"When industrialist Tony Stark, inventor extraordinaire, garbs himself in solar-charged, steel mesh armor, he becomes the world's greatest human fighting machine..."

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For other Iron Man appearances see Avengers TPBs and Son of Origins

Iron Man published by Marvel Comics
 

Essential Iron Man, vol. 2 2004 (SC TPB) 584 pages

Written by Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin. Pencils by Gene Colan, Johnny Craig, George Tuska with Jack Kirby. Inks by Jack Abel, Frank Giacoia, Johnny Craig.
black and white. Letters: Art Simek, Sam Rosen, others.

Reprinting: (the Iron Man stories from) Tales of Suspense #73-99, Tales to Astonish #82, Iron Man & The Sub-Mariner #1, Iron Man #1-11 (1966-1969) - with covers

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Marvel's "Essential" volumes -- wherein a large consecutive run of issues are reprinted in black & white -- can be curious things to try and review. Unlike regular TPB collections, which usually collect a specific story arc, or are collections of selected stories, these are just massive runs of issues, not necessarily forming an arc, or promising significant tales.

Iron Man had started out in 12 page episodes in the comic Tales of Suspense (sharing the comic with a Captain America series) and this begins part way through his Tales of Suspense run, as well as the first eleven issues of his own, full length comic (as well as the 12 page chapter from an Iron Man and Sub-Mariner one-shot which bridged the two...plus an earlier Tales to Astonish issue which was part of a cross over story).

It's a lot of material. And, to be honest, there aren't too many high points. Few classic stories that stand out above the others. One could even dismiss this era of Iron Man as one of a kind of competent mediocrity.

Yet, if so...it's a pretty darn enjoyable mediocrity.

I picked this up on a whim, feeling a tinge of nostalgia for the Iron Man of yesteryear (before the whole Civil War stuff) and because I've developed a great love for Gene Colan's art, which is heartily represented here. Colan and scripter Stan Lee supply the majority of the material, before Archie Goodwin takes over the writing and artists Johnny Craig and then George Tuska come on board for the Iron Man solo issues. (Don Heck, a frequent early Iron Man illustrator, is not in this volume...despite his name on the cover!)

In this collection there are appearances by various familiar adversaries, such as the Mandarin, the Unicorn and the Grey Gargoyle, as well as the introduction of Whitney Frost (later Madame Masque) and Special Agent Jasper Sitwell.

Part of the fun of these Essential volumes is that they allow you to follow the evolving sub-plots and the developing of themes and characters. But they can also draw attention to it if that isn't really being done, or done well. Lee seems to have a tone, and character dynamics, he's playing with...then will sometimes abruptly change direction, as if he lost the sense of where some idea was taking him. Not that it's surprising, given Lee's workload at the time, writing the majority of the Marvel comics -- it's more amazing the series where he >did manage to maintain a consistent narrative drive (Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four).

These issues are, of course, steeped (or perhaps mired) in their Cold War era. Industrialist Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) is first and foremost a weapons designer -- a profession that later generations would see as a tad less romantic (a few years later, with shifting ideological tides, Tony would drop out of the arms business). And communist villains are frequent adversaries -- though the villainy isn't (entirely) one note jingoism (in one story, Iron Man remarks that his communist adversary "had courage"). And Iron Man's most consistently recurring foe, the Chinese villain, the Mandarin, is actually A-political.

Iron Man is slightly unusual in comics because, when Tony Stark, he is just a normal, vulnerable guy, which is why Tony Stark can be as compelling as his alter ego. My complaint about Iron Man has often been that he can be too powerful. But in these earlier stories there's much more emphasis on his armour's limitations, where he barely ekes out a victory before the power drains out or it otherwise shuts down -- it makes for some surprisingly exciting, suspenseful battles. As well, I had once seen Lee refer to Tony Stark as one of his tragic heroes, and (being only familiar with later Iron Man comics) wasn't sure what he meant. But in the earlier issues, it turns out the heart damage Tony suffered as part of his origin (which is re-capped once or twice here) was a continuing dilemma. It creates a melancholic sub-text (and an added nobility to the character) of this guy trying to carry on, and fight the good fight, even as he believes he could checkout at any time (and almost does). He's a playboy millionaire who has everything except, in his mind, a future. During this period, the supporting cast consisted of his secretary Pepper Potts and his best friend, Happy Hogan (gotta love Lee's alliteration). In my review of the early Spider-Man Essential collections, I comment that what distinguished Spider-Man from most super heroes was the large supporting cast -- and here's the flip side, a comic where the supporting players are pretty limited.

