Post by goldenfist on Jul 17, 2008 8:56:47 GMT -5
Here's a review from Ign.com on Iron Man: Dirctor of Shield #31.
Iron Man has been vastly underrated for quite some time. The biggest reason it's been underrated for so long is that it's in the same general genre as Captain America. Both combine superhero and espionage elements, but it's completely unfair for any comic to be directly compared to Brubaker's groundbreaking title. Still though, in relative anonymity, the Knaufs have been crafting an engaging storyline that just recently culminated with a showdown with a reintroduced and reinvigorated Mandarin. I consider that climatic arc as one of the best Iron Man stories I've read in years.
Sadly after that arc, the Knaufs handed over the creative reigns to Stuart Moore, who has done a very hit or miss job thus far. The arc is split among two different storylines. The first involves Stark having to deal with a long forgotten figure from his more morally pragmatic past. It's not exactly untilled ground, since the theme has been used on a previous arc, but it's handled smartly and is an interesting read.
The other story involves a disgruntled S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon developer's plan for revenge on Stark not going as planned, which isn't handled smartly and is far from an interesting read. The most glaring problem with the story is that the tone and execution are completely out-of-place with the established norms of the series, which has prided itself on being subtle and nuanced. I don't know what the exact definition of "subtle and nuanced" is, but I'm pretty sure having the Helicarrier being attacked by a giant self-aware robotic brain would qualify as the opposite of that. Unlike previous issues in the arc, the evil robotic brain gets the majority of the spotlight with the more compelling story pretty much put on the sideline. Hopefully that balance swings back the other way for the concluding issue.
The art also suffers this issue. In the last few months, I've heaped a lot of praise on Marvel for their smart artist assignments, especially when teaming multiple artists on the same issue. This issue is an example that you can't be right 100% of the time. Carlo Pagulayan and Steve Kurth's styles do not mesh well at all this issue. Instead of a seamless transition from one to the other, it's clearly noticeable. Pagulayan's work isn't that bad on its own, but Kurth's faces get pretty distorted at times. Maria Hill looks like she got some cut-rate plastic surgery done in Brazil - not a pretty picture…
In the end, things are pretty blah, but it's not the end of the world. Next issue is bound to be better simply by virtue of it having a better balance between space used for the good and bad storylines. Also, at worst, this is a fill-in arc. After this and the required Secret Invasion tie-in, we'll see where the future of this series is headed. Feel free to take a break until then.
Review Score: 5.8 Mediocre
Iron Man has been vastly underrated for quite some time. The biggest reason it's been underrated for so long is that it's in the same general genre as Captain America. Both combine superhero and espionage elements, but it's completely unfair for any comic to be directly compared to Brubaker's groundbreaking title. Still though, in relative anonymity, the Knaufs have been crafting an engaging storyline that just recently culminated with a showdown with a reintroduced and reinvigorated Mandarin. I consider that climatic arc as one of the best Iron Man stories I've read in years.
Sadly after that arc, the Knaufs handed over the creative reigns to Stuart Moore, who has done a very hit or miss job thus far. The arc is split among two different storylines. The first involves Stark having to deal with a long forgotten figure from his more morally pragmatic past. It's not exactly untilled ground, since the theme has been used on a previous arc, but it's handled smartly and is an interesting read.
The other story involves a disgruntled S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon developer's plan for revenge on Stark not going as planned, which isn't handled smartly and is far from an interesting read. The most glaring problem with the story is that the tone and execution are completely out-of-place with the established norms of the series, which has prided itself on being subtle and nuanced. I don't know what the exact definition of "subtle and nuanced" is, but I'm pretty sure having the Helicarrier being attacked by a giant self-aware robotic brain would qualify as the opposite of that. Unlike previous issues in the arc, the evil robotic brain gets the majority of the spotlight with the more compelling story pretty much put on the sideline. Hopefully that balance swings back the other way for the concluding issue.
The art also suffers this issue. In the last few months, I've heaped a lot of praise on Marvel for their smart artist assignments, especially when teaming multiple artists on the same issue. This issue is an example that you can't be right 100% of the time. Carlo Pagulayan and Steve Kurth's styles do not mesh well at all this issue. Instead of a seamless transition from one to the other, it's clearly noticeable. Pagulayan's work isn't that bad on its own, but Kurth's faces get pretty distorted at times. Maria Hill looks like she got some cut-rate plastic surgery done in Brazil - not a pretty picture…
In the end, things are pretty blah, but it's not the end of the world. Next issue is bound to be better simply by virtue of it having a better balance between space used for the good and bad storylines. Also, at worst, this is a fill-in arc. After this and the required Secret Invasion tie-in, we'll see where the future of this series is headed. Feel free to take a break until then.
Review Score: 5.8 Mediocre