by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larocca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)
The Story: Tony attends a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, where he retells his history and his struggles.
What’s Good: This is one incredibly well-written comic. Given that there are a lot of words on the page, as it’s basically one giant monologue from Tony, there’s a lot of room for Matt Fraction flex his muscle as a writer and the product is an impressive display of his talents. It’s abundantly clear this month just how intimately Fraction “gets” Tony Stark as character, superhero, and, above all else, human being. From his self-deprecating candor, to his vulnerability, it’s a compelling read in that it makes clear that Iron Man, one the most iconic superheroes around, is really just a man.
With the whole thing revolving around an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Fraction makes the comic feel real, concrete, and fully believable, regardless of the crazy cosmic events he has Tony describe. Suffice it to say, by issue’s end, it’s impossible not to both like and empathize with Tony. Part of the reason for this is that Tony is so aware of his own failings and vulnerabilities. His self-analysis is comprehensive and astute and so it’s easy to both respect him and feel affection for him. What we’re left with is, under Fraction’s hand, perhaps the most engaging and compelling leading man in superhero comics today, a fully three dimensional character that is infectiously readable.
Salvador Larroca’s artwork was also a big surprise for me this month. He’s been working so steadily on Invincible Iron Man that I’ve come to associate that look with him so much that it’s hard to believe that he’s’ capable of anything else. This month though, Larroca essentially becomes two different artists. The present day portions are illustrated in his typical style, but when tasked with drawing flashbacks, he adopts a more old-school look. It’s still detailed, but a little less super-realistic, less glossy, and a bit more scratchy. I actually had to double-check to make sure there wasn’t a guest artist on board this month.
What’s Not So Good: This issue leaves me in a weird position. It’s very well written and very well drawn, but it completely and utterly fails at what it was meant to do as a .1 issue.
As a singular character study of Tony Stark, while beautifully written, it doesn’t leave me hungering for the next installment. It’s slow paced, there aren’t any twists or cliffhangers, and with it’s highly retrospective structure, it feels more like an anniversary issue than anything else. It’s a high quality book, but not one that leaves me hanging on the edge of my seat.
More than that though, I can imagine how this issue is of any service to new readers. It outlines the basics of Tony’s history and personality, but it never even remotely touches upon Tony’s current status quo. There’s no mention of Stark Resilient, the Hammer girls, Detroit Steel, or anything that’s been going on lately in Invincible Iron Man. In other words, new readers will be just as adrift if they picked up Invincible Iron Man #501 as they would be if they never read this .1 issue. Basically, as the first installment of this new initiative by Marvel, it leaves the .1 concept even more nebulous than it already was.
Conclusion: A very hard issue for me to grade. The writing and artwork are of high quality, but it completely and utterly fails at what it was meant to achieve.
Grade: B –
-Alex Evans
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Conclusion