Its not that I’ve fallen prey to Iron Man mania, even though promotion for the film is everywhere: on ESPN, at Burger King, any toy aisle at Target. I’ve been impressed by Matt Fraction’s run on the series. The completion of his most recent story arc just happens to coincide with the U.S. debut of the film Iron Man 2 on May 7th.
The film actually opened last weekend in Europe, because the rest of the world will soon be in the throws of World Cup fever and studios know that when World Cup soccer is played movies get ignored. Unlike some fanboys, I can wait a week and ignore the bootleg dubbed versions of the film popping up on the interwebs. I pass the time reading the source material.
Great Reads
Iron Man #25
This one reminded me of the old days, I’m talking the 1980s and early 1990s storylines of Iron Man. Basically Tony would get the crap beat out of him and then have to go into the lab and make some new armor to take on “the fill in the blank” villain. It happened back in Iron Man #200 when Tony made the Silver Centurion armor to go after Obadiah Stane. Tony put down the booze, made some armor, destroyed the villain, and took back his company.
Here we’re coming off The Siege and Tony has regained his genius, but the aftermath of Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign has left him poor and Stark Industries is a shell of itself. But we see that after being the biggest douchebag in the Marvel Universe, Tony still has friends. He needs a lab to make some new armor in, so he heads to New York and has a heart-to-heart with Reed Richards. Then Tony talks with Thor. This conversation seemed a little odd, since Thor basically gave him a pass and offered him some start up capital from the Asgardian treasury. I saw it as odd, because Tony was one of the people who created the Thor clone, Ragnarok. And we’ve seen how well that turned out.
I applaud writer Matt Fraction for paying attention to the book’s history and bringing in past villians’ children. Fraction’s first arc used Obadiah Stane’s son Ezekiel. And this month were introduced to Sasha Hammer, the granddaughter of long time Stark corporate nemesis Justin Hammer. She and her mom Justine have developed a new battlesuit for hire and eventual mayhem, Detroit Steel.
My only bug-a-boo about the issue is now Tony and the armor are integrated. We won’t get any get scenes like we had in the 70s and 80s where Tony had carry around the armor in suitcase and find someplace to put it on. It was Tony’s Clark Kent needs a phone booth moment.
Turf #1
People are fond of saying that, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But with comic books you kind of have to. The cover is what motivates you to pick it up. I saw Turf and was pulled in by the 1930s gangsters and vampires on the cover. Oh and the spaceship. Its a nice mix of genres thrown in a blender with really compelling art by Tommy Lee Edwards. And its just like I said, Prohibition era gangsters fighting vampires in Manhattan and then some alien smugglers crash land near Coney Island. The dialogue is extremely dense, sometimes the word balloons crowd out the art.
That might be a function of the writer, Jonathan Ross. Until I read the letters page, I didn’t know that it was the same BBC talk show host, Jonathan Ross. Here in the States he can be seen on BBC America. Apparently he’s a comic book geek of the highest order, owning multiple copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 (first appearance of Spider-Man). And copies of Detective Comics #27 (first Batman) and Action Comics #1 (first Superman). I thought his talk show was OK, but I am extremely impressed by his book. Looking forward to the next five issues.
Good Reads
Secret Warriors #15
It’s like Mommy and Daddy are fighting. I’m still disturbed that La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine has been revealed to be a spy for the Russian organization Leviathan. She and Nick Fury had one of the more interesting love affairs in comic books, going back to the 1960s, so its a bit jarring to see her as a bad guy. But it is what it is, Nick seems OK with it.
Sparta U.S.A. #1 and #2
Think Logan’s Run crossed with Friday Night Lights and a hint of Jericho. That’s Sparta U.S.A. Thus far we have a small town nestled somewhere in the mountains, where football is king. The townspeople treat it like a religion. Because this guy named the Maestro told them to. He also hands out babies and decides who can get married and what jobs they’ll have. Upsetting this idyllic setting, is the return of Godfrey McLaine. McLaine was the greatest football player Sparta ever produced, but he disappeared in the mountains beyond the town years ago. Now he’s back and he’s intent on taking the Maestro down.
First Wave #1
We meet Doc Savage and The Spirit. Umm, now what. I thought this would play like the Marvels Project but it doesn’t have that tone. I also picked up The Spirit #1, which is part of this First Wave. The art by Moritat was fantastic. But I have the same question, “Where are we going?”
Disappointing Reads
Iron Man Legacy #1
At first, I welcomed the idea of a new monthly Iron Man book. I figured Fraction’s book was great, both books have the same editor in Ralph Macchio, what could go wrong? How about continuity:
(1) Confusion over the name of Stark’s company… Stark Industries, Stark Enterprises, Stark Resilient.
(2) Brand spanking new armor introduced in Iron Man #25, not seen anywhere in this book. Odd since there isn’t any other armor in existence– except that suitcase that Steve Rogers had.
(3) Where did this Long Island factory come from? Ezekiel Stane destroyed a large part of it a year ago and again in Iron Man #25, there are no factories owned by Stark.
I hope that Mr. Macchio can get a handle on what’s actually supposed to be going on. I’m not asking for 40 years of continuity to be obeyed– I’m asking that this book follow the storyline laid out by a book released a week before.
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