Here's an easy one to start -
The Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 2 - World's Most Wanted, Book 1
I guess if you're going to start off, then you might as well start easy. This is a book I've read several times already and for some reason it keeps getting better - I see or find something new practically every time I read the book (I won't say how many times I've read it, but lets just leave it at "several").
This sort-of-latest IM tale takes place after Tony Stark undergoes the Extremis process (an excellent mini-series, BTW), the attacks by Ezekiel Stane on Stark Industries (a very good storyline, but kind of awkward in parts if you ask me), and after the Skrull invasion. I haven't had the chance to read the Invasion storyline yet, but from what I gather, during the invasion the Skrulls unleashes some kind of virus that basically made every piece of Stark technology malfunction. This in turn led to chaos & confusion, as well as a void which the nefarious Norman Osborn filled with his brand of technology and the sinister uses that go along with it. SHIELD is toast - replaced by a similar organization named HAMMER, which coincidentally(?) is run by Osborn.
The whole Osborn thing leads to the Dark Reign series including the Dark Avengers, etc. - but I haven't had a chance to read any of that yet. Maybe this year? We'll see.
As World's Most Wanted opens, Stark is at rock bottom. His company is wiped out, mainly from the Stane attacks but also from the lousy publicity earned at the hands of the Skrulls. In addition to wiping out all Stark tech, the Skrulls' virus also hacked the Extremis connection Stark had with the armor, basically turning him back into a standard, run-of-the-mill Iron Man. A big problem: the Extremis armor is too difficult for Stark to operate without the enhancements, which means he has to rely on older versions of his armor to get by.
Add something else to the mix - during the whole Civil War fiasco, the US government required all superheros to register and make their secret identities known. Somehow (which I'm still trying to figure out) the secret IDs were still kept mostly secret by the government and only a few were made public (most notably Spider Man's, but we all know how that turned out). And guess what - there is only one copy of the secret ID database - and Stark has it - stored in some kind of bio-digital form - in his brain. No hard copies, no flash drive backups, etc. And to make it even more intense, guess who wants this database? Yep - Osborn. Osborn who is now reveired in public as some kind of savior (his tech beat the Skrulls, remember) and who now has the full resources of HAMMER, dozens of supervillians, and even some of Stark's Iron Man technology.
Stark, realizing all of this, sees deleting the database as the only way out. But wait - remember the database is in his head... so he has to delete his... brain? Yep. And all of the other functions that go with it. Unfortunately he can only delete the database using his non-patented repulsor technology, but since he cannot gain access to a SHIELD or Stark lab, he is basically on the run, retrofitting older suits of armor to accommodate his diminishing mental capabilities.
Yeah, it sounds complicated - and I haven't even mentioned the roles Pepper Potts and Maria Hill play in this yarn. But quite frankly I haven't been this wrapped up in an IM story since the first Armor Wars tale in the late 1980s. This is quite frankly some good sh*t and I am looking very forward to the conclusion which hit the shelves last week (I haven't purchased it yet - I feel guilty reading new comic books during the semester for some reason).
The artwork is fantastic - Salvador Larocca is the man. Although I disagree a bit with his recycling of images in places, the originals are just so good that it doesn't matter. In fact it almost becomes a game trying to find where his images are recycled. Matt Fraction is the writer and while his dialogue is a bit stilted in places, he still makes it a very fun read and witty in some places:
1616 Armor (to Potts): Are you ready to begin your training?
Potts: Hell yes.
One thing that stands out for me (and maybe why I like this series so much) - I've always been a sucker for my favorite heros getting the snot kicked out of them every once in awhile. I'm thinking of the fight scene in the first Spider Man movie between Spidey and the Green Goblin, when Spider Man gets that pumpkin bomb tossed in his face... or when Batman had his back broken by Bane way back when (ah, the illiteration special!).
Let me give you a tip - Iron Man gets his bell rung pretty damn good in here. Namor basically knocks him into next week in a fight that can best be described as frightening - I'm getting chills thinking about it. The combination of Larocca's art and Fraction's dialogue make it a very dark experience. I won't spoil how Stark gets out of it, but even that is very sobering.
It is also cool to see some of the old-school armor back in action again. From what I understand, Stark is forced to continue to turn back the clock armor-wise in Book 2, having to rely on the classic red & gold from the old Avenger days. Good times indeed.
The sign of a good comic book (for me) is that when the hero is faced with something as huge as this, it is difficult to see a way out of it. I really have no idea how Stark will be able to get out of this (I have a possible solution but it might be pretty lame) and I think that is a sign of good writing. Not many people can do a good job of building tension and suspense while keeping a possible solution questionable. Fraction deserves two thumbs up for this one. Even if you're not a comic book fan, I think you still might dig this - the good news is that you don't really need to know much about Extremis, the Stane attacks, or even the Skrull invasion to get into this storyline. You can read the review in the dustjacket and start on page one - no worries.
