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Iron Man (2012) (Collected Editions)
Iron Man, Vol. 1: Believe
Tony Stark is Iron Man: Technological visionary, wealthy playboy, unparalleled engineer, and armored Avenger. But in one terrifying instant, his greatest invention becomes his greatest mistake. The lethal techno virus Extremis is out in the wild and out for grabs to the highest bidder! Introducing the Circle, a mysterious high-tech brotherhood of mech-knights, as Tony's hunt for the rogue Extremis Units takes him to the island of New Camelot! As he dogfights the secret Russian Black Exoskeleton Academy's greatest pilot, Iron Man must act fast...and Tony Stark must build faster! It's up to Tony to contain Extremis, and that means creating a new suit of armor...NOW!
Collecting: Iron Man 1-5
Collecting: Iron Man 1-5
144 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2012
24 people are currently reading
599 people want to read
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,484 books1,915 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
March 3, 2022
This was a fun read!
Iron man is flirting with ladies when suddenly he gets a message from Maya Hansen as she is dying that Extremis is lose and we have Tony on the hunt for it and well he goes to different locations on the hunt for it like first using stealth suit and battling enemies like Laser, Firehead and Vibr and that was a fun face off or in space meeting his friend Eli and like seeing how Extremis has changed them and its a fun battle of philosophies and also some new group having "knights name" like Lancelot and all and let by his old nemesis Merlin which was a fun face off and I like how they think Tony will stick to the code of honor or something but they don't know him haha and I love how it ends with deception!
Its a great volume and has Tony going on wild adventures and I love that about it, the art is not the best but its still great I guess. The writer ends with a cliffhanger of him going to space and tying it up with the Bendis plot of GOTG so that should be fun!
Iron man is flirting with ladies when suddenly he gets a message from Maya Hansen as she is dying that Extremis is lose and we have Tony on the hunt for it and well he goes to different locations on the hunt for it like first using stealth suit and battling enemies like Laser, Firehead and Vibr and that was a fun face off or in space meeting his friend Eli and like seeing how Extremis has changed them and its a fun battle of philosophies and also some new group having "knights name" like Lancelot and all and let by his old nemesis Merlin which was a fun face off and I like how they think Tony will stick to the code of honor or something but they don't know him haha and I love how it ends with deception!
Its a great volume and has Tony going on wild adventures and I love that about it, the art is not the best but its still great I guess. The writer ends with a cliffhanger of him going to space and tying it up with the Bendis plot of GOTG so that should be fun!
September 16, 2013
Mixed feelings. On one hand, I do appreciate that the storyline is self contained. It starts here, and it's over with here. You don't need much canon background, other than a passing knowledge of Extremis. I already had that, but you could probably pick up everything you needed to know from this collection. And parts of the story are very fun.
That said, I did take issue with some aspects of this book, namely the art. Land seems to have a hard time drawing convincing expressions, especially on the female characters. Consistency also seems to be an issue: the Tony Stark in issue one doesn't quite look like the Tony Stark of issue three. I also got tired of the how sexualized all of the female characters are. All of them. It's really irritating when Pepper and Tony are trying to have a serious conversation, in panels framed where we see Pepper's body, but not her face. That it doesn't happen more often is solely due to the book being mostly Tony, most of the time.
The vast majority of women that show up on the page are there as props, not as people. Gillen took Tony's playboy tendencies to their crudest extremes, while ignoring Tony's actual character. Would he really work on designs for future tech while literally surrounded by bikini-wearing women? Because there's absolutely no way that one of his competitors couldn't take advantage of that by sending in a pretty lady in very little clothing to do a little corporate espionage. And while I'm at it, Tony designing an AI to sound like Pepper (and naming it P.E.P.P.E.R.) is far, far creepier than Gillen seems to realize.
I would have enjoyed this book more if not for all of that, but it's hardly a work of genius in any event. Fun, sure, and easy for readers fresh off Iron Man 3 but with little comic content.
That said, I did take issue with some aspects of this book, namely the art. Land seems to have a hard time drawing convincing expressions, especially on the female characters. Consistency also seems to be an issue: the Tony Stark in issue one doesn't quite look like the Tony Stark of issue three. I also got tired of the how sexualized all of the female characters are. All of them. It's really irritating when Pepper and Tony are trying to have a serious conversation, in panels framed where we see Pepper's body, but not her face. That it doesn't happen more often is solely due to the book being mostly Tony, most of the time.
The vast majority of women that show up on the page are there as props, not as people. Gillen took Tony's playboy tendencies to their crudest extremes, while ignoring Tony's actual character. Would he really work on designs for future tech while literally surrounded by bikini-wearing women? Because there's absolutely no way that one of his competitors couldn't take advantage of that by sending in a pretty lady in very little clothing to do a little corporate espionage. And while I'm at it, Tony designing an AI to sound like Pepper (and naming it P.E.P.P.E.R.) is far, far creepier than Gillen seems to realize.
I would have enjoyed this book more if not for all of that, but it's hardly a work of genius in any event. Fun, sure, and easy for readers fresh off Iron Man 3 but with little comic content.
February 10, 2016
The introductory arc of Gillen's run in Iron Man is a direct sequel to Warren Ellis' seminal Extremis
story-line. It's Tony Stark's worst nightmare, the science that made him the best Iron Man he could in the hands of the weapon merchants A.I.M.
I actually appreciated this approach by Gillen because Extremis is much more familiar to me than Matt Fraction's Iron Man, whose work on the character preceded Gillen's. It also helped that the Iron Man sequel released this year borrowed heavily from Ellis' story.
I enjoyed this trade. It read as good as it was in floppies but the trade has all the variant covers of the first five issues of this title.
story-line. It's Tony Stark's worst nightmare, the science that made him the best Iron Man he could in the hands of the weapon merchants A.I.M.
I actually appreciated this approach by Gillen because Extremis is much more familiar to me than Matt Fraction's Iron Man, whose work on the character preceded Gillen's. It also helped that the Iron Man sequel released this year borrowed heavily from Ellis' story.
I enjoyed this trade. It read as good as it was in floppies but the trade has all the variant covers of the first five issues of this title.
