Essential Warlock - Volume 1 [Paperback]

Chris Claremont (Author), Jim Starlin (Author), Roy Thomas (Author), Gerry Conway (Author), Gil Kane (Illustrator), John Buscema (Illustrator), John Byrne (Illustrator), Sal Buscema (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2012 | Age Range: 9 and up | Series: Essential (Book 1)

Part super-hero spectacle and part spiritual allegory, Adam Warlock must struggle with his inner demons even as he strives to oppose such dreadful threats as the Man-Beast, the Magus and Thanos of Titan! Collecting MARVEL PREMIERE #1-2, WARLOCK (1972) #1-15, INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #176-178, STRANGE TALES (1951) #178-181, MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #55 and ANNUAL #2, and AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) #7.

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (August 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078516331X
• ISBN-13: 978-0785163312
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Claremont is best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Uncanny X-Men, during which time it was the bestselling comic in the Western Hemisphere; he has sold more than 100 million comic books to date. Recent projects include the dark fantasy novel Dragon Moon and Sovereign SevenTM, a comic book series published by DC Comics. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.George Lucas is the founder of Lucasfilm Ltd., one of the world's leading entertainment companies. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series. Among his story credits are THX 1138, American Graffiti, and the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. He lives in Marin County, California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome August 26, 2012

By evilsgindsitributor

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The essential Warlock starts with his adventures on counter-earth. There, he was a not very thinly veiled Christ figure. The second part is the real meat, the Jim Starlin drawn Magus saga. I read this when I was a kid, and thought it was the greatest piece of art and literature ever created (when I was ten). Now, forty years later, I can still see why I was so enchanted. The artwork is very good, and the storyline of high quality. Thanos, Gamora, Pip the troll, the Matriarch, the Magus, they're all here. Yes, it's a comic book, but it's a prime example of Marvel at the height of it's creative glory.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gospel of Roy Thomas and friends September 9, 2012

By mrliteral TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Adam Warlock has never been one of the big names in the Marvel Universe, but he has been around for a while and is intricately tied to Marvel's cosmic mythology. First introduced in the pages of Fantastic Four as Him, his early history had him meeting up with characters such as Thor. With Essential Warlock (Volume 1), we get to see him in his early days as Adam Warlock.

This volume is divided into two roughly evenly-sized storylines. The first storyline, principally written by Roy Thomas and later Mike Friedrich, Ron Goulart and Gerry Conway, has Warlock becoming the adopted son of the god-like High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary has just created - in a very short period of time - a new version of Earth (soon to be called Counter-Earth) in which he hopes that humanity will achieve a noble perfection. Unfortunately, one of the Evolutionary's evil creations, the Man-Beast, has tainted Counter-Earth.

Warlock convinces him not to destroy his handiwork and goes down to Counter-Earth to stop the Man-Beast. Soon, he gets his own followers and becomes a messianic figure. It doesn't take too much Bible knowledge to realize that Warlock is a Christ-parallel and the plotline is essentially the life of Jesus with guest appearances from the Hulk and Dr. Doom. It's a bit heavy-handed allegory - and not always well-written - and if this were everything in this volume, it'd be only three-star fare.

Fortunately, Jim Starlin comes in to save the day with his own take on religion. Warlock leaves Counter-Earth and travels to the stars, where he encounters the Magus, the god-like figure behind a nasty theocratic empire. Warlock soon enough discovers the truth about his new opponent: it is a future version of himself. As if this wasn't enough of a problem, soon Thanos will appear and establish himself as Warlock's true archenemy.

This storyline is much more well-written, with much more interesting characters. The addition of Pip the Troll adds a bit of needed levity, as Warlock himself is a deadly serious character. The Magus and Thanos make much more interesting enemies than the Man-Beast, and Gamora, the deadliest woman alive, adds a hint of romance.

One final note: if you have read Essential Avengers #8, you'll notice that a couple issues from that volume also appear here (which is appropriate, since they are key to both series). I am giving this volume five stars based on the merits of the Starlin material alone; the early stuff is merely average and skippable.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Marvel Essentials Book November 12, 2012

By rockabillydentist

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I felt compelled to write a review and boost the star rating back up since somebody threw it off by giving it a 1 just because they didn't know the Essentials books are in black and white. If you like the Marvel Essentials format and the Adam Warlock character this is definitely worth getting. For the benefit of anyone who doesn't know, I would like to say in conclusion that giving a product a bad rating because you didn't know what you were buying is something you probably shouldn't do. I mean, I can't tell you what to do, but it just seems wrong. You're not supposed to be reviewing your own ability to make sure you know what you're getting. It's not like the book was printed in black and white by mistake.