Daredevil #17 – Review

By: Mark Waid (writer), Mike Allred (art), Laura Allred (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  Matt remembers a very special gift from Foggy.  Also:  the dreaded STILT-MAN!

The Review:  Mike Allred!

That’s really the major selling point for this issue.  It becomes clear within the first two pages that Mark Waid’s Daredevil is a series that plays to the Allreds’ strengths.  Waid’s book is naturally upbeat and energetic with a slightly retro, pop-art feel.  Of course, all of what I just said also describes Mike and Laura Allred’s work, so seeing them take on Daredevil is something that just makes sense.  Waid also gives Allred the sort of stuff that also plays particularly to Allred’s strengths.  For instance, in selecting Stilt-Man for this issue, he gives Allred a zany character with wacky physical characteristics, which is just the sort of thing Allred excels at.  Put simply, this issue just pops and it’s the best looking comic book I picked up this week.  Despite the heart-wringing content of the story, the Allreds’ artwork just makes you feel happy.

Invincible Iron Man #500 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca, Frank D’Armata, Nathan Fox, Javier Rodriguez, Carmine Di Giandomenico, & Matthew Wilson (art & colors), Kano (art), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony enlists the aid of former employee Peter Parker to help remember, and stop, a weapon he forgot he invented.  Meanwhile, we also get a glimpse of the hell that that device creates.

What’s Good: Usually when I say that a comic feels all over the place, that’s a bad thing.  With Invincible Iron Man #500, it’s quite the opposite.  In the space of this giant-sized issue, Matt Fraction delivers a massive and expansive story where he essentially touches upon everything he sees creatively in the Iron Man franchise.  In one story, Fraction manages to squeeze in a taste of every type of story he sees possible for the character.  You have the high-tech near future stuff, you have Stark’s personal guilt and claiming of responsibility, you have techno-terrorists, you have the good old-fashioned superhero story in a team-up with Spider-Man, and, most fascinatingly, you have a far future dystopian story.

Let’s start with that last bit, because it’s guaranteed to be what grabs your attention with this issue.  Pulling in a bevy of European artists and Heavy Metal veteran Nathan Fox, Fraction basically manages to cram a European-styled sci-fi tale into this book that is all kinds of awesome.  In both art and tone, this really gives off a Heavy Metal/2000 AD vibe that is just so contrary to what Invincible Iron Man, or Marvel for that matter, is usually about.  It’s dirty, desperate, and undeniably thrilling.  More than that though, it provides the perfect counter-point to what goes on in the rest of the issue.

And that’s the beauty of this book really: how Fraction manages to eloquently, and meaningfully, link two utterly disparate halves.  We get a superhero tale much in the vein of Fraction’s usual Iron Man stuff combined with a futuristic Heavy Metal comic, where events in the former tale bear heavily on the latter.  What happens in the present affects what happens in the future and seeing two such different stories bounce off one another is an absolute joy.  As is often the case with Invincible Iron Man, Fraction shows both his skill and intelligence as a writer.  Thrills and twists abound, yes, but the fact that two such different things can co-exist and co-depend so elegantly is astounding.  More than that though: both sides of the story are hugely entertaining and impressive in both action and dialogue, regardless of how different they might be.

All told, this is a celebration of what Matt Fraction sees in Iron Man, giving us a glimpse into the creative depth Fraction possesses for the franchise while also making clear the writer’s love and dedication to the character and his world.  In that sense, it’s a wonderful, wonderful book.