Thanos, the antagonist of the Avengers: Infinity War film, is one of Marvel Comics' most popular and iconic villains. A large part of his enduring popularity is due to the work done with the character by creator Jim Starlin. After introducing the death-loving Mad Titan in 1973's Iron Man #55, with co-writer Mike Friedrich, Starlin returned to Thanos a number of times to pen such celebrated tales as 1977's “The Final Threat”, and both the Thanos Quest and Infinity Gauntlet miniseries in the eary-90s.

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In 2014, Starlin returned to Marvel and Thanos for a new cycle of stories. In February, he'll kick off his final, three-part Thanos saga with a brand new graphic novel Thanos: The Infinity Siblings, featuring art by Alan Davis. In the story, titular siblings Thanos and his brother Starfox reluctantly join forces with Kang the Conqueror for a strange and dangerous journey across time and space.

CBR spoke with Starlin about his story, the dynamic between his three cast members, and why he's finally saying goodbye to Thanos.

CBR: With Thanos: The Infinity Siblings you're kicking off a new cycle of stories about the Mad Titan. Does it connect at all to the previous cycle that wrapped up last year with The Infinity Finale? Which aspects of Thanos' character were you interested in exploring in this story?

Jim Starlin: Yes, this trilogy of graphic novels will most definitely be tied to the stories I have previously written and drawn involving everyone's favorite Mad Titan. In case anyone hasn't noticed, there have been three different Thanoses in the Marvel pantheon over the past few years: Marvel Comics' Thanos, the Thanos I've been involved with, and the movie universe Thanos, which we've only seen glimpses of so far. Can't wait for May to arrive. This series of graphic novels are set to be my final Thanos saga.

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Thanos: Infinity Siblings by Alan Davis and Ciane Dusk

The aspect explored in this yarn revolves around the Titan's relationship with time, what's left of his family and himself. All are complicated affairs.

The other title character of The Infinity Siblings is Thanos' brother, Eros, AKA Starfox. What's it like returning to Eros for this story? What do you find most interesting about his relationship with Thanos?

Eros was a bit of a throwaway character right from his inception. Like Mentor (now deceased) he was added to the mix to give Thanos a background story, a history. Time went on and I never really got back to Eros, to fill him out more. Others have written and drawn Eros stories and done some interesting things with the character along the way. But basically Eros has remained a very charming cypher, extremely one dimensional. So I thought adding a few new angles on his personality might be in order. Think about it. How normal could one be if while growing up your brother was Thanos? Holiday suppers had to be interesting get-togethers. Folks will be seeing a markedly different Eros from the one they know and will be surprised when they learn they've known him all along.

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Accompanying Thanos and Eros on their journey in this story is Kang the Conqueror. What made you want to bring him into this story? What kind of role does he play in the book?

Time, and traveling through it, are major elements in this first graphic novel and the others, so bumping into Kang along the way seemed quite natural. The Conqueror doesn't appear until late in the first installment but plays a key role in moving the story along to the following two graphic novels (in which he will also appear). As always Kang enters the fray with his own agenda but soon finds that nothing goes as expected when dealing with the Mad Titan. He's also instrumental in the change we will see in Eros. Actually this story is more about Thanos' baby brother's relationship with folks than it is the Mad Titan's. But the two characters are linked by more than just their DNA. The insane quest Eros is forced upon has startling ramification for his big brother.

How would you describe the initial dynamic between your three main characters? It seems like trust would be a limited commodity between Thanos, Eros and Kang.

You think so? The truth is trust is nonexistent with this group. At some point or another each one of these characters screws the other before the trilogy comes to its end. We're not talking about honorable gentlemen here. They're all rogues. In fact, of all the characters in this tale, only two of them could be considered somewhat trustworthy: a new character called Ghost and Pip the Troll. When Pip's one of the more honest folks around, you know you're in for a rocky ride.

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Thanos: Infinity Siblings by Alan Davis and Ciane Dusk

What else can tell us about the antagonists and supporting characters of the story?

The story starts off with a huge battle, whose conclusion appears preordained. But then the unthinkable occurs, tables are turned, and the tale starts to get weird. Seeing I'm limited to one book a year, I've tried to jam as much strangeness into each of these graphic novels as the tales can bear. Along with Kang and the aforementioned Pip, there's a new character called Ghost, who comes from a world where three separate intelligent life forms compete to be that world's dominant species. Yeah, there's a touch of politics hidden away within this tale. Eros also encounters a number of interesting characters along the journey he takes in this graphic novel.

Where and perhaps when are Thanos, Eros and Kang visiting? Will we see some familiar Marvel cosmic settings and empires? Or are you focusing on new settings and alien cultures?

Mostly it will be a new set of folks Thanos and company will be dealing with in this start off tale. An old foe does reappear, but he is linked to this new environment, which is set in Thanos' future. There's also some events, which take place in distant space realms in our own time. Like I said, I was trying to cram as much as I could into these stories, so they're a bit all over the place.

There's not much of anything in The Infinity Siblings that's on the surreal side. We have quite a bit more along those lines in the two following graphic novels. The first story is basically a war tale and one of self discovery, in a bizarre sort of way. Humorous moments? Yes, there are a few, especially when Eros and Pip start interacting. I share the same point of view as do the Marvel movie makers, in that even the most dire of tales occasionally requires a touch of lightening up. Staying at one grim level throughout a story is a good way to produce a very boring story.

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Your collaborator on The Infinity Siblings is Alan Davis, who you worked with on Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy and The Infinity Entity. What was it like collaborating with Alan on this book? What do you like most about his depictions of Thanos?

What do I like most about working with the talented Mr. Davis? How he draws Thanos' face and the emotions he renders into it. Aside from having a masterful sense of design and breath taking drawing skills, Alan brings an emotional life to the characters he draws that very few can match. I know if I request a subtler emotional response displayed, Mr. Davis will deliver. It's quite humbling working with such a talent.

Plus, the battle scenes he's drawn for this first graphic novel are unbelievable! Wait until you see them. They're going to blow your socks off!

Finally, are you able to say anything at all, about where your story goes after Infinity Siblings?

Let's see... The second book is entitled Thanos: The Infinity Conflict, where we learn more about the startling character who only comes onto the stage at the end of Siblings. Plus, further developments, concerning Eros' strange transformational journey, come to light. Oh yeah, Adam Warlock joins the cast. The third graphic novel is entitled Thanos: The Infinity Ending and will complete my run on Thanos. I love this segment's ending, but will say no more about it than that.

I have completed the scripts for all three graphic novels. At this point in time Alan has finished the art for the first book and is well into the second. My participation on this project at this point will be limited to proofing and editing the script once it is lettered, along with editor Sarah Brunstad. Tying up a few other loose ends, and the Titan and I will be parting company for the last time.

How does it feel to be saying goodbye to Thanos?

For quite some time, I have had the privilege of pretty much solely determining where our Mad Titan would go in his fictional life. It's work I feel I can be proud of. But Thanos is the property of Marvel Entertainment, and with the movies on the horizon, Big Purple is about to enter the rarified classification of being a cultural icon, a character bigger than the comic books, writers and artists that birthed him. Marvel Editorial has made it clear they want fresh takes on the Titan, so who am I to argue with them? It's been fun, Big Guy. Go out and have an interesting and entertaining life after.