Iron Man #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Greg Land
Cover: Greg Land
Marvel Now has begun, and with it we get a new start to Iron Man. The story itself is pretty accessible to someone who skipped out on the previous series, or has just decided to use this number one to see what the character is about. Gillen does a nice job in establishing a bit of Tony’s character in the first few pages, but things really pick up when the plot actually starts moving. It’s a pretty simple one, but the writing is strong enough that it’s very entertaining. Much of it just having to do with the character interactions instead of relying on heavy action scenes to carry the issue.
Now, as solid as this introductory issue is, there’s a very important part of this story that may have a new reader scratching their heads. Extremis is a large part of this issue, and although a longtime reader may be more familiar with that past story line, it just doesn’t carry the same weight with a newer reader. It may also confuse someone as to why Tony’s suit is a liquid metal that just oozes all over him.
The artwork is a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion. Land seems to do an excellent job when it comes to the scenes of Iron Man doing what he does best. Whether it was flying over New York City or blasting the enemy, we were treated to some very good looking scenes. Now, the problem comes in when Land has to draw Tony out of his armor along with everyone else. For several panels Tony had this emotionless smile on his face while speaking with one of Land’s interchangeable blondes. Actually, during the bar scene it looked as if Invisible Woman was having a talk with Jean Grey. Though it was Pepper Pots speaking with one of Tony’s future conquests. The action scenes do flow quite well, and Land does a good job with the pacing of the story and keeping it interesting.
As far as a restart, Iron Man #1 has enough to bring in a new reader and entertain, while not putting in too much old information to bore the seasoned Iron Man fan. Gillen’s first arc is starting off well, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with a character like Tony Stark that has been around for so long and written by so many.
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