August 31, 2014
Bullet Review:
I've not been an Iron Man fan for long, and I've by no means read his entire repertoire, but geez, this was so not worth $20.
The Extremis virus is back and Tony must hunt down the four clusters, if you will, out there. Cue lots of "monster of the week" plot lines - a goofy Arthurian one, a somewhat more interesting one involving a drug dealer and his dying daughter, an OK if not terribly well explained one with 13 brainwashed women and the last, a plot involving enhancing humans to adjust to space.
Honestly, the whole thing just flails and dies. The writing is so heavy, so wordy, it just doesn't let the panels speak for themselves. I've found I really despise comics that insist on having the protagonist endlessly narrate - zzzz!!! The art is very blah. Not bad, but not that great either. And the stories are mostly meh - with the exception of the drug lord one. The unfortunate part is that ALL of the stories are so short and so poorly explored, I wonder, why bother?
After this, I'm not sure I want to continue this line. It seems the series is just content to pump out issues, relying on the movies to sell them. I shouldn't read a comic and be bored and confused. I may just have to start checking out this series at the library, and save myself that $20.
I've not been an Iron Man fan for long, and I've by no means read his entire repertoire, but geez, this was so not worth $20.
The Extremis virus is back and Tony must hunt down the four clusters, if you will, out there. Cue lots of "monster of the week" plot lines - a goofy Arthurian one, a somewhat more interesting one involving a drug dealer and his dying daughter, an OK if not terribly well explained one with 13 brainwashed women and the last, a plot involving enhancing humans to adjust to space.
Honestly, the whole thing just flails and dies. The writing is so heavy, so wordy, it just doesn't let the panels speak for themselves. I've found I really despise comics that insist on having the protagonist endlessly narrate - zzzz!!! The art is very blah. Not bad, but not that great either. And the stories are mostly meh - with the exception of the drug lord one. The unfortunate part is that ALL of the stories are so short and so poorly explored, I wonder, why bother?
After this, I'm not sure I want to continue this line. It seems the series is just content to pump out issues, relying on the movies to sell them. I shouldn't read a comic and be bored and confused. I may just have to start checking out this series at the library, and save myself that $20.
Read
January 16, 2019DNF - this book is terrible. Don't read this.
This is like one of those posts where someone gave a robot and algorithm and asked them to write a Seinfeld script. Only, this robot was given the first 5 minutes of the 2008 Iron Man film and told to write an Iron Man comic. The art is awful, as well. The women don't have human proportions and don't appear to have bones in normal places. The writing is.... *sighs*
Just avoid at all costs.
2019 is the year of me no longer giving a f*ck about DNF-ing books I don't enjoy.
Oy vey.
This is like one of those posts where someone gave a robot and algorithm and asked them to write a Seinfeld script. Only, this robot was given the first 5 minutes of the 2008 Iron Man film and told to write an Iron Man comic. The art is awful, as well. The women don't have human proportions and don't appear to have bones in normal places. The writing is.... *sighs*
Just avoid at all costs.
2019 is the year of me no longer giving a f*ck about DNF-ing books I don't enjoy.
Oy vey.
January 19, 2018
Pretty decent. I wasn't a fan of Fraction's run with IM and this was one was more fun than that series. This book still felt super disjointed. A lot of easy villians for Tony to wipe out. Gives it a pretty slight feeling. Still willing to move forward with this series.
November 2, 2013
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Quite a bit of meh to my feelings.
When did the chick who engineered Extremis become a good guy? I missed something, didn't I? Somebody tell me what I missed!
Tony tracks down Extremis kits that have been sold to various villains and even to some not-so-bad guys.
The King Arthur storyline was by far the lamest, and the demon-chick at the end was by far the most confusing.
In between there was a lot of that meh I mentioned.
When did the chick who engineered Extremis become a good guy? I missed something, didn't I? Somebody tell me what I missed!
Tony tracks down Extremis kits that have been sold to various villains and even to some not-so-bad guys.
The King Arthur storyline was by far the lamest, and the demon-chick at the end was by far the most confusing.
In between there was a lot of that meh I mentioned.
June 18, 2015
This is my first iron man book and I was expecting this to be massively crap, but it wasn't. I actually enjoyed it.
I always thought iron man is good on screen, but he's never worked for me in comics. This kept me entertained until the end, but I don't think I'd read vol.2 unless it was on sale.
I'm wondering if I need to check out any of his old stuff....hmmmm where to start? Anyone?
Apart from some dodgy smiles from Tony in this, it was quite entertaining.
I always thought iron man is good on screen, but he's never worked for me in comics. This kept me entertained until the end, but I don't think I'd read vol.2 unless it was on sale.
I'm wondering if I need to check out any of his old stuff....hmmmm where to start? Anyone?
Apart from some dodgy smiles from Tony in this, it was quite entertaining.
April 22, 2013
A very disappointing start to the relaunched title of one of Marvel's biggest heroes. There's not much original about the book, Gillen's writing is so-so while Land's art all but sinks the book. Full review here!
January 18, 2013
Read in single issues.
I expected Greg Land's art to be a problem, and it was. I didn't expect Kieron Gillen's writing to be a problem, but it was.
The best writing in the world would struggle against Land's art, with its squinty-eyed men, its complete inability to depict any convincing human expressions (especially for women, who are limited either to smiling maniacally or looking like they're faking arousal), and its objectifying poses. It is, to be fair, pretty good at the technofantasia -- Iron Man in space looks quite nice.