Still there's the requisite unrequited love theme, as Pepper loves Tony, but he pushes her away -- not because he's Iron Man, but because with his bad heart, he feels it would be unfair to let her fall in love with a man who might die at anytime. In other words, some of the human drama aspect has nothing, directly, to do with the super heroing. There's also a recurring sub-plot of a Senator trying to investigate Tony.

Dressed up with Colan's moody, shadowy art, there's a sombre mood to some of these early issues (accentuated by the black & white presentation) that is entertaining and effective. But it's also a bit repetitive, with Lee introducing these aspects, then not really seeming to have anywhere he's going with them. The adventures themselves bleed over from story to story, so that often even as a plot resolves...the story still ends on a cliff hanger pushing us into the next one (which is a benefit of these collected editions).

Then the Senator abruptly drops his investigation and Pepper, after many issues pining for Tony, suddenly falls for Happy! And the two drop back to making only irregular appearances. Tony initially takes it hard, and in a brief sequence where he becomes a womanizer and party animal, it's as if Lee wants to explore some emotional angst.

Except...it then seems more just a segue into redefining Tony as more easy going hedonist. And though he still has heart problems, the idea of Tony living under a shadow of death seems forgotten. By this point, a new cast member is added -- SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell, assigned to provide security for Tony. A comical blend of modesty and arrogance (confident of his SHIELD training) the callow Jasper talks in a never ending stream of jingoistic hyperbole ("In a world beset by dangers...it ill becomes a Special Agent to relax!") that amusingly clashes with Tony's more worldly cynicism. But where Jasper becomes a kind of clever concept is that, instead of being a Maxwell Smart clone, he really is good at his job. Sitwell also gets some serious plot threads, in a sub-plot involving his girlfriend secretly being leader of the nefarious Maggia crime syndicate.

Throughout all this there remains a consistent, if modest, level of enjoyment. Lee writes with a heavy hand, but it's his style, and you can groove to it. The stories rich in emotional angst succeed in their brooding melancholy, occasionally achieving a genuine emotional intensity, and the scenes going for the lighter, more flippant tone are equally fun. All beautifully rendered by Colan's organic, fluid style -- sure, his super heroes can seem a bit weirdly proportioned, but his "domestic" scenes evince a startling realism.

Eventually Archie Goodwin assumes the scripting and takes a bit to settle in, obviously trying to ape Lee's dialogue and exclamations (!). But once he moves into the full length issues of the Iron Man comic, delivers some decent adventure plots, and also seems to have a better grasp of technology -- Lee's idea of technobabble was usually just to add an "o" (Destruct-o beams)! There's less emphasis on the armour's limitations, and though heart problems crop up, it's not a driving concern...with a new sub-plot involving Tony romancing Janice Cord (after all those issues of his rebuffing Pepper 'cause he felt he didn't have the right to romance a woman!).

Art-wise, Colan bows out, replaced by Johnny Craig. Colan's art was a big plus to the series, adding a maturity and stylishness that helped prop up the, admittedly, simple plots and repetitive characterization. Though Craig is nowhere in Colan's league (no one was) -- surprisingly, the art still delivers some goods. Craig's style is more conventional, but it's clean, with well proportioned figures, and a grounded realism. Then Craig is followed by George Tuska, one of those chronically underappreciated artists, but who would go on to have an on again/off again relationship with Iron Man throughout the 1970s. Tuska maybe takes an issue or two to settle in, but bridges Colan and Craig's styles, with a more conventional line work, like Craig, a more "comic booky" look...yet with a hint of Colan in his choice of angles, and the fluid way he can draw figures in action. The visuals may lose out when Colan departs...but remain solid.

I've read some Essential collections where, though not bad, the overall impression left is one of ambivalence, the stories okay page turners, but nothing more. Yet, curiously, despite my freely admitting that there's nothing, perhaps, standout about this era of Iron Man, and the frustrating way themes and sub-plots are teased along...then peter out, I really quite enjoyed this collection. As a read-it-for-what-it-is, the pacing is good (the 12 page chapters of the Tales of Suspense run nicely bite-size), the art (particularly Colan) absorbing, and even if there's an inconsistency in the tone (Tony is an angst riddled guy living under a cloud of death/Tony is a cocky playboy) at least the shifts are -- more or less -- defined, so it's not pinggponging back and forth erratically.

