Wednesday, March 16, 2016

International Iron Man #1



International Iron Man, Issue #1 takes us 20 years in the past to Cambridge, where a young Tony Stark meets a woman of mystery, Cassandra Gillespie, the daughter of one of the rivals of Tony's father.  Don't worry; they eventually start trying to kill each other, and all that good stuff.  Most of the story is, "rich, independent boy meets cloistered, wealthy girl."  The fact that 20 years later, they will be facing off in a pitched battle isn't lost on the story.

The question is how long this story can be maintained.  Brian Michael Bendis always seems to be going somewhere, but while I happily read comic-book and manga romances, I don't know how many Iron Man fans will enjoy this title as much as I have.  I think it's great the way that Bendis and Maleev have really shown their range with this title.  Maleev in particular has really put in a lot of work on Cassandra Gillespie.  She's positively radiant, even in the darkness of the tavern and dimly-lit streets.

The way Maleev, along with colorist Paul Mounts, uses light in this dark title is so noir.  It reminds me a lot of Sean Phillips's work with Ed Brubaker, but the color scheme is totally different.  Most of this comic is Tony and Cassandra talking in various places, and their faces are lit to different extents, from full lit to totally black.  VC's Clayton Cowles is the letterer.  He uses low horizontal lines on the As and the Hs, and he uses a bit of an upswing on his Ds.  I like it.

So, you're probably wondering why you should buy this title if there isn't as much action in it.  You should buy it because it's good; you should buy it because it's Iron Man, and because it's Bendis.  And don't worry, they'll eventually have a run-in with H.Y.D.R.A. and all that good stuff.  Just be patient for now.  This title is going to be epic.

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