Gillen's writing here, however, would drag down better art (it is not possible to drag down Land's art). This entire story is going through the motions, without verve or distinction, nothing entertaining, let alone anything that feels urgent to say. Tony Stark hunts down rogue Extremis installations and has self-centered or outright creepy interactions with Pepper Potts, who seems overly concerned with Tony's personal life for someone who is now the CEO of a company unaffiliated with him and also has a boyfriend. Maya Hansen is killed off in the first issue. The third issue features a bunch of women whom Extremis has turned into Dracula's wives: albino, mindless, and demonic. The conclusion of the arc is Tony naming his new AI after Pepper to remind him of earthly ties while he travels in space. Gillen lampshades this by having Tony realize this is creepy, but frankly I do not think either of them realizes how creepy it is, or how much it plays into sexist associations of women with earth, home, and care-taking, and men with exploration and adventure. Meanwhile, the entire arc of Tony's concerns about technology and interest in space exploration falls flat, both because Matt Fraction's run just ended the exact same way (Tony going off on a outer space trip) and because off in Jonathan Hickman's Avengers, space exploration is not only well-launched, but Tony has made a casual trip to Mars and been captured by galaxy-traveling world-destroying space aliens. Other people can't be trusted with the Extremis, but Tony has no ideas how to use it -- except to save a brown damsel in distress dying of cancer, who of course needs a white knight to swoop in with advanced technology to save her. Gillen's attempts at wide scope feels rote and his attempts at intimacy feel ham-handed.
Particularly bad bits:
* Apparently, recovering alcoholic Tony Stark keeps bottles of champagne around in his apartment.
* Tony Stark, notoriously paranoid about his tech and also engaged in a quest to recover and sequester Extremis, works on Iron Man designs at a poolside surrounded by women in bikinis, because no woman in a bikini has ever been a corporate spy. Then, because there just can't be enough of the male gaze in this scene, Greg Land frames the panels so that the Tony/Pepper conversation is dominated by the image of Pepper's ass.
* Pepper's expression as she asks, "Be honest, Tony. Do I look the same to you?" Gillen is obviously trying to suggest that Tony is using casual sex to avoid intimacy and that his contempt for the women he sleeps with deforms his emotional relationship with Pepper. This is undermined by the writing (in which Pepper's attitude towards Tony's one-night stands is even more misogynistic than Tony's) and then it is flat-out blown to bits by the art because ohmygod just look at it.
What worked:
* The new sulky adolescent AI amused me.
I expected Greg Land's art to be a problem, and it was. I didn't expect Kieron Gillen's writing to be a problem, but it was.
The best writing in the world would struggle against Land's art, with its squinty-eyed men, its complete inability to depict any convincing human expressions (especially for women, who are limited either to smiling maniacally or looking like they're faking arousal), and its objectifying poses. It is, to be fair, pretty good at the technofantasia -- Iron Man in space looks quite nice.
Gillen's writing here, however, would drag down better art (it is not possible to drag down Land's art). This entire story is going through the motions, without verve or distinction, nothing entertaining, let alone anything that feels urgent to say. Tony Stark hunts down rogue Extremis installations and has self-centered or outright creepy interactions with Pepper Potts, who seems overly concerned with Tony's personal life for someone who is now the CEO of a company unaffiliated with him and also has a boyfriend. Maya Hansen is killed off in the first issue. The third issue features a bunch of women whom Extremis has turned into Dracula's wives: albino, mindless, and demonic. The conclusion of the arc is Tony naming his new AI after Pepper to remind him of earthly ties while he travels in space. Gillen lampshades this by having Tony realize this is creepy, but frankly I do not think either of them realizes how creepy it is, or how much it plays into sexist associations of women with earth, home, and care-taking, and men with exploration and adventure. Meanwhile, the entire arc of Tony's concerns about technology and interest in space exploration falls flat, both because Matt Fraction's run just ended the exact same way (Tony going off on a outer space trip) and because off in Jonathan Hickman's Avengers, space exploration is not only well-launched, but Tony has made a casual trip to Mars and been captured by galaxy-traveling world-destroying space aliens. Other people can't be trusted with the Extremis, but Tony has no ideas how to use it -- except to save a brown damsel in distress dying of cancer, who of course needs a white knight to swoop in with advanced technology to save her. Gillen's attempts at wide scope feels rote and his attempts at intimacy feel ham-handed.
Particularly bad bits:
* Apparently, recovering alcoholic Tony Stark keeps bottles of champagne around in his apartment.
* Tony Stark, notoriously paranoid about his tech and also engaged in a quest to recover and sequester Extremis, works on Iron Man designs at a poolside surrounded by women in bikinis, because no woman in a bikini has ever been a corporate spy. Then, because there just can't be enough of the male gaze in this scene, Greg Land frames the panels so that the Tony/Pepper conversation is dominated by the image of Pepper's ass.
* Pepper's expression as she asks, "Be honest, Tony. Do I look the same to you?" Gillen is obviously trying to suggest that Tony is using casual sex to avoid intimacy and that his contempt for the women he sleeps with deforms his emotional relationship with Pepper. This is undermined by the writing (in which Pepper's attitude towards Tony's one-night stands is even more misogynistic than Tony's) and then it is flat-out blown to bits by the art because ohmygod just look at it.
What worked:
* The new sulky adolescent AI amused me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2017
This was the first Iron Man comic I've read since Ellis's Extremis. Oddly, it picks up the Extremis story-line. Some bad guy has stolen the technology and sold it to some people. The book is very episodic with each chapter concerning Stark retrieving the technology from another buyer. This makes for a fairly predictable story, but the author keeps it interesting by the variety of characters and the varying uses the buyers used the technology for. Some use it for evil, some for good (in an idealistic sense). I suppose that's the theme of the story: Stark questions whether his technology has a net-positive or negative impact on humanity.
The art was nice, and consistent; although nothing to get excited over.
The art was nice, and consistent; although nothing to get excited over.
May 15, 2019
This wasn’t particularly great. It felt messy but also boring as hell. Not much happens, but it is a contained story for once. I appreciate that it basically continues the continuity of the extremis storyline and doesn’t involve any crossover event. But it was just boring and generic. Nothing exciting happens and pepper is basically here to push the story forward by questioning why Tony is acting like an idiot. And boy is he acting a fool. This is one of the worst characterizations I’ve seen of Tony in a while. He’s a womanizing asshole that doesn’t seem to care about Pepper’s feelings, even though every book before this contradicts that. Women are once again portrayed horribly here. Snooze cruise, let’s move on.
June 5, 2017
Like many of the comic book omnibuses I've been reading lately, this features amazing artwork and a great storyline...but a bit too much sultriness, blood, and profanity.
