Iron Man #1 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (story), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Guru eFX (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  After coming back from a much needed vacation, Tony ha discovered that Extremis is on the loose, weaponized and on sale to the highest bidder.

The Review:  Pairing Kieron Gillen with Tony Stark is just a combination that makes sense and this first issue only serves to substantiate that.  Gillen’s strength is in his dialogue and when he gets to work with whip-smart characters, he shines so, naturally, the dialogue here is excellent.  It’s quick, dynamic dialogue that alternates well between gravitas and humour, with Tony’s words being an apt mix of charm and self-deprecation.  He doesn’t so much talk to other people so much as he bounces around and it’s a joy to read.

Only further cementing Gillen’s strong hold of the character are the later scenes where Tony suits up and delivers a monologue.  This allows Gillen to emphasize the different sides to Tony, and what we see in those text-boxes differs dramatically from the dialogue we got from Tony in a nightclub.  It hammers home the difference between Tony in the club and Tony in the Iron Man suit – one is all charm and winking humour while the other is a man riddled with guilt and a heavy burden, attempting only to do what’s right.  It’s a wonderful juxtaposition between two sides of Tony that both feel genuine and come together to create a nuanced, multi-faceted character.

Of course, for many comics fans, Gillen’s strong performance was never in question.  Rather, the spectre of Greg Land’s artwork is probably what will be most likely to cause readers some hesitation.

While there are definite problems, it’s far from Land’s worst work.  Indeed, I can honestly say that for the most part, I think he did a fairly good job when drawing Tony in the suit.  The Iron Man looks pretty good under Land and things are fine as long as they’re kept superheroic and Land is able to focus on machinery and blasting stuff.  Hell, I’ll even go so far to say that the first couple of pages of this comic are really quite beautiful, with Tony in the sky, ruminating.  The backgrounds suit the mood perfectly and the suit looks great.  Of course, much of this is due to Guru’s efforts on colors – he really puts real emotion and life into those backgrounds and his bright, saturated colours give Land’s work an energy and likability it might not otherwise have.

FIRST LOOK: Iron Man #28

COVER BY: GERALD PAREL
WRITER: DANIEL KNAUF, CHARLES KNAUF
PENCILS: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE
COLORED BY: DEAN WHITE

THE STORY:
Tony Stark is losing his mind and his freedom. Maya Hansen is becoming a pawn in the Mandarin’s genocidal game. And the leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. are under house arrest, unable to take any action. With the international community about to decide their fate, Iron Man and his allies are in deep…so deep, we’ll need a double-sized issue to reveal what happens next!

Rated A …$3.99
IN STORES: April 16, 2008