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aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
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.
captwinghead's review against another edition
DNF - 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.
cassie_grace's review against another edition
3.0
It’s fine. Maya Hansen gets killed and Extremis auctioned off to the highest bidders. It’s Tony’s job to track down the stolen tech and destroy it.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
3.0
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."
alethiometers's review against another edition
Decidedly meh but I'm going to keep reading.
manuelte's review against another edition
2.0
Pros: Tony Stark has to face idealists using the Extremis tech. This means that most of them are not what you would call bad guys, they all have a vision of a better future enabled by the right tool. Also, the story is self contained.
Cons: The art is bland and lacks expression, the female characters are walking sexualized pin ups, the dialog is only ok, and Iron Man is more a garage project than an Avenger.
All in all, didn't love the new run. I'll read the second volume and hope it gets better from there on.
Cons: The art is bland and lacks expression, the female characters are walking sexualized pin ups, the dialog is only ok, and Iron Man is more a garage project than an Avenger.
All in all, didn't love the new run. I'll read the second volume and hope it gets better from there on.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not an Iron Man fan. And I don't have the depth of history. So I don't the references and the subtext. So I'm left with this just being a pretty good story as well that also reiterates Tony's motivation. The various bits and usages of Extremis were clever and that was good enough for me. This is one that I'm looking forward to reading the sequel of.
gohawks's review against another edition
3.0
I always love me some Iron Man - flawed hero and all that. But Gillen's story was nothing too phenomenal. Just middle of the road plot with nothing special to add. Dialogue was the usual snappy Stark patter. I enjoyed Ellis' original Extremis plot, but this seemed like a rehash with slightly different villians.
elisetheninth's review against another edition
3.0
I might have enjoyed this if not for Greg Land's art. Oh well.
oxime's review against another edition
2.0
I hate the art style, put me off so much I won't be picking up the next one