September 29, 2014
OK, so finally my library got this in, and Vol. 2! I was excited, as I am with all Marvel NOW! Books, versus DC New 52, where I have a feeling that sits somewhere between utter dread and ambivalence.
Good stuff: I actually liked the idea of Tony having to go around to shut down the people who'd bought Black-Market Extremis, sort of paying penance for his involvement.
Some of the various Iron Man armours are on display here, I thought the liquid smart-metal armour was AWESOME! What a great idea (if Gillen actually came up with it himself, if not, then good use of it).
The Armour looks very cool, even the new Black/Gold that can look like a bumblebee in the wrong hands.
Bad Stuff: Greg Land.
Seriously, I know it's been mentioned in Sesana's Reviewand Sam's Review, but Land CANNOT draw Tony Stark. Or women. He can draw A single woman, but there's no way to vary other than hair colour (and he isn't the colourist, so technically he doesn't do different).
I look at "Tony Stark" and I'm just like
So there's enough to like, but not LOVE, and there's enough to dislike, but not HATE.
The book is a self-contained story though, which is good, and leads Tony to a conclusion about who he is/what he needs to do, which sets up the 2nd volume. (That I happened to read right afterwards).
Space Armour!!! Guardians of the Galaxy Space Armour!!
Get this review and more at:
Good stuff: I actually liked the idea of Tony having to go around to shut down the people who'd bought Black-Market Extremis, sort of paying penance for his involvement.
Some of the various Iron Man armours are on display here, I thought the liquid smart-metal armour was AWESOME! What a great idea (if Gillen actually came up with it himself, if not, then good use of it).
The Armour looks very cool, even the new Black/Gold that can look like a bumblebee in the wrong hands.
Bad Stuff: Greg Land.
Seriously, I know it's been mentioned in Sesana's Reviewand Sam's Review, but Land CANNOT draw Tony Stark. Or women. He can draw A single woman, but there's no way to vary other than hair colour (and he isn't the colourist, so technically he doesn't do different).
I look at "Tony Stark" and I'm just like
So there's enough to like, but not LOVE, and there's enough to dislike, but not HATE.
The book is a self-contained story though, which is good, and leads Tony to a conclusion about who he is/what he needs to do, which sets up the 2nd volume. (That I happened to read right afterwards).
Space Armour!!! Guardians of the Galaxy Space Armour!!
Get this review and more at:
February 2, 2021
Iron Man volume 1: Believe sees me returning to my Iron Man graphic novel reread after completing the Matt Fraction run on the character last year.
Unfortunately Believe isn’t the mind blowing and game changing start of a new series. It is part of the Marvel Now! line of relaunches. Instead of bringing a new story to the character of Iron Man this repeats a lot of familiar ground if you have read Iron Man before. Especially with the main plot revolving around his tech and Extremis getting into the wrong hands.
Now I will say if you are new to the character of Iron Man and enjoyed the Iron Man 3 film you will find more to enjoy here. But those more experienced with the character it is disappointing.
The 5 different issues that make up volume 1 all feature a different way in which Extremis is being used. From super powered individuals, pilots of mech suits, a cure for cancer, a crazy cult, and finally space faring scientists. These different parts vary in quality, the cult section being creepy and weird, to the cancer story being quite touching.
Now onto another area I felt mixed on: the artwork. The new Iron Man armours and the action sequences I felt were very good. The main armour featured throughout and on the cover - the black and gold one is actually one of my favourite Iron Man armours of all time. There are some other new armours that debut including a very cool one revealed at the end of the volume.
The downside I felt with the artwork though was when it came to characters. Tony Stark himself seemed to be drawn inconsistently throughout, and some of the other facial expressions and characters designs didn’t do it for me.
One of the benefits of this volume is it’s fairly well self contained. You don’t need to really have much knowledge of Iron Man or Marvel to jump in and read this. As I said earlier, newer fans may enjoy this more than the seasoned Iron Man fans. But there are hints and throw backs to what has come before.
There is also enough hints at the end to tease future storylines... however be wary it’s probably best to pick up Guardians of the Galaxy volume 1: Cosmic Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis as well as volume 2 of Iron Man as the series cross over.
Unfortunately Believe isn’t the mind blowing and game changing start of a new series. It is part of the Marvel Now! line of relaunches. Instead of bringing a new story to the character of Iron Man this repeats a lot of familiar ground if you have read Iron Man before. Especially with the main plot revolving around his tech and Extremis getting into the wrong hands.
Now I will say if you are new to the character of Iron Man and enjoyed the Iron Man 3 film you will find more to enjoy here. But those more experienced with the character it is disappointing.
The 5 different issues that make up volume 1 all feature a different way in which Extremis is being used. From super powered individuals, pilots of mech suits, a cure for cancer, a crazy cult, and finally space faring scientists. These different parts vary in quality, the cult section being creepy and weird, to the cancer story being quite touching.
Now onto another area I felt mixed on: the artwork. The new Iron Man armours and the action sequences I felt were very good. The main armour featured throughout and on the cover - the black and gold one is actually one of my favourite Iron Man armours of all time. There are some other new armours that debut including a very cool one revealed at the end of the volume.
The downside I felt with the artwork though was when it came to characters. Tony Stark himself seemed to be drawn inconsistently throughout, and some of the other facial expressions and characters designs didn’t do it for me.
One of the benefits of this volume is it’s fairly well self contained. You don’t need to really have much knowledge of Iron Man or Marvel to jump in and read this. As I said earlier, newer fans may enjoy this more than the seasoned Iron Man fans. But there are hints and throw backs to what has come before.
There is also enough hints at the end to tease future storylines... however be wary it’s probably best to pick up Guardians of the Galaxy volume 1: Cosmic Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis as well as volume 2 of Iron Man as the series cross over.
September 6, 2024
A definitive 3 star. Lacking in places enough to be considered solid issues. But so incredibly fun. I'm not a huge iron-man fan but I certainly enjoy him, in particular the suits, and this comic has some amazing suits, a wide array of them too, in some ways it is a showing off of soke amazing iron man suits, as if that is all it was made for, and I am certainly not complaining. The plot was very basic and safe but it didn't need to be any more, I think the biggest issue this and iron-man in general struggles from is a weak rogues gallery, villains that are simply not up to par, throw iron-man a cross bones or joker and he would be in goat conversations, but sadly, he does not have one. Art is also very good. Lacking in places, but an incredibly fun read.
