Jim Starlin, the creator of the comic book character Thanos, has left Marvel Comics after an ugly dispute with Marvel Editorial’s Tom Brevoort.
Starlin and Brevoort reportedly clashed about the latter’s approval of the plot of a continuing Thanos comic book series. Starlin claimed that it was “strikingly similar” to the one he and his team were working for the past few months, which is a Marvel Comics graphic novel titled Thanos: The Infinity Siblings.
Starlin took the offense to social media, posting on his Facebook account that he is “moving on” from his relationship with Marvel, or at least with the company’s comic book division. He explicitly stated in the post that what he “objected to” was Brevoort’s decision to favor the ongoing Thanos series despite knowing about his project.
Starlin said that he and Alan Davis had been working on the project for almost a year now before they learned about Brevoort’s decision. Around 200 pages of text and 100 pages of images were said to be already finished on Infinity Siblings.
Since they are too far into the project, Starlin said that his team cannot do anything to fix the situation, and so he decided to just move on.
The Infinity Siblings is planned to eventually become a graphic novel trilogy for Marvel Comics. The first installment is scheduled to be published in February of next year.
Starlin disclosed that Brevoort initially refuted the news that he approved the plot. When Starlin found out the truth, Brevoort then said that the two plots are really not similar. When he found Brevoort’s claim to be false, the executive editor then responded that “it (the similar plots) was all an accident.”
The “accident” alibi was said to be Starlin’s last straw before quitting.
Starlin also said that he urged Marvel Comics to let him write the monthly Thanos series to avoid duplicating it with the graphic novel. However, the comic book giant rejected his offer. He said that the comic book arm had advised him of his non-inclusion in the Avengers: Infinity War movie tie-in series and the recurring comic series as well.
Starlin went on to say that Marvel’s movie group has treated him better and more generously than the comic book branch, which is why he likes the former.
Starlin is a veteran comic artist and writer known for creating the Thanos character. His other popular character creations include Guardian of the Galaxy’s Gamora and Drax, Master of Kung Fu, and Shang-Chi.
In January, Starlin openly declared that he was paid more by Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment for the inclusion of his DC character Anatoli Knyazev in the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He said that he earned more from that project than the appearance of Thanos, Gamora, and Drax in all the times they appeared in MCU films combined.
Anatoli Knyazev, a minor DC character, is the Russian commander who kidnapped Lois Lane and Martha Wayne in the Batman v Superman movie. Thanos is one of Marvel’s greatest super villains who is set to appear in Avengers: Infinity War next year, while Gamora and Drax are two of the most popular protagonists in the MCU.
Starlin’s resignation is not a surprise to Thanos fans because his rocky relationship with Marvel Comics has been well-documented in the past years.
