Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D #35 – Review

By Christos. N Gage (writer) Sean Chen (artist) Sandu Florea (inker) Jay David Ramos (colourist) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letterer) Adi Granov (cover art)

The story: Part two of War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D wraps up Rhodey’s involvement in Secret Invasion and leads us neatly into his upcoming monthly title. After highjacking Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D for the last two months, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed this book. Most of the story takes place in orbit above Russia and deals with a satellite that is still in operation during the Skrull invasion. Whist War Machine attempts to convert the satellite into a weapon the Skrull armada attacks.

What’s good: Whilst I feel that Secret Invasion has outstayed it’s welcome, I really found myself enjoying this particular story. It was nice to see The Winter Guard handled so well after their recently poor portrayal in the Hulk comic book.

What’s not so good: Very little actually, although I feel that Chen’s portrayal of armor could use a little spit and polish. It just does not come off as looking anywhere near metallic enough. However it could be a bit of the colourist’s fault as well.

Conclusion: A very enjoyable issue overall and it bodes well for the upcoming series by Greg Pak. Give it a try, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Grade: B+

-C.Flanigan

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1 – Review

By Warren Ellis (Writer), Alan Davis (Pt. 1 Pencils), Mark Farmer (Pt. 1 Inks), Rob Schwager (Pt. 1 Colors), and Adi Granov (Pt. 2 Art)

The Story: The first issue of the Astonishing X-Men limited series consists of two “What-If?” styled stories about parallel universes that Subject X could have completed his mission in. The first story is set in a place very similar to the current Marvel universe, where it shows what might have happened if Subject X had succeeded in securing the universe for those he worked for. The second story is set in the Victorian styled Earth-889, and features the “X Society” working to solve a mysterious murder case.

What’s Good: Both stories are short and interesting reads that show a unique take on the situation featured in Astonishing X-Men. Seeing a familiar face used as a power source for a Sentinel was definitely something new. Also, I especially like Adi Granov’s work on the story about the X Society.

What’s Not So Good: That these stories are of little consequence to the bigger picture and, ultimately irrelevant. I know Ghost Boxes is serving as filler while the main series gets caught up, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have something of substance within the storyline.

Conclusion: I can’t really recommend this book to anyone but the most hardcore fans. While it is fun seeing the other alternate universes, there is not enough substance or story to justify the $3.99 price tag.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Amazing Spider-Man #568 – Review

By Dan Slott (Writer), John Romita Jr. (Pencils), Klaus Johnson (Inks), and Dean White (Colors)
Backup story by Mark Waid (Writer) and Adi Granov (Artist)

For months they’ve been trying to do it: revert back to the old-school 70s and 80s style classic Spider-Man tale. They’ve come close several times, attaining a classic “flavor,” but New Ways to Die Part 1 at last marks the success of their goal! We get appearances from several Spidey supporting characters, both old and new. We get great action and even a little bit of drama. Heck, we even get a retelling of Spider-Man’s origin just for good measure. And, of course, ASM #568 sees the return of John Romita Jr.’s unique art style to the pages of Spider-Man. This here is the real deal.

What sets this apart from everything else we’ve gotten in Brand New Day is perhaps the wide flowing scope. Sure, earlier issues jumped from scene to scene and introduced little plot points that you knew were going to be significant sometime in the future, but the scene changes here flowing smoothly from one point to another. Also, any little plot points introduced don’t seem to be set up for some future storyline – everything is built up for later in this story, and it’s going to be great seeing it all come to fruition.

Getting to specifics, Dan Slott handled the story effortlessly. Despite my huge love for his Avengers: The Initiative series, I haven’t enjoyed too much of his Spider-Man work. Here, he finally proves himself with flawless writing. As Menace makes his appearance he actually seems, well, menacing. This is probably the first time I’ve been interested in this character. Likewise, Spidey’s quips aren’t groan-worthy (Slott seems to have a habit of making them so). We also get great appearances from the Thunderbolts and Eddie Brock. Peter stumbles upon a huge news story and finally lands a new job. And, of course, we get more political drama as the mayoral election moves ever nearer, not to mention the rather shocking finale. It is hard to believe that everything was packed into one issue (given, it was larger than normal).

