Post by goldenfist on Dec 29, 2007 10:42:37 GMT -5
Here's the review for Iron Man #24 from ign.com
If it existed in a vacuum, Iron Man would easily be a critically-acclaimed and well-loved book. Unfortunately for Charlie and Daniel Knauf, it doesn't. Iron Man's worst enemy at this point isn't the Mandarin, but Marvel's enormous slate of Initiative books. Because of its similar tone and style of presentation, Captain America is probably the most fearsome competitor of all. It's unfortunate that the new issue of Captain America also hits this week, because Iron Man deserves a lot more attention and praise than it's receiving.
Iron Man succeeds in a lot of areas, none of which have much to do with the title character. The Knaufs write some impeccable dialogue when they set their minds to it, and nowhere is this fact more apparent than issue #24. Even visually-ridiculous characters like Captain Ultra feel like believable, realistic people. This grounded tone is greatly assisted by Butch Guice, who is probably the best thing to happen to this series since the end of the "Extremis" arc. Guice captures the same hyper-detailed tone seen in Captain America, but with an extra dash of superhero fantasy for good measure. I also continue to highly enjoy every brief appearance by the Mandarin. Far from his outlandish days of costumed villainy, the rejuvenated Mandarin has taken on a much more sinister and secretive role, not unlike Red Skull.
At this point, the only thing I don't like about Iron Man is Tony Stark. Stark has reached an unprecedented level of saturation in the Marvel universe lately thanks to his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. director. After reading the recent Iron Man Annual, I realized what I really want is a more light-hearted take on the character. Stark has enough problems to deal with in about 50 other comics right now, so it would be nice to see him kick back and act like a billionaire playboy secret agent once in a while. As the Joker might ask, why so serious, Mr. Stark?
Review Score:8.4 Impressive
If it existed in a vacuum, Iron Man would easily be a critically-acclaimed and well-loved book. Unfortunately for Charlie and Daniel Knauf, it doesn't. Iron Man's worst enemy at this point isn't the Mandarin, but Marvel's enormous slate of Initiative books. Because of its similar tone and style of presentation, Captain America is probably the most fearsome competitor of all. It's unfortunate that the new issue of Captain America also hits this week, because Iron Man deserves a lot more attention and praise than it's receiving.
Iron Man succeeds in a lot of areas, none of which have much to do with the title character. The Knaufs write some impeccable dialogue when they set their minds to it, and nowhere is this fact more apparent than issue #24. Even visually-ridiculous characters like Captain Ultra feel like believable, realistic people. This grounded tone is greatly assisted by Butch Guice, who is probably the best thing to happen to this series since the end of the "Extremis" arc. Guice captures the same hyper-detailed tone seen in Captain America, but with an extra dash of superhero fantasy for good measure. I also continue to highly enjoy every brief appearance by the Mandarin. Far from his outlandish days of costumed villainy, the rejuvenated Mandarin has taken on a much more sinister and secretive role, not unlike Red Skull.
At this point, the only thing I don't like about Iron Man is Tony Stark. Stark has reached an unprecedented level of saturation in the Marvel universe lately thanks to his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. director. After reading the recent Iron Man Annual, I realized what I really want is a more light-hearted take on the character. Stark has enough problems to deal with in about 50 other comics right now, so it would be nice to see him kick back and act like a billionaire playboy secret agent once in a while. As the Joker might ask, why so serious, Mr. Stark?
Review Score:8.4 Impressive
