Invincible Iron Man #20
Reviewed by David O' Leary
Story
by: Matt Fraction
Art by: Salvador Larroca
Colours by: Frank D'Armata
Letters by: Joe Caramagna
Cover by: Marko Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Cover Date: January 2010
Book Summary:
The World's Most Wanted is now the World's Most Shattered... how does Tony Stark come back from the events of the last year? How CAN he? Is he even alive? Sort of... The Eisner Award-winning title for BEST NEW SERIES kicks off a new story arc leading into this summer's double-sized 25th issue extravaganza here with STARK: DISASSEMBLED!
Reviewer's Comments:
"Counting Up from Zero"
I only read the first arc of this particular title and for one reason or other and didn't pick up anything else since then. I knew that the book won the Eisner recently and I still didn't pick up this book. So in a rare foray to my comic shop I found issue twenty in my file for some reason and because it was the beginning of a new arc I said I would pick it up. I now find myself hunting back issues or trades to see what I missed.
Tony Stark has always been one of the most flawed characters Marvel has and at the start of this story, we find that he is now one of the most humble heroes alive. To avoid letting Norman Osborne have access to the many secrets that he holds in the event of his capture, Tony deleted all information he could find including that which was kept in his own head, thus leaving himself in a persistent vegetative state. So, how do you work with a character that is laid up on a hospital bed? Well, Fraction is one guy who can think outside the box and he produces one of the most thoughtful, heart breaking scripts I have read in this title ever. He uses the process of Tony speaking to a gathered collection of friends and allies to allay his reasons for ending up like he is and the dialogue is amazing, pure and free flowing to the point that I can see how the book earned its Eisner. There is sub plot of Tony working in the inner recesses of his mind trying to figure out a way to regain consciousness by the means of a puzzle that must be solved in a dessert wasteland representation of his mindscape. The first chapter is very strong and leaves the reader with a lot to ponder and the subsequent issue well looked forward to.
With a price tag of nearly four quid there is a welcome and useful addition a the back of the book. We see a chronology of events leading us to the present events and something like that is very useful, especially for someone like me who wasn't immediately up to scratch. Many book at that price range don't fill the book out to that extent at the moment and I struggle to see the validation for the pricing for books like that right now.
Salvador Larroca, who isn't to every persons liking for some reason, provides art but I feel that coupled with wonderful dry and vivid colouring from Frank D'Armata there is a great one-two art team that show us a great sci-fi story with great energy.
I feel that the hype is very much justified and with that there is a sense of comfort for the reader in that I now know that there is a large element of quality and care inside the cover and I will be following the arc from here on out.
Rating the Issue
| Story Story: Overall 8 Concept - 8 out of 10 Plot - 8 out of 10 Dialogue - 8 out of 10 |
Art Art: Overall 8 Style - 8 out of 10 Storytelling - 8 out of 10 Colour/Tones - 8 out of 10 |
Importance Importance: Overall 8 To the Title - 8 out of 10 To the Company - 8 out of 10 To the Medium - 8 out of 10 |
Take a Look Inside
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Reviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Been reading comics: for about 12 years now.
Review Bio: I am a 26-year-old Hotel Manager from the west coast of the Republic of Ireland and think this is a great way to talk to others about this cool medium. I am a husband to one wife and father to one girl (so far).
Favorites: ONI's Whiteout, Vertigo's Scalped and Garth Ennis Preacher and Punisher in Trades. In comic form I am reading a lot of Marvel and a bit of IDW, Dark Horse & WildStorm among others.
Website: Sorry, I don't have one!
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