Hey, I just found out this story won the 2009 Eisner Award for Best New Series! See, I can pick 'em once in awhile...
This sort-of-latest IM tale takes place after Tony Stark undergoes the Extremis process (an excellent mini-series, BTW), the attacks by Ezekiel Stane on Stark Industries (a very good storyline, but kind of awkward in parts if you ask me), and after the Skrull invasion. I haven't had the chance to read the Invasion storyline yet, but from what I gather, during the invasion the Skrulls unleashes some kind of virus that basically made every piece of Stark technology malfunction. This in turn led to chaos & confusion, as well as a void which the nefarious Norman Osborn filled with his brand of technology and the sinister uses that go along with it. SHIELD is toast - replaced by a similar organization named HAMMER, which coincidentally(?) is run by Osborn.
The whole Osborn thing leads to the Dark Reign series including the Dark Avengers, etc. - but I haven't had a chance to read any of that yet. Maybe this year? We'll see.
As World's Most Wanted opens, Stark is at rock bottom. His company is wiped out, mainly from the Stane attacks but also from the lousy publicity earned at the hands of the Skrulls. In addition to wiping out all Stark tech, the Skrulls' virus also hacked the Extremis connection Stark had with the armor, basically turning him back into a standard, run-of-the-mill Iron Man. A big problem: the Extremis armor is too difficult for Stark to operate without the enhancements, which means he has to rely on older versions of his armor to get by.
Add something else to the mix - during the whole Civil War fiasco, the US government required all superheros to register and make their secret identities known. Somehow (which I'm still trying to figure out) the secret IDs were still kept mostly secret by the government and only a few were made public (most notably Spider Man's, but we all know how that turned out). And guess what - there is only one copy of the secret ID database - and Stark has it - stored in some kind of bio-digital form - in his brain. No hard copies, no flash drive backups, etc. And to make it even more intense, guess who wants this database? Yep - Osborn. Osborn who is now reveired in public as some kind of savior (his tech beat the Skrulls, remember) and who now has the full resources of HAMMER, dozens of supervillians, and even some of Stark's Iron Man technology.
Stark, realizing all of this, sees deleting the database as the only way out. But wait - remember the database is in his head... so he has to delete his... brain? Yep. And all of the other functions that go with it. Unfortunately he can only delete the database using his non-patented repulsor technology, but since he cannot gain access to a SHIELD or Stark lab, he is basically on the run, retrofitting older suits of armor to accommodate his diminishing mental capabilities.
Yeah, it sounds complicated - and I haven't even mentioned the roles Pepper Potts and Maria Hill play in this yarn. But quite frankly I haven't been this wrapped up in an IM story since the first Armor Wars tale in the late 1980s. This is quite frankly some good sh*t and I am looking very forward to the conclusion which hit the shelves last week (I haven't purchased it yet - I feel guilty reading new comic books during the semester for some reason).
The artwork is fantastic - Salvador Larocca is the man. Although I disagree a bit with his recycling of images in places, the originals are just so good that it doesn't matter. In fact it almost becomes a game trying to find where his images are recycled. Matt Fraction is the writer and while his dialogue is a bit stilted in places, he still makes it a very fun read and witty in some places:
1616 Armor (to Potts): Are you ready to begin your training?
Potts: Hell yes.
One thing that stands out for me (and maybe why I like this series so much) - I've always been a sucker for my favorite heros getting the snot kicked out of them every once in awhile. I'm thinking of the fight scene in the first Spider Man movie between Spidey and the Green Goblin, when Spider Man gets that pumpkin bomb tossed in his face... or when Batman had his back broken by Bane way back when (ah, the illiteration special!).
Let me give you a tip - Iron Man gets his bell rung pretty damn good in here. Namor basically knocks him into next week in a fight that can best be described as frightening - I'm getting chills thinking about it. The combination of Larocca's art and Fraction's dialogue make it a very dark experience. I won't spoil how Stark gets out of it, but even that is very sobering.
It is also cool to see some of the old-school armor back in action again. From what I understand, Stark is forced to continue to turn back the clock armor-wise in Book 2, having to rely on the classic red & gold from the old Avenger days. Good times indeed.
The sign of a good comic book (for me) is that when the hero is faced with something as huge as this, it is difficult to see a way out of it. I really have no idea how Stark will be able to get out of this (I have a possible solution but it might be pretty lame) and I think that is a sign of good writing. Not many people can do a good job of building tension and suspense while keeping a possible solution questionable. Fraction deserves two thumbs up for this one. Even if you're not a comic book fan, I think you still might dig this - the good news is that you don't really need to know much about Extremis, the Stane attacks, or even the Skrull invasion to get into this storyline. You can read the review in the dustjacket and start on page one - no worries.
Hey, I just found out this story won the 2009 Eisner Award for Best New Series! See, I can pick 'em once in awhile...
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