INTERNATIONAL IRON MAN #1

Capsule Review

This book teams Brian Michael Bendis with his old Daredevil running mate, Alex Maleev, and so it is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it-affair. In its favor, you get solid dialogue, an intriguing new take on Tony Stark, and plenty of emotion and mood through Maleev’s art. On the other hand, you get that Bendis/Maleev explosion-in-the-word-balloon-factory style of storytelling, plus it is going to cost you four bucks a month for the next year to get the whole tale. Despite my early reservations, I have come to appreciate this team’s style, and I enjoyed this latest Iron Man book, though there is precious little Iron Man in it — aside from the opening and the coda, Iron Man is a distant dream in this story, which concentrates on a fateful meeting during Tony Stark’s pre-heroic college days. There are a lot of talking heads and only a little action, but the characters are authentic and the plot does move forward, at least by Bendis standards. It is an unconventional take on Tony but Bendis pulls it off, and he has earned some credit — the work he is doing right now makes most of Marvel’s other writers look like they are playing with Tinkertoys.

Approachability For New Readers

Fine. Bendis has a cinematic sensibility, and while his story starts in the middle, he catches you up with the who, what, and why as he goes along.

Read #2?

Sure … when it is collected.

Sales Rank

(N/A)

Note

Seeing as my All-New All-Different review project began with an Iron Man book, this latest Iron Man book seems a good place to bring the project to a close. Thanks to everyone that stuck with me through these better than 60 (!) reviews, and keep an eye on Longbox Graveyard for a summary post about my experience with Marvel’s latest relaunch, coming soon!

Read more about Iron Man at Longbox Graveyard

• Longbox Graveyard Podcast: Iron Man 3
• I Am Iron Man!
• Iron Man Gallery
• Iron Fan

Read more capsule reviews of Marvel’s All-New All-Different rolling relaunch.