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A review by aceinit
Iron Man, Vol. 1: Believe by Kieron Gillen
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.