaly destroys the end of the antology. The art quickly becomes abismal, it's peak of lazynes being in the Drax vs. Thor issue where every single pannel seems either drawn by a child or an avantgarde experiment gone wrong. I'll wait for the second volume to.see how all thia concludes, but overall the book was of very high quality!
In the second half though, both the story arc and the art direction seem to go downhill. The story becomes way overcomplicated and goofy, with the whole Pip king of the universe and Infinity Crusade bits which seem highly unnecessary. While there is dome social debate regarding mysoginy ams chauvinism, it is done in such a poor manner that totaly destroys the end of the antology. The art quickly becomes abismal, it's peak of lazynes being in the Drax vs. Thor issue where every single pannel seems either drawn by a child or an avantgarde experiment gone wrong. I'll wait for the second volume to.see how all thia concludes, but overall the book was of very high quality!
February 24, 2019
Is it weird that I dislike warlock immensely, but adore the rest of the watch? They are all awesome and fun. The interactions and dialogue, their individual story lines...I didn't know pip or moon dragon before and they have really grown on me.... drax is fantastic and I like gamora way more than I did in the movies.
Shit, I even like thanos throughout the comics.
Warlock tho... gah. He dies, he comes back, he has other selves that take over... just go away already. He doesn't even have a fun personality to make up for it. He isn't likeable. He smug and boring and I find his storylines repetitive.
I actually read a bunch of stuff concurrently... this, the warlock chronicles and the infinity crusade . Because that's the only way it made sense lol.
I'm still waiting on the guardians of the galaxy. The infinity watch was close.... if only I didn't have up put up with warlock. Glen says this is all necessary. I don't believe him, but I'm reading his massive collection of comics anyways because he's so excited about me reading them.
Shit, I even like thanos throughout the comics.
Warlock tho... gah. He dies, he comes back, he has other selves that take over... just go away already. He doesn't even have a fun personality to make up for it. He isn't likeable. He smug and boring and I find his storylines repetitive.
I actually read a bunch of stuff concurrently... this, the warlock chronicles and the infinity crusade . Because that's the only way it made sense lol.
I'm still waiting on the guardians of the galaxy. The infinity watch was close.... if only I didn't have up put up with warlock. Glen says this is all necessary. I don't believe him, but I'm reading his massive collection of comics anyways because he's so excited about me reading them.
October 1, 2022
This collection of Warlock and the Infinity Watch is tied in so closely with Infinity War and Infinity Crusade that it only covers a few issues that are not impacted by those storylines, but still, Infinity Watch group is intriguing and entertaining for who and what they are and their control of the Infinity Stones -- even though there are more powerful stones spread across the dimensions which the Goddess uses in the Infinity Watch.
Good story telling as always from Starlin, great art as well.
Good story telling as always from Starlin, great art as well.
December 2, 2017
Un tomo molto interessante: Starlin crea delle storie sia dotate di profondità che avvincenti e divertenti, specialmente grazie alle interazioni tra i comprimari, Pip il troll su tutti. La parte grafica vede diversi validi autori al lavoro, Tom Raney, tra questi è quello che secondo me riesce meglio a rendere i protagonisti.
Certo va letto a fianco della Trilogia dell'Infinito dello stesso autore.
Certo va letto a fianco della Trilogia dell'Infinito dello stesso autore.
December 10, 2023
Infinity Watch delivers more on the cosmic aesthetic that Jim Starlin is excellent at delivering, though the core team lacks depth in the core team’s character interaction to make up for the rather simplistic conflicts scattered across the series. There is a reason why The Infinity Gauntlet is far more popular than its sequel.
June 1, 2017
Some good memories re-reading these. Have a lot of them in individual form but collections are just so much easier to manage
February 28, 2020
interesting cast of characters, but overall enjoyable! different from other warlock stories but still very good
January 5, 2021
The story of Warlock and his friends that he gives the infinity stones to. Last issues concerns the Infinity crusade storyline
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews