Invincible Iron Man #507 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony discovers unexpected problems while Pepper finds herself faced by both Sasha Hammer’s Hammer Corps and the Worthy-fied Grey Gargoyle.

What’s Good:  Pepper Potts to the rescue!  Really, were it not for her, this would’ve been a pretty drab issue.  But instead, we get lots of Pepper Potts in her Rescue suit playing the superhero, which is always fun.

While seeing her rumble with the Grey Gargoyle and the Hammer Corps would be fun either way, Sasha Hammer’s presence makes it all the juicier.  Matt Fraction does well in drawing upon the history these two have from way back in the very first arc of Invincible Iron Man, reminding us of the fact that Sasha is a big reason why Pepper has a repulsor in her chest to begin with.  Naturally, the two have bad blood with one another and seeing them clash like this is a lot of fun.  Better still is that Fraction looks like he’s going to force the two to team up out of necessity.  It’s an awesome dynamic and it’s always great to see writers make good use of previous material.

On Tony’s end, the strongest element is the lingering spectre of his alcoholism, as he quietly falls deeper down the well.  The last page is haunting stuff that promises dark things to come, as the booze begins to take effect on Tony’s intellect.  Suffice it to say, it appears that we’re moving past the humorous part of drunken Tony.

But really, Pepper is the star of the show here, and if you’re a fan of her (as I imagine everyone reading Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man is), you get some really good stuff here.  Her fight scenes are great and I love how Fraction is turning Sasha into her own personal nemesis.

Oh, and hey, Rescue fighting the Hammer Corps also means that Salvador Larroca gets to do a lot of what he’s best at: drawing robots/machines blowing shit up and beating the piss out of each other.

Invincible Iron Man #506 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony makes a deal with Odin that finds him playing Snow White.

What’s Good:  While I was fairly positive of it in my review in Fear Itself, I’ve become somewhat divided on Tony sacrificing his sobriety to Odin.  On the one hand, it seems sort of cheesy.  It also seems unbelievable that after one night off the wagon, Tony’ll be back to his hard-drinking ways.  That said, while I have mixed feelings about this stunt in general, I can’t argue with Matt Fraction’s subsequent portrayal of Tony this month and the accompanying, drunken dialogue.

On the one hand, there’s no denying that drunken Tony is pretty funny to watch.  Sure, there’s a constant lingering sense that we shouldn’t be laughing, but it’s hard not to smile at Tony’s drunken buffoonery and certainly, Fraction writes a nice, happy drunk.  However, it’s not that simple.  Later in the issue, we see suggestions of the nastier side of drunken Tony and all the good-humoured guffaws end up taking a more ominous tone.  It’s nothing overly heavy, but that little hint of darkness is a nice touch.  Fraction is riding a line here and doing it well.  He’s not allowing drunk Tony to become a comedy act, nor is he yelling outright that the sky is falling.

It’s also a good month for Pepper Potts, as she suits up to do her part.  Of course, once again, Fraction has Pepper questioning just what that part is and whether or not she really is a superhero, or whether she even wants to be one.  I’ve always enjoyed this part of Pepper in Fraction’s comic, as she really does occupy a kind of liminal position.  She has a super-powered Stark-powered suit, but she’s a far cry from being an Avenger or anything like that.  Yet certainly, she is capable of heroism.  It’s always great to watch, and that’s no different here.  Her vulnerability and self-doubt are well-balanced with her sense of responsibility.

Fear Itself #4 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Laura Martin (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: The Serpent shows a massive growth in power, and Thor returns to Midgard to make plans with some old friends.

What’s Good:  While I’ve been fairly positive about Fear Itself thus far, I really did feel that with this issue, the plot has really showed momentum.  I think a good part of this development has to do with the fact that over the last three issues, Fraction has really spent a lot of time scene-setting and creating the status-quo for this event.  He needed to show that our heroes had their backs well and truly up against the wall against massive odds.  Last month, Bucky Barnes’ death was truly the final nail in the “shit just got real” coffin, and the scene setting was complete.

So when we see Fury, Thor, Black Widow, Steve, and Iron Man talking tactics and plans, there’s a really satisfying and comforting sense of the story becoming better defined and moving forward.  It’s as though while we’ve seen that things are bad, it’s this month where we start to learn what the Avengers plan on doing about it.  Hence, there’s more story and character than big action and explosions.

But there certainly are big explosions.  Immonen’s art is gorgeous and characterful as ever (and includes a couple of really cool layout decisions), but he and Fraction really hit the big notes well.  Thor’s literal fall to Midgard, Steve’s being back in the Captain America uniform, the Serpent’s transformation, and the holocaust inflicted on the Atlanteans all really hit home and come across as truly large and epic in scale.  There aren’t just blips in the plot, they’re the big occurrences that are the bread and butter of a successful comic book event.

Then there’s Tony’s sacrifice to Odin, which is certainly a surprise and striking in its own way.

Invincible Iron Man #505 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors, and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: “Paris is a nightmare.  It’s…it’s biblical, Pep.”

The Review:  A lot of comic readers resent event tie-in issues.  I think a large part of this often-merited resentment has to do with the fact that they often derail a writer from telling the stories he/she was telling up to that point.  The end result is a bunch of issues that often come at an awkwardly timed moment and feel like a multi-month digression.  The fact that with this issue, Matt Fraction manages to acknowledge and, in some respects, even resolve past plot elements is cause for goodwill from Invincible Iron Man readers and also leads to a comic experience that feels more natural and organic.

The haunting locale of Paris is a bit more in the background this month; while it’s still very hauntingly and noticeably empty, it’s firmly in the backseat to all the giant-sized action.  For what it’s worth, this is Iron Man-styled action that readers expect from an Iron Man book.  That is, Iron Man battling big, powerful foes and taking a whole bunch of punishment.  It’s a lot of fun to read and Salvador Larroca acquits himself quite well.

The real treat, however, comes in a surprise appearance by a character from earlier issues in Fraction’s run.  It’s no throwaway cameo either.  Rather, it’s a highly entertaining shocker and one that ultimately ties up something of a lose end that Fraction’s left behind.  It’s a wonderful moment, as Fraction ends up giving us an event tie-in issue that doesn’t just throw his main cast into the environs of Fear Itself, but also the series itself with some its past baggage.  You’d think more writers would understand this:  a series tie-in is meant to bring a series into an event, not just a few characters.  Ultimately, this was really cool.

Invincible Iron Man #504 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: After hiring a new chief of security, Tony Stark flies to Paris’ rescue, only to find a city of stone.

The Review:  I know a lot of people ragged on Invincible Iron Man during the “building a car” arc.  I liked it, but seemed in the definite minority.  I hope issues like this turn the tide back in Matt Fraction’s favor.  Certainly, if all, or even most, of the Fear Itself tie-ins are this good, Marvel readers have a very good summer ahead of them.

As you might’ve heard in solicitations and such, Tony heads to Paris to find a city, and its inhabitants, turned to stone.  It’s here that Fraction does his best work this month, while also encapsulating much of what Fear Itself is in terms of tone and atmosphere.  The feeling of Tony in a city of statues is truly haunting, almost too desolate to carry tinges of horror genre that such a situation might otherwise give off.  When Tony is struck by the enormity of it all, so are we.  It’s hard to fathom just how many people are dead, turned to stone, and Fraction boggles the mind here with all that death and devastation.

More than that though, Fraction and Larroca do a good job of conveying a city that’s silent.  Better still is that the plot ends up turning into one of the Worthy tracking down and beating down Tony in this ghost town.  The result is almost a “minotaur in the labyrinth” scenario, with Tony being hunted in a city of the dead.  It’s chilling stuff, with the last page hammering that home.  Amidst so much death, Tony seems tiny and powerless, which is something that’s worked well in Fear Itself thus far.  Truly, the Worthy have wreaked a situation  whose scope is horrifying.   The sheer size of the situation, a Paris turned to stone, makes for a powerful comic.