As for the backup story, it was probably the best I’ve read in a long while. Not only does it catch us up on the life of Eddie Brock, it also looks to be extremely relevant in the upcoming issues. Let’s just say that long-time Spider-Man fans may find themselves very pleased with the direction this looks to take. Oh, and Granov’s art? Phenomenal. Any chance we could get him to do an issue or three of Spider-Man?

Overall, this looks to be the set up for the best Spider-Man tale in a long time. Even if you don’t want to read this series as an ongoing, you should definitely pick up this story arc. Next week can’t come fast enough. (Grade: A-)

-M. Staples

Editor’s Note

Mr. Staples, I hate you. I’m dying to read this issue!

– J. Montes

Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #2 – Review

By Jon Favreau (Writer) and Adi Granov (Artist)

Eye candy, pure and simple. As flashy, beautiful, and spiritually empty as the town it’s named for, Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas left me briefly exhilarated, slightly nauseous, noticeably poorer, only partially satisfied, and certain I’d be coming back for more.

In this issue, we are reintroduced to Elsa Bloodstone who, like any other self-respecting archeologist, dresses in skin-tight clothes and keeps her shirt unbuttoned down to her navel. She suggests to Tony that perhaps the giant mystical lizard she dragged out of its curse-laden tomb might have had something to do with the plague of lizards they experienced last issue. So they do the logical thing: change Elsa into a different skin-tight outfit and wait for a crowd to arrive before investigating. The giant lizard turns out to be none other than Fin Fang Foom and, well, if a giant lizard came to life in front of a crowded casino and didn’t start crushing buildings and tearing down roller coasters, we’d all be disappointed, wouldn’t we?

Fin Fang Foom, you may recall, was last seen in Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., bemoaning his visible lack of genitalia. Since then he seems to have overcompensated with a ton of plastic surgery. The new and improved Fin Fang Foom is constructed from an alloy of titanium and pure coolness, has more fins than a shark frenzy, and is probably in negotiations for his own maquette at this very moment.

Granov’s art is, as always, gorgeous. Favreau’s dialogue is, for the most part, clever. Sure, there are panels where he clearly just jotted something off to fill up the empty space, but you don’t buy a book like this for the prose.

So, is this book worth your hard-earned cash? Will the next two issues pay off, or will they be as stupid as you might expect of a book that features a character named Fin Fang Foom? Hey, buddy, this is Vegas. You pays your money, and you takes your chances. (Grade: B)

– Andrew C. Murphy

Iron Man #25 – Review

By Daniel & Charles Knauf (writers), Rob De La Torre (art), Dean White (color art)

At $3.99 this one’s meaty! I don’t just mean the page count, but the story as well. After dragging its feet in the mud for the past three to four months, issue #25 delivers some payoffs. The whole creative team is in top form this month – needless to say, I’m impressed.

I love the new direction they’ve taken with Mandarin. Much like what Ed Brubaker has done with the Red Skull, Daniel and Charles Knauf have made Mandarin more of a calculating villain with the foresight to challenge anyone in his path. Instead of being just plain evil, he’s more of an insane person who sees the world from a warped perspective. Like I said, this issue’s meaty. That means you’ll be doing a lot of reading. It’s not all meaningless dialogue either, everything finally comes together this story as Tony Stark connects the dots. Personally, I would have loved to have seen this story wrapped up this issue, but I can hang for one more.

The bonus stuff we get at the end of the issue is a nice touch, but not necessarily needed. We get a fun trip down memory lane as Bob Layton discusses the past revisions of Iron Man’s suits. Then there’s an excellent reprinting of Iron Man’s first appearace from Tales of Suspense #39 – always a gem. Lastly, we’re treated to a preview of Iron Man: Viva Las Begas #1 by Jon Favreau and Adi Granov! Sure, this issue’s a bit more expensive, but I think the bonuses justify the extra dollar. Plus it’s issue #25. Did you expect anything less from a milestone issue? (Grade: B)

– J. Montes