Weekly Comic Book Review

By Matt Fraction (Writer), Salvador Larocca (Art), and Frank D’Armata (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Invincible Iron Man is written by the Matt Fraction that made me a fan of Matt Fraction.

The Story: With a mind that’s being deleted cell by cell, Tony Stark encounters the Crimson Dynamo and sees an opportunity. Meanwhile, Pepper Potts gets a checkup and then goes back to being a hero. As for Mariah Hill? She’s contacting a certain assassin for some help…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Another month, another very good issue of Invincible Iron Man that strengthens the argument for “World’s Most Wanted” being one of the best things to come out as a result of the Dark Reign period. The story keeps moving along at a pace that feels just right, pausing long enough for characters to make an impression (like Crimson Dynamo for instance) but never long enough to feel like things are starting to drag. While I’m sure some people will scoff at the logistics of Stark’s “delete my brain” plan, it’s difficult to seriously call it boring or unoriginal.

Creatively, Matt Fraction’s character work continues to be the obvious highlight. He handles his cast so well that you can’t help but get drawn into the world of a mentally deteriorating Tony Stark. In particular, I’d even go as far as to say that Pepper’s transformation into a hero is just as compelling as anything that Stark is going through. It’s the use of (and, almost,  the reliance on) the peripheral character that makes the Dark Reign arc of Invincible Iron Man such an effective piece of work.

I have two complaints about the seventh chapter of “World’s Most Wanted.” The first complaint is that once again Larocca’s art hurts the book whenever there isn’t some technology to show off. The second complaint is that the seventh chapter seems to be all about setting up the rest of the arc as opposed to moving things forward. While the plot definitely advances in interesting ways, it’s clear Fraction is saving the bigger stuff for next month.

Conclusion: Sure it’s a bit slow, but Invincible Iron Man #14 is still a clever, intelligent, and compelling slice of entertainment that’s well worth it’s cover price.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | comic reviews, Crimson Dynamo, Dark Reign, Frank D'Armata, Iron Man, Jarvis, Kyle Posluszny, Mariah Hill, Marvel Comics, Matt Fraction, Ms. Hand, Norman Osborn, Pepper Potts, Salvador Larocca, The Invincible Iron Man #14, Tony Stark, WCBR, Weekly Comic Book Review, weeklycomicbookreview.com, World's Most Wanted