December 14, 2021
nothing like a classic iron man comic to get me through a dreary monday . there were obvious nods to the mcu and first iron man movie which i enjoyed, but something about this arc felt lacklustre and at times like a corny action hero proving himself to be the best of the best.
yes I know it’s an iron man comic and that’s what his character is like. but I think it just could be this specific characterization that I just wasn’t vibing with. but nonetheless I still enjoyed myself in gillen’s variation of one of my fave superheroes:)
yes I know it’s an iron man comic and that’s what his character is like. but I think it just could be this specific characterization that I just wasn’t vibing with. but nonetheless I still enjoyed myself in gillen’s variation of one of my fave superheroes:)
July 3, 2018
Every time I see this type of art (hell, I probably keep seeing the same artist and not realizing it) I knock down a star. I hate, hate, hate how the women are drawn. I feel like they’re almost exactly the same in the face just with different hairstyles.
Story was ok. Little haphazard.
Story was ok. Little haphazard.
May 27, 2018
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September 24, 2014
Is it just me, or does Iron Man really only work in a team setting? Seriously, I like him in the Avengers, and it's fun to read him in New Avengers, but he just doesn't have what it takes to fly solo. Tony Stark has an extreme personality, and you need people to bounce that off of, or he will just become boring. Most of this book is just Tony on his own, and you know what, it became boring.
Tony isn't the only problem with this book though. The writing is really subpar. I think the only other thing I've read by Gillen is some of his X-Men stuff, and I recall I had the same mixed feelings about his work there that I do here. I can't say that is the fault of Kieron Gillen though. His writing style might just not be to my liking. You know what I can comment on though? The seriously ridiculous and lack of clarity this book has.
So this woman wants to have a one night stand with Tony, right? How does she go about it? By acting dumber than she really is. Seriously? WTF? Dude, Tony Stark is a really simple guy when it comes to things like this. If she would just walk up to him and say, "I'm really in the mood and I want you to take me home and fuck me", he would do it. Because that is the kind of guy Tony is. Why does she need to act dumb to get his attention? It just doesn't make any sense. Tony lives his life with a serious death wish. He isn't going to be turned on by some dim witted bimbo. He's going to respond to someone who is direct and challenges him. This was just a serious case of a male ego driven scene.
Can someone please tell me who is narrating the second issue of this collection? At first I thought it was Tony, since it's his title, but that makes no sense if you read it. So then I thought it was the generic evil business guy. Nope, wrong again. So it must be this lady they call Merlin? No, cause in this scene she is clearly the one telling the story and the caption box is different. Oh, it was one of the people in the suits? Well I'm glad you told us that at the very fucking end. It's a good thing it didn't seriously mess up my enjoyment of the issue trying to figure out who the fuck was talking the whole time.
So in the third issue we see a big problem with Iron Man: his weak ass rouge's gallery. It's not just in concept either, but in actual power level. Tony's got on a suit that's only 10 percent as strong as his usual and he still takes two of the three guys out with no problem. Where is the threat there? He could have beat those guys with a can of mace and a give em hell attitude. And when Tony mentions two pervious patients who died from the extremis virus, he says it like we are supposed to know what he is talking about, but I had no clue. Was that from a different issue? Or did it just get thrown in there? How about a little editor's note saying, "See issue..." or do they just except that you will just look it up on Wikipedia?
Greg Land's art is not good. It lacks any life what so ever. The thing about drawing is that it takes place on a flat surface. The artist has to trick your eyes into believing they are looking at a three dimensional object. Greg Land can't do that. I suspect that his process is just to find a good image in Magazines or run a Google Image search to find what he wants, and then traces it onto the art board. This just makes for lifeless looking cardboard cut out faces and poses.
There are some things I did like. The first page narration is good. Tony talking about how he believes in the future was a really good and strong way to let a reader know who he was and what he's about from the very beginning. The designs for the various armors was also cool. That's actually one of the stronger points of Iron Man for me. All the different suits he can wear. And Gillen does a nice job of explaining why he has those different suits, since a tool designed to do a specific job will do it better than a generic tool designed for all around performance.
The end of the book gave me a slight hope that things might be better in a future volume, with Tony going off into space. But there is now way I will read anymore of this unless I can get it for free.
Tony isn't the only problem with this book though. The writing is really subpar. I think the only other thing I've read by Gillen is some of his X-Men stuff, and I recall I had the same mixed feelings about his work there that I do here. I can't say that is the fault of Kieron Gillen though. His writing style might just not be to my liking. You know what I can comment on though? The seriously ridiculous and lack of clarity this book has.
So this woman wants to have a one night stand with Tony, right? How does she go about it? By acting dumber than she really is. Seriously? WTF? Dude, Tony Stark is a really simple guy when it comes to things like this. If she would just walk up to him and say, "I'm really in the mood and I want you to take me home and fuck me", he would do it. Because that is the kind of guy Tony is. Why does she need to act dumb to get his attention? It just doesn't make any sense. Tony lives his life with a serious death wish. He isn't going to be turned on by some dim witted bimbo. He's going to respond to someone who is direct and challenges him. This was just a serious case of a male ego driven scene.
Can someone please tell me who is narrating the second issue of this collection? At first I thought it was Tony, since it's his title, but that makes no sense if you read it. So then I thought it was the generic evil business guy. Nope, wrong again. So it must be this lady they call Merlin? No, cause in this scene she is clearly the one telling the story and the caption box is different. Oh, it was one of the people in the suits? Well I'm glad you told us that at the very fucking end. It's a good thing it didn't seriously mess up my enjoyment of the issue trying to figure out who the fuck was talking the whole time.
So in the third issue we see a big problem with Iron Man: his weak ass rouge's gallery. It's not just in concept either, but in actual power level. Tony's got on a suit that's only 10 percent as strong as his usual and he still takes two of the three guys out with no problem. Where is the threat there? He could have beat those guys with a can of mace and a give em hell attitude. And when Tony mentions two pervious patients who died from the extremis virus, he says it like we are supposed to know what he is talking about, but I had no clue. Was that from a different issue? Or did it just get thrown in there? How about a little editor's note saying, "See issue..." or do they just except that you will just look it up on Wikipedia?
