A reborn Adam Warlock finds himself at the birth of the universe as Jim Starlin kicks off "The Infinity Entity" #1, an issue cosmically rendered by Alan Davis, Mark Farmer and Jordan Boyd. There's some connection between the events of this issue and Starlin's previous story, the "Thanos: The Infinity Revelation" OGN, but Warlock spends most of the issue in the most cosmic of dazes. Not much really happens in terms of story development, but Starlin and Davis make it fun anyway, taking the character back to a formative time in Marvel history and then closer to present day as Warlock begins to recollect who he is and explores the nature of his greatly enhanced new powers.

Starlin's story has all the grandiose watermarks that his cosmic epics generally do, and all artists know exactly how to execute them. Only such a Starlin epic would begin with Adam Warlock getting obliterated at the dawn of time, as he does here, before the infinitely more powerful character demonstrates the first ability in his increased power set: a healing factor that would make Wolverine jealous. Davis and Farmer play along, clearly getting Starlin's intent and simultaneously pulling off creation and destruction in beautiful fashion. Boyd likewise understands this and colors the Big Bang with the same purple tones often found in Starlin's painted works of the past.

The artists not only evoke Starlin's own style, but also that of Jack Kirby, especially when given the opportunity to render incarnations of characters from the dawn of the current Marvel Universe. This is in addition to the usual Neal Adams-type dynamics and flair that always accompany Davis' work; Davis' characters move fluidly and look as imposing -- or as menacing -- as

when they were rendered by Kirby or Adams. The highlight of the issue is Warlock's throwdown with these early characters, and -- as pure fanboy fisticuffs go -- it's a lot of fun, even if there's not much literary substance.

Literary substance can be overrated, though, and Starlin wows readers with cosmic coolness instead. Warlock effortlessly drifts about through time and space, demonstrating powers well beyond his known abilities, and is just as surprised by everything he experiences as readers are. There's a slow learning process that serves as whatever backbone Starlin's story has, and there's a palpable sense that answers are coming, even if few have arrived thus far. Some of Warlock's internal monologue is a little stiff, and many of his exclamations come across as a little too over-the-top when lettered in such a large font by Joe Sabino. This is also typical Starlin, but it's largely forgivable when presented in context with the rest of his story.

"The Infinity Entity" #1 reads like a kind of interlude to Starlin's overall story, but it's got that classic Starlin cosmos-spanning feel and it's given an even more epic texture by Davis and Farmer. It's not great, but it's plenty of fun.