Hello Cosmic Part 11: Warlock & The Infinity Watch #12-17

[Continuing my look at Jim Starlin's cosmic work at Marvel. Posts are published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.]

The first two issues have a two-part story where Drax remembers a little portion of his previous life, goes to New York, accidentally trashes stuff, is called the Hulk by everyone, which prompts the Hulk to show up and they fight. Strangely, these are two of the stronger issues of the series as Starlin balances heart, character and humour with a bit of action.

There's also a little bit of the Gamorra loves Adam who is in a coma subplot, which plays out a little more in issue 14 when UN troops show up on Monster Island. Gamorra tries to handle things with diplomacy, but the guy in charge of the invasion is a stereotypical asshole, so she beats the shit out of the soldiers. There's a nice bit where Pip and Moondragon bet on how long it will take her to beat them all up. The issue ends with a guy named Count Abyss wanting Adam's soul gem and a comatose Adam contacted by Eternity.

Issue 15 returns to Adam Warlock mental patient as Eternity forces him to face four aspects of himself: Him, the Warrior-Hero, the Suicidal Paranoid and the Magus. This is necessary for Adam to continue his role as guardian of the galaxy or something, which he recognises once he's merged with the aspects--but he's still pissed off. He comes out of the coma and has been given an orb by Eternity to help him out.

Count Abyss makes a move against Warlock and the Watch by sending shadows after them in #16. Not much there.

Issue 17 introduces Maxam, a man Gamorra has foreseen will kill Warlock and has no memory of who he really is. He fits into Starlin's love of mysterious characters and motivations. He seems to have the power of mass control. Despite warnings, Warlock agrees to let him stay with the Watch, figuring it's better to keep an eye on him.

All solid superhero comics. Only issue 15 resembles the Starlin of the '70s, but even then, it's nothing that spectacular. The highlights of this group are the Drax/Hulk issues.

Sorry, don't have much to say about these comics. On Wednesday, I'll begin looking at The Infinity Crusade, which is a 16-part crossover and the last part of the Infinity trilogy.