A review by emily_m_green
Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart, Volume 1: Riri Williams by Brian Michael Bendis

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you to Multnomah County Library, who made Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart, Volume 1: Riri Williams by Brian Michael Bendis, Stefano Caselli, and Marte Gracia free and available to the public. Also, for getting rid of late fees and instating automatic renewals, as this book had been waiting awhile for me to read it. 

Riri Williams is a super genius, so much so that she has a hard time associating with the world, until she meets Natalie, who quickly becomes her best friend. When Natalie is killed by a stray bullet, Riri throws herself into fine-tuning her Iron Man suit. She is quite surprised when the AI ghost of Tony Stark shows up to train her. A lot of banter between Riri and the Stark AI follows, but Riri holds her own, both in training and in banter.

This is Riri’s origin story, and I quite enjoyed getting to know her. She is smart, witty, focused, and seemingly without fear. She’s also fifteen, which you would never guess from the illustrations, which make her look more like eighteen. Still, Riri is quite cool, and it is good to see a young woman of color as the lead in a comic book. So, there’s that. 

But also, I feel Riri. The book came out in 2017, but I first took the book out when the library was only open to drive up pickups. (I know, I know, I have had the book a loooong time--I told you that already). It was a time when, at least for me, connections to others were lost. I had a hard time making phone calls, I had a hard time reaching out, and I had a hard time being at home, though I love my kids and my partner. But I also love teaching, I love connecting with coworkers and the outside world, I love the energy I get from my students and I love listening to their ideas. So, life felt much smaller. Riri’s experience of needing someone else to walk into her garage and engage her feels familiar. It was not until my school opened back up that I began to feel a bit more sane. 

Riri Williams is pretty cool in general. Her ability to think fast and be brave inside the suit is nothing to sniff at. She is not drawn like the fifteen year old she is supposed to be, but it is nice to see a teenage superhero who is not a goober. 

Would I teach this book? This would be a fun book to teach and a good way to discuss creating more diversity in comic books. So, yeah, I would teach this book.