Greg Land's art is not good. It lacks any life what so ever. The thing about drawing is that it takes place on a flat surface. The artist has to trick your eyes into believing they are looking at a three dimensional object. Greg Land can't do that. I suspect that his process is just to find a good image in Magazines or run a Google Image search to find what he wants, and then traces it onto the art board. This just makes for lifeless looking cardboard cut out faces and poses.
There are some things I did like. The first page narration is good. Tony talking about how he believes in the future was a really good and strong way to let a reader know who he was and what he's about from the very beginning. The designs for the various armors was also cool. That's actually one of the stronger points of Iron Man for me. All the different suits he can wear. And Gillen does a nice job of explaining why he has those different suits, since a tool designed to do a specific job will do it better than a generic tool designed for all around performance.
The end of the book gave me a slight hope that things might be better in a future volume, with Tony going off into space. But there is now way I will read anymore of this unless I can get it for free.
February 12, 2013
Review is for the single-issue comics. If you are waiting for the graphic novel, here be spoilers.
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I was really hoping for good things from Iron Man. I will admit, I have no past experience with the comics but came to Tony and company through the outings of the MCU. When Marvel decided to relaunch most of their comics, I jumped on board a few of their series, hoping to find some adventures, some dynamic characters, and that perfect fusion of art and storytelling. I was thoroughly impressed with Marvel’s new Hawkeye and Thor outings, but what I was really looking forward to was diving into the lives of Tony and Pepper. I was familiar with Greg land’s art from his work with Crossgen, and had heard nothing but rave reviews about Gillen from his run on JiM, which I need to seek out and read. I figured there was pretty much no way Iron Man could misfire.
Unfortunately, this incarnation of Iron Man embodies most of the reasons I shied away from superhero comics to begin with. It’s larger than life in a way that seems ridiculous, and the art is flat and emotionless. The characters are cardboard cutouts with matching personalities, and much of the wit is absent too. It feels reads like the equivalent of a bad popcorn film, where the storyline (or what exists of it) is only around to serve as a springboard to the special effects. Which we see Tony deploy time and time and time again in these opening issues. But, aside from a few all-too-brief moments, we see almost no human side to Tony at all. He is a walking caricature.
Then there is the issue of Tony’s complete lack of chemistry with Pepper, to the point where Pepper herself is questioning if she’s just another one of the nameless, faceless women in Tony’s life. And then there is the issue of Tony’s new AI named, creepily enough P.E.P.P.E.R. At least the creative team acknowledges the creeper vibe, but it’s still just downright wrong.
Land’s art is always something I’ve been more or less a fan of, but it is the wrong fit for this title. His renderings of women, in particular, are a relegated flat one-note look of snark, lust or both. Though the tech looks pretty, it is still tech and therefore lifeless. It is painfully evident that Land has almost no ability to convey emotion beyond static poses and cliched facial expressions,, which panel after panel show off in repetitive abundance.
In short, this series has plenty of bright colors and pretty explosions, but it lacks heart and any connection to the characters beyond the “woah, cool, look at that!” factor. I had really hoped Iron Man would be one of my new must-reads, but I fear I won’t be picking up any future issues until there has been some change in the creative team.
.
.
.
I was really hoping for good things from Iron Man. I will admit, I have no past experience with the comics but came to Tony and company through the outings of the MCU. When Marvel decided to relaunch most of their comics, I jumped on board a few of their series, hoping to find some adventures, some dynamic characters, and that perfect fusion of art and storytelling. I was thoroughly impressed with Marvel’s new Hawkeye and Thor outings, but what I was really looking forward to was diving into the lives of Tony and Pepper. I was familiar with Greg land’s art from his work with Crossgen, and had heard nothing but rave reviews about Gillen from his run on JiM, which I need to seek out and read. I figured there was pretty much no way Iron Man could misfire.
Unfortunately, this incarnation of Iron Man embodies most of the reasons I shied away from superhero comics to begin with. It’s larger than life in a way that seems ridiculous, and the art is flat and emotionless. The characters are cardboard cutouts with matching personalities, and much of the wit is absent too. It feels reads like the equivalent of a bad popcorn film, where the storyline (or what exists of it) is only around to serve as a springboard to the special effects. Which we see Tony deploy time and time and time again in these opening issues. But, aside from a few all-too-brief moments, we see almost no human side to Tony at all. He is a walking caricature.
Then there is the issue of Tony’s complete lack of chemistry with Pepper, to the point where Pepper herself is questioning if she’s just another one of the nameless, faceless women in Tony’s life. And then there is the issue of Tony’s new AI named, creepily enough P.E.P.P.E.R. At least the creative team acknowledges the creeper vibe, but it’s still just downright wrong.
Land’s art is always something I’ve been more or less a fan of, but it is the wrong fit for this title. His renderings of women, in particular, are a relegated flat one-note look of snark, lust or both. Though the tech looks pretty, it is still tech and therefore lifeless. It is painfully evident that Land has almost no ability to convey emotion beyond static poses and cliched facial expressions,, which panel after panel show off in repetitive abundance.
In short, this series has plenty of bright colors and pretty explosions, but it lacks heart and any connection to the characters beyond the “woah, cool, look at that!” factor. I had really hoped Iron Man would be one of my new must-reads, but I fear I won’t be picking up any future issues until there has been some change in the creative team.
May 25, 2016
There are more good things than bad to be said about Iron Man: Believe.
First off, I seriously love the technological advances Tony's made since the beginning of the Marvel Now! initiative. Some of it goes over my head, but-
Random person: Um, *cough* Ultron?
Me: Tony?
Tony: On it. *blasts with repulser*
Me: *leaning over charred remains* Ultron's from the 70's, dipshit.
Where was I?
Oh, right.
Iron Man is probably Marvel's most popular superhero, though I bet Spider-Man probably brings in more denero.
Being the most popular superhero means you have to bring the goods.