So, yeah, it ain't perfect...but it was eminently enjoyable! As a bundle of Iron Man tales, it hits the spot.

Cover price: $__ CDN./$16.99 USA.

Iron Man: Crash  1988 (SC GN) 72 pgs.

Written, illustrated, lettered, coloured by Mike Saenz.

Additional notes: Tabloid sized, published under the banner of Marvel's imprint line, Epic. Supposedly the first graphic novel entirely drawn, lettered and colored by computer. Features a "behind the scenes" commentary by creator Mike Saenz.

Rating: * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Though billed as the "first computer generated graphic novel", that's not quite the landmark it might seem. Creator Mike Saenz had previously done the computer generated comicbook, Shatter.

Sidestepping the technology for a moment, the story can be seen as either Marvel's modest attempt to emulate DC's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, or as actually anticipating DC's Elseworld line, in that it isn't meant to reflect normal continuity.

It takes place in the future. Iron Man's alter ego, industrialist Tony Stark, sells the designs to his armour to a Japanese company, hoping to bring the benefits of his technology to the world. But the world is locked in a kind of technological cold war and everyone, including superspy Nick Fury (brought out of retirement) advises him against it, fearing the technology will end up in the wrong hands. A few double crosses and assassination attempts later, and Tony has to don his moth-balled Iron Man suit to stop the bad guys.

At its best focusing on Tony Stark and the brooding espionage plot, the story remains interesting for the first half, seeming complex in its obliqueness, even throwing in a possible romance with a Japanese aide (that never goes anywhere). It's when Iron Man goes into action that things fall apart with mindless shoot 'em ups, simplistic resolutions, lapses in logic and even confusing aspects. I'm still not sure how a technocratic cult fit into the machinations! And in the last pages there's a completely new story idea that comes out of nowhere and just leaves you going, "huh?"

When staying with the characters, Saenz does O.K., but his love of techno-speak eventually overwhelms the narrative. Even the computer jargon title ("Crash") isn't relevant to the story. Some readers might understand passages like: "My SCV secondary material body protective shielding is formed of titanium beryllium goedesic alloy doped with nickel iron mylar superstrate and interlaced microcrystalline quartz fiber and synthetic rubber endoform and ectoform substrate layer." Some readers may even care...but not many, I'll wager. There's no "Try a blast of my repulsor rays, ugly!" and leave it at that. In fact, Saez dumps Iron Man's traditional gadgets for machine guns and a canon that (implausibly) Iron Man seems to be able to pull out of nowhere. There's nothing in the story to justify Iron Man's use of lethal force, either, so I have to assume Saenz is one of those "Guns & Ammo"-types who bristles at the more liberal conventions of the superhero genre -- even if a brutal Iron Man detracts from the narrative (since it's out of character).

Now, about the whole "computer generated" aspect. Reviewed all these years later, history has eloquently said all that I could. Computers have become a part of modern comics, it's true -- used to augment art by creating effects, helping in the separation of colours, and used by letterers. But as for wholely computer generated comics? It doesn't seem to have happened. All the technology in the world can't replace a talented man or woman with pencil and ink brush in hand. Here Saez shows a nice eye for panel composition, and the use of computer enchanced textures is interesting, and faces inparticular can have a soft, 3-D effect...even as they tend to be limited in expressions. But the overall artwork is crude and clumsy. I'm not completely dismissing the art -- it's certainly atmospheric in spots -- but it's problematic.

It's the story, though, that ultimately undermines the thing by the end, not the experiment with the art.

This was published under Marvel's imprint Epic. Yup, just as Marvel largely pioneered the graphic novel format (among mainstream American companies) but DC has emerged as the main user of the format, Marvel came up with an imprint banner (named after a magazine Marvel tried in the early '80s) that specialized in less superhero, more SF/fantasy works, usually with a mature readers spin just like DC later did with Vertigo. The only deference paid to the "mature readers" idea, here, other than (maybe) the violence in the climax, is a scene where Tony shares a (platonic) hot tub with a pretty gal.

Ultimately, this starts out a moody, SF espionage story...but falls apart before the end.

Original cover price: $16.95 CDN./$12.95 USA. 

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle
  was first released as The Power of Iron Man and is reviewed here

On to Iron Man reviews page two

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