I've been meaning to start writing some comic book reviews....and I decided every Thursday (or so) I'll explain to you, my humble and illustrious readers, why this past Wednesday was the best ever. So let us begin.
This week, the first book I picked up was Invicible Iron Man #22. I have to say that I have really been enjoying this book, and it has impressed me on a number of levels. At first, I was hesitant, due to the creative team. The art team I was not familiar with...it was reall Fraction that I wasn't sure about it. I've never been a big fan of him, and his writing always seemed a bit....complicated, I guess.
Also, the idea of a new book surrounding Iron Man was a little weird. Two years ago, Tony Stark was pretty much the DICK of the Marvel U. And I didn't like him anymore at the time than the rest of the fanboys. I didn't think there was anything interesting about the character -- and I didn't see anywhere to go with him. I'll admit now that I was very wrong.
Fraction has done an amazing job of finding the human aspects of Tony Stark (and yes I know how trite and stereotypical that sounds). Throughout this book, Tony has been full of issues, foibles, phobias, and flaws. He has the unique position of being one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe (except possibly Reed Richards), and at the same time being in charge of everything. And yet, even he was second guessing, and failing, and struggling with his responsibilities.
Eventually, the events of Secret Invasion collided with this character study, and the book took a turn, definitely for the better. To protect his immense knowledge from Norman Osborn, Tony decided to actually erase his BRAIN. More than any other superhero, Tony's brain is truly his greatest asset, and the source of his abilities. Tony, in order to protect his friends, and his world, basically sacrificed everything that he identified as himself.
And this is where the true strength of this book came out of. Fraction began to examine who Tony Stark would be if he wasn't the mega-genius, the CEO, and the director of SHIELD. And he was still Iron Man. Tony Stark is basically a guy who has decided to help the world, and others, however he can, and with whatever resources he has. He just happens to have a few million more than us.
Recently, a group of characters have gathered around a comatose and braindead Tony Stark to help rescue him, and this supporting cast has really gives this comic an additional level, and has made me very excited to see where this comic heads in the next few issues. I realize Dark Reign is about to end (which makes me sad), but I hope this book gains some more deserved notoriety because of it.