Yeah, there's that, but the comic book writer (in this case, Uncanny X-Men's Kieron Gillen) has a big order to fill here.
Look at the picture again if you don't believe me.
Iron Man: Believe packs all the punches you want. Every issue, depicting Iron Man's battle for the pieces of a puzzle for a technologically advanced super-weapon his friend died trying to protect, is great. Iron Man is a better anti-hero than Batman will ever be, sorry not sorry, but it's true.
Tony's struggle to remain a hero in a world of villains is depicted expertly, and why am I surprised?
Gillen's been at the adults' table at Marvel for years now. Sure, i'd never read any myself, but this was an excellent one to start with.
I also have a fan theory that the end of this comic book-ends right into Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers, since Tony's entrance in that comic is glaringly similar to his exit in this one. It's written by also Marvel -seasoned author Brian Michael Bendis, not Gillen, but it's Marvel for God's sake. Everything is a sequel, prequel, spin-off or tie-in to everything else.
Ladies and gentlemen, we now present you with...
ART SPECS!.
Greg Land worked with Gillen on Uncanny X-Men, and I can tell they work together well. While i'm not altogether in love with Land's art, its familiar and not too jarring. I can see homage to Marvel's own John Romita Jr, and there's nothing I appreciate more than paying tribute to a master, but if you're gonna copycat a master, you gotta bring the big pencils.
Land did pretty good. I give him a six out of ten.
Definitely gonna be looking into this series' other volumes and also the duo's Uncanny X-Men.
First off, I seriously love the technological advances Tony's made since the beginning of the Marvel Now! initiative. Some of it goes over my head, but-
Random person: Um, *cough* Ultron?
Me: Tony?
Tony: On it. *blasts with repulser*
Me: *leaning over charred remains* Ultron's from the 70's, dipshit.
Where was I?
Oh, right.
Iron Man is probably Marvel's most popular superhero, though I bet Spider-Man probably brings in more denero.
Being the most popular superhero means you have to bring the goods.
Yeah, there's that, but the comic book writer (in this case, Uncanny X-Men's Kieron Gillen) has a big order to fill here.
Look at the picture again if you don't believe me.
Iron Man: Believe packs all the punches you want. Every issue, depicting Iron Man's battle for the pieces of a puzzle for a technologically advanced super-weapon his friend died trying to protect, is great. Iron Man is a better anti-hero than Batman will ever be, sorry not sorry, but it's true.
Tony's struggle to remain a hero in a world of villains is depicted expertly, and why am I surprised?
Gillen's been at the adults' table at Marvel for years now. Sure, i'd never read any myself, but this was an excellent one to start with.
I also have a fan theory that the end of this comic book-ends right into Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers, since Tony's entrance in that comic is glaringly similar to his exit in this one. It's written by also Marvel -seasoned author Brian Michael Bendis, not Gillen, but it's Marvel for God's sake. Everything is a sequel, prequel, spin-off or tie-in to everything else.
Ladies and gentlemen, we now present you with...
ART SPECS!.
Greg Land worked with Gillen on Uncanny X-Men, and I can tell they work together well. While i'm not altogether in love with Land's art, its familiar and not too jarring. I can see homage to Marvel's own John Romita Jr, and there's nothing I appreciate more than paying tribute to a master, but if you're gonna copycat a master, you gotta bring the big pencils.
Land did pretty good. I give him a six out of ten.
Definitely gonna be looking into this series' other volumes and also the duo's Uncanny X-Men.
July 19, 2013
Clearly I've been on a graphic novel kick, specifically superheroes. I guess that's to do with the dismal summer blockbuster movies. They certainly haven't busted my blocks this year.
This is similar to the Hawkeye book in that it actually contains a full story. There are no cliffhangers here. We get a beginning, middle and end, an arc to both the plot (find rogue elements of Extremis 2) and to Tony's character arc. It's so nice to read a whole story.
And the story is quite a lot of fun. The creator of Extremis, Maya Hensen, is kidnapped and forced to create the next version of the virus that makes people into superbeings. Then she escapes and gets killed. (This all happens on the first page.) She manages to get a message out to Tony before she gets killed, and now he has to track down all the Extremis 2 packages.
Tony utilizes different Iron Man armors for each job. He has to anticipate the foes he'll face as well as the conditions. It's implied that this is because his weapons systems demand so much power that he can't take them all with him all the time.
One reason why Superman is so difficult to write is because he has no practical limitations. He can disable most threats by throwing a pebble at it from ten miles away. That's why that character is usually so boring. Iron Man doesn't have that issue. So giving Tony specific limitations leads to much more dynamic and dramatic stories... because nothing is ever really going to go according to plan.
Being a recovering alcoholic means that the things he sees and is forced to do as a result of the Extremis 2 virus tempts him to crawl back into the bottle. There are a couple nice nods to the classic "Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the 70s, which was one of the defining arcs of Iron Man.
All to say the writing is really, really good.
The art is likewise excellent. The only real complaint I have is that Tony's face is drawn somewhat inconsistently, but it's no big deal considering how great the art is overall. The lines are amazing and the flow of the story is easy to follow.
Also, this is some of the most gorgeous coloring work I've ever seen. Some of the faces and armors look borderline photorealistic without tipping over into the Uncanny Valley. It's some incredible stuff.
This is similar to the Hawkeye book in that it actually contains a full story. There are no cliffhangers here. We get a beginning, middle and end, an arc to both the plot (find rogue elements of Extremis 2) and to Tony's character arc. It's so nice to read a whole story.
And the story is quite a lot of fun. The creator of Extremis, Maya Hensen, is kidnapped and forced to create the next version of the virus that makes people into superbeings. Then she escapes and gets killed. (This all happens on the first page.) She manages to get a message out to Tony before she gets killed, and now he has to track down all the Extremis 2 packages.
Tony utilizes different Iron Man armors for each job. He has to anticipate the foes he'll face as well as the conditions. It's implied that this is because his weapons systems demand so much power that he can't take them all with him all the time.
One reason why Superman is so difficult to write is because he has no practical limitations. He can disable most threats by throwing a pebble at it from ten miles away. That's why that character is usually so boring. Iron Man doesn't have that issue. So giving Tony specific limitations leads to much more dynamic and dramatic stories... because nothing is ever really going to go according to plan.
