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A review by crookedtreehouse
Invincible Iron Man Vol. 1: Iron Heart by Brian Michael Bendis
4.0
Neither Tony Stark nor his alter ego, Iron Man, are my favorite Marvel characters. I enjoy them in ensemble books, like The Avengers titles, but rich playboy genius who designs suits and weapons? I've already read a bunch of Batman books. So I was excited that for Bendis's run they'd disappeared Tony, and elevated Riri Williams into the suit.
Most of her story is awesome. I like the character. I like her voice. I like how she interacts with her family, the AI Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and pretty much everyone she meets. The actual story of the book is easily five stars for me. It's the origin I have a problem with.
1.) I get it. Every superhero writer imagines The Only Way anyone born without powers could ever become a superhero is if one of their guardians and/or their best friend is senselessly murdered. Marvel and DC editorial will heave you and your story out of the penthouse window if you try and give your hero a single other background story. At this point, I'd rather see it mentioned as having happened off-panel than watch it played out again. The best thing [a:Robert Kirkman|12425|Robert Kirkman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238103316p2/12425.jpg] ever did was provide Invincible with an origin story where his family lived, it's just....(well, go read [b:Invincible, Vol. 1: Family Matters|214867|Invincible, Vol. 1 Family Matters|Robert Kirkman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1288076032s/214867.jpg|5238594]...seriously).
2.) Given that the origin story had to feature the death of a guardian and a best friend, did we HAVE to make his Black protagonist have their family killed in a drive-by at a family picnic? That seems kind of fucked up when it's written by a white guy.
The rest of the story was fantastic, and the origin problem made me roll my eyes, not want to fling the book across the room.
The art is fantastic. [a:Stefano Caselli|9839081|Stefano Caselli|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] is a master of body language and facial expressions. I will buy any book with his name on it. My one issue with the art is that there were at least three times in the trade where the reader is meant to read the top row of both open pages, and then the middle row, and then the bottom row. I didn't find any of those times intuitive, and I've been reading comics for decades. I cant remember the last time I had a problem figuring out panel order in a book written and drawn by professionals. But those are nitpicks. FOr the most part, this book was excellent.
I would recommend it to Iron Man fans, Iron Man haters, people who wish Tony Stark was dead sorta, comic readers hoping for non-white protagonists, people who like The Avengers movies but are afraid to get into books with deep continuity, and readers who want more Pepper Potts in their lives.
Most of her story is awesome. I like the character. I like her voice. I like how she interacts with her family, the AI Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and pretty much everyone she meets. The actual story of the book is easily five stars for me. It's the origin I have a problem with.
1.) I get it. Every superhero writer imagines The Only Way anyone born without powers could ever become a superhero is if one of their guardians and/or their best friend is senselessly murdered. Marvel and DC editorial will heave you and your story out of the penthouse window if you try and give your hero a single other background story. At this point, I'd rather see it mentioned as having happened off-panel than watch it played out again. The best thing [a:Robert Kirkman|12425|Robert Kirkman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238103316p2/12425.jpg] ever did was provide Invincible with an origin story where his family lived, it's just....(well, go read [b:Invincible, Vol. 1: Family Matters|214867|Invincible, Vol. 1 Family Matters|Robert Kirkman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1288076032s/214867.jpg|5238594]...seriously).
2.) Given that the origin story had to feature the death of a guardian and a best friend, did we HAVE to make his Black protagonist have their family killed in a drive-by at a family picnic? That seems kind of fucked up when it's written by a white guy.
The rest of the story was fantastic, and the origin problem made me roll my eyes, not want to fling the book across the room.
The art is fantastic. [a:Stefano Caselli|9839081|Stefano Caselli|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] is a master of body language and facial expressions. I will buy any book with his name on it. My one issue with the art is that there were at least three times in the trade where the reader is meant to read the top row of both open pages, and then the middle row, and then the bottom row. I didn't find any of those times intuitive, and I've been reading comics for decades. I cant remember the last time I had a problem figuring out panel order in a book written and drawn by professionals. But those are nitpicks. FOr the most part, this book was excellent.
I would recommend it to Iron Man fans, Iron Man haters, people who wish Tony Stark was dead sorta, comic readers hoping for non-white protagonists, people who like The Avengers movies but are afraid to get into books with deep continuity, and readers who want more Pepper Potts in their lives.