More from Marvel’s dim and distant past. As with so many of these volumes, what really hits in this collection is the lack of a sense of scale overall. There’s no time to breathe or cultivate a sense of wonder, we’re on to the next fight or encounter as soon as the last one’s finished. For all the characters are off to a moon of Saturn or another plane of existence they might as well be popping next door. In particular it’s amusing to see Thanos, subsequently a villain of universe shattering ambition and mythical status, as a near ordinary supervillain here - he uses human pawns, skulks in a mundane Earth base and his ambition is limited to conquering his own homeworld. This is the Marvel universe before writers who’d grown up as fans began to dominate, before it began to feed on its own legends and the heroes and villains turned into monolithic legends.

It’s tough to judge this volume on its own merits, with the accompanying Death of Captain Marvel appearing in a future book. It’s entertaining enough, but ultimately it’s only half a story. As I’ve never read the full story I can’t call it a satisfying story in its own right as yet, ( )