Being a recovering alcoholic means that the things he sees and is forced to do as a result of the Extremis 2 virus tempts him to crawl back into the bottle. There are a couple nice nods to the classic "Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the 70s, which was one of the defining arcs of Iron Man.
All to say the writing is really, really good.
The art is likewise excellent. The only real complaint I have is that Tony's face is drawn somewhat inconsistently, but it's no big deal considering how great the art is overall. The lines are amazing and the flow of the story is easy to follow.
Also, this is some of the most gorgeous coloring work I've ever seen. Some of the faces and armors look borderline photorealistic without tipping over into the Uncanny Valley. It's some incredible stuff.
July 18, 2013
Where there are movies, there are chances to redeem or ruin a comic character. Kieron Gillen is teamed with Greg Land to launch Iron Man into the Marvel Now phase. Drawing heavily on the Extremis idea recently showcased in Iron Man 3, this relaunch fails to step up to the plate. Scientist Maya Hansen had finally been killed by her Extremist virus - which has been sold by AIM to high bidders. Deciding to end the potential for destruction that Maya has created, Tony adds new suits to his armory. Each issue pits a new suit against a new problem; the book feels like a full-length advertisement for the film. Stealth armor, heavy munitions, space suits, and moldable clay armor all get a chance to shine. While this allows Land to play, Gillen offers substandard plot devices and forgettable foes. If you enjoyed the film and wish to see more of this armor overload, then this book is for you. If you need something with more substance than style, do not believe in this volume.
April 4, 2016
Well, this ended EXACTLY where I wish it would have started, with Tony Stark suiting up and heading into space. Of course. Goddamn it. Why did we have to fight lesser Iron Men first? Why did we have to discuss the pluses and minuses of Tony Stark banging randos versus settling down with Pepper Potts? Why would that even be on the table at this point? Why does Tony Stark look like he's wearing dentures?
And why oh why do people keep trying to out-Iron-Man Iron Man? If you want to beat Iron Man, it's simple. Just keep sending drinks over to Tony Stark's table until he bottoms out, gets wasted, and spends all his time having heart-to-hearts with people instead of blasting your evil moon base or whatever.
Not terrible by any stretch, but I feel like someone somewhere was like,"Let's do a couple months of ramp up before we actually do some cool shit."
And why oh why do people keep trying to out-Iron-Man Iron Man? If you want to beat Iron Man, it's simple. Just keep sending drinks over to Tony Stark's table until he bottoms out, gets wasted, and spends all his time having heart-to-hearts with people instead of blasting your evil moon base or whatever.
Not terrible by any stretch, but I feel like someone somewhere was like,"Let's do a couple months of ramp up before we actually do some cool shit."
Read
January 5, 2013Gillen is the best writer Marvel have at the moment, and a lovely fellow to boot. But so far, I simply can't get into this. He's managed to turn around some unenviable assignments in the past - a one-shot about Batroc? A story about Thor and Spidey getting Hulked-out because of some (gamma) reasons? Both were excellent. But faced with a story about noted inventor and futurist Tony Stark going around taking technology away from people, even people who aren't being evil, just in case - which I can only assume was editorially-mandated - there's a limit to what can be done. A shame, but with the next arc headed off into space, I'm staying put in the hope of the much better work I know he can do.
April 16, 2013
La historia no es la gran cosa pero entretiene, aunque es lo más flojito que le he leído a Gillen. El dibujo no está a la altura de otros laburos de Land (quizás porque acá afana menos... o afana peor) que me cerraron mucho más, pero es narrativamente zafable.
Pero por una vez, tengo que reconocer que la edición de Ovni está bastante bien. Precio relativamente bueno, papel bonito como simpre y, sobre todo, ¡un arco argumental completo! Y no de material previamente editado en revistas y luego reentapado a un precio infladísimo, sino bastante justo. A eso le sumo el hecho de que el tomo salió en Argentina antes que el tomo yanqui y ya tienen otro poroto a favor. Esperemos que les dure.
Pero por una vez, tengo que reconocer que la edición de Ovni está bastante bien. Precio relativamente bueno, papel bonito como simpre y, sobre todo, ¡un arco argumental completo! Y no de material previamente editado en revistas y luego reentapado a un precio infladísimo, sino bastante justo. A eso le sumo el hecho de que el tomo salió en Argentina antes que el tomo yanqui y ya tienen otro poroto a favor. Esperemos que les dure.
February 19, 2018
"I am an Iron Man fan for quite sometime now and the best books for me was Extremis by Warren Ellis and Matt Fraction's run on the Invincible Iron Man (volumes 1 to 6 and 9 to 11 anyway). In this new approach by Gillen, he intends to bring Tony Stark / Iron Man into a totally new dimension on storytelling. Ideal but in this book...lacking. It feels like reading old Iron Man stories, there're no new sci-fi tricks, no technopath-extremis abilities being shown by Stark and no challenging foes to bring readers at the edge. In the end, it felt like Tony got bored here on Earth and decides to go to space for a change."
February 11, 2015
I've said it before, all a graphic novel needs to be is fun, at least for me anyways. And this was fun. What happens when bad guys get ahold of, and sell Extremis?
Well that's what Tony Stark has to find out. This GN has a solid if not some what shaky story, and a lot of different Iron Man suites of Armor.
I know this arc has got quite a few mediocre
Reviews but if you are a Iron Man fan then you should pick it up.
Well that's what Tony Stark has to find out. This GN has a solid if not some what shaky story, and a lot of different Iron Man suites of Armor.
I know this arc has got quite a few mediocre
Reviews but if you are a Iron Man fan then you should pick it up.
September 7, 2016
Well, this is a disappointment. This very episodic volume has Tony running around the world trying to track down bits of Extremis. Some stories are better than others but most are just dull. It seems like this whole book is just an excuse for Tony to show off a new Iron Man suit in each issue. Also Greg Land's art alternates between beautiful and wonky. He can't seem to keep character's faces consistent. At one point a character suddenly looks exactly like Don Knotts! WTF?
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