Iron Man AICN mini-reviews Iron Man:Beneath the Armor

[kedrell]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36019

Moriarty’s One Thing I Love Today! IRON MAN: BENEATH THE ARMOR!



Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
Yep, that’s right. It’s another attempt at a daily column by your favorite procrastinator.
Or at least, I’m my own favorite procrastinator. That’s gotta count for something.
I recently realized that I need to get myself into the habit of being able to produce at least one piece per day, and not writing a novel every single time.
What better way to motivate myself than to focus on the things I love. For geeks, love can be a fleeting thing. I’m sent so many things to read and watch and review that it’s possible for me to fall in love anew each and every day.
Amidst my regular reviews of films coming out or my set visits or interviews, things where it's a little more labor-intensive, it seems like the easiest way to do a daily piece is to pick one thing out of the snowdrifts of DVDs and books and manuscripts and games and toys that have piled up in my office. And each day, I’ll discuss one thing I love that particular day.
Easy enough, right?
So where do we start?

How about here? I don’t have the final full-color paperback version of this. Mine is a black-and-white galley right now, velo-bound. It doesn’t have that kick-ass cover. But it’s a great read, and it surprised me by being far more than just a cursory excuse to publish some familiar greatest-hits panels and stills from this summer’s movie. It’s no simple tie-in. Instead, Andy Mangels has written a comprehensive appreciation of the character Iron Man as well as a clear-eyed look at who is really responsible for shaping this Marvel icon.
Mangels is a research nerd. That’s evident in the way he lays out the chronology of Iron Man’s development, tracing him through early characters in SMASH COMICS issues for Quality Comics and then outlining the work that Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Art Simek did in midwifing Tony Stark into existence. He lays out each creative era as a separate story, showing how he evolved, and it’s funny... I read a fair amount of IRON MAN when I was a kid in the ‘70s, but I didn’t love it. He seemed harder to identify with than the rest of the Marvel universe. Spider-Man or the X-Men or the Fantastic Four or the Hulk were all metaphors I could invest in, but Tony Stark was a billionaire, a playboy with awesome toys. It was a cool book, but not my favorite by any means. Now, as I read through the evolution of the character and his storyline, I think this is one of my favorite overall Marvel creations. Especially considering all they’ve done to sully him during Civil War and the last few years. Iron Man has changed a lot, with supporting characters and character traits developing over time. It seems to me looking at the IRON MAN trailer that Jon Favreau’s team has taken some of the best characters and ideas from several different creative periods of the book and combined them all into one streamlined continuity in the film. And reading this, and knowing how all that continuity is being handled, that’s actually making me enjoy the trailers and my anticipation for the film even more.
I love the comparison of Justin Hammer to Peter Cushing. Subtle last name, eh? I love the entire chapter about the Denny O’Neil era on the book and the creation of Obidiah Stane. It seems to me that Michelinie and Layton may have saved IRON MAN’s life. More than once, even. I’m crazy about all the little odds and ends they have pictures of, like the View-Master covers or the Mego figures. The story behind Iron Man’s nose appearing and disappearing is finally told. There’s a comprehensive bio section for the major supporting players in Iron Man’s world, including one for Ultimate Iron Man, and an armor gallery by Ian Fullwood.
I see a lot of books like this, published to cash in on an upcoming movie, but it’s not often that they’re this well-written and appealing to even a casual fan of the character. If you’re even remotely interested and excited in the countdown to May’s IRON MAN release, check this one out for yourself.