Tag: Stan Lee (writer)

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Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Volume Four

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Invincible Iron Man Volume Four. You can read my reviews of the first three volumes here, here, and here. This volume is written by Stan Lee and drawn by the great Gene Colan, who also drew Tomb of Dracula. Mr. Colan’s Iron Man is dynamic – twisting, contorting, always in action.

Thus far, Iron Man has been an on/off title to read. The main culprit is the writing, which can be kindly described as inconsistent. Nonstop action is great, but the plots need to make sense. The writing has a slapdash quality that I don’t like, such as when Iron Man leaves the widget he needs to defeat the Titanium Man on his coffee table because it slipped his mind. Series regular Happy Hogan retrieves the widget, only to be mortally injured, which leads to Happy’s transformation into a monstrous etc., etc., etc. This is known as plotting on the fly, aka making it up as you go along.

Happily, the writing in this volume is better. When Archie Goodwin takes over scribing duties – which seems like it might be a few issues before he’s credited – the plots get tighter. Yes, dumb cliffhangers still abound, but that is part of the joy of reading superhero comics. The Grey Gargoyle throws a petrified Iron Man off the roof, but lucky for him, there’s a handy truck full of sand nearby to fall on.

The villains in this volume are better. Unlike Mr. Doll (featured in Volume One), they look like real threats. Look at Titanium Man! He’s scary! Look at the Grey Gargoyle! He’s mean! There’s also Whiplash, who has a, uh, steel whip. Let’s not forget ultra-secret organizations Maggia and AIM, bent on world domination. Also: Madame Masque, minus the mask.

Series regulars Happy (chauffer) and Pepper (secretary) get written out of the book for reasons I don’t understand. I think it might have to do with Happy knowing that Tony is Iron Man. Instead of fridging him, the writers allow him to elope with Pepper. They are replaced by SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell, the most annoying man in the universe. Sitwell debuts by trying to blow Tony Stark’s head off his shoulders, although that’s not how he frames it. Overall, this volume shows a lot of improvement from the last. Recommended for Iron Man fans and lovers of superhero comics!

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Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume Four

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume Four. See what I thought of the first three volumes here, here, and here. A quick review of the first forty issues of the Avengers –started slow, but got better once the creators started making the team members fight each other more than the villains. Jack Kirby (comic creator) is gone, Stan Lee (writer) is leaving, and Roy Thomas’ (writer) time is upon us.

This volume, the roster expands as Hank Pym – aka Ant Man, aka Goliath, aka Yellowjacket, aka Ultron’s Daddy – and The Wasp rejoin the team. The Greek God Hercules, who at one point we see playing ukulele at a tiki bar, also joins after a mild misunderstanding – Herc tries to kill them all – gets ironed out. Hawkeye wants his girlfriend The Black Widow to join the team, also, and she’d be an interesting addition, but it doesn’t happen because reasons.

The tension between Hawkeye and Captain America is gone, replaced by tension between Goliath and Hawkeye. Goliath is written as a loose cannon. Besides that, he’s sort of a dick. He is also the team’s strong-man, which is weird considering he’s a scientist. What kind of scientist, do you ask? If forced to answer, I would call Pym a physicist, just because the power to grow and shrink seems to be quantum physics. What he has, of course, is a doctorate in handwavium.

The team fights the Sons of the Serpent, a two-issue storyline that today would be an 18 part event. The Living Laser storyline features one of the first realistic depictions of a stalker in comic books I’ve ever seen. There are Ultroids in Bavarian villages and yet another battle with the Sub Mariner, who manages to uncover the Cosmic Cube.

I have a confession to make. Sometimes reading 60’s era Marvel comics (besides Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko) is a real slog, but I look forward to these volumes. After a rough first volume, this series is a must-read. Recommended!

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Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Volume Three

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This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Thor: Volume 3. Thor keeps getting better, which is a relief, because the first volume was one of the worst graphic novels I’ve ever read. When Jack Kirby took over Thor the second book improved, and now the third volume is hitting its stride courtesy of his great art and clever plotting. Read my reviews of the first two graphic novels here and here.

Jane Foster is in peril a lot in this volume. She’s kidnapped by Loki, menaced by the Grey Gargoyle, and then manhandled by the Executioner and the Enchantress. Don Blake gives the magic beans away by telling Jane he’s Thor, but All-Father Odin conveniently strips him of his powers so he can’t change forms, and she starts thinking he’s soft in the head. All part of Odin’s master plan to cock-block his mighty son!

Thor’s adopted brother, Loki, doesn’t want to mess with Thor’s love-life. He wants to kill him by proxy, using his sorcery to empower Crusher Creel, aka the Absorbing Man. When that fails, he makes a baseless claim against his half-brother. Even though Loki does nothing but lie, and Odin sacrificed an eye for divine wisdom (including the ability to see anything), the All-Father seems strangely clueless in regards to his sons. He sentences them to an ordeal in Skornheim. Loki wins, because he cheats. Loki always cheats, but he shouldn’t bother because Odin already knows he cheated. My theory is that it’s a bizarre sham put on by the All-Father, who must be bored out of his mind. What’s a war god to do in times of peace?

The best part of this volume is when Loki activates The Destroyer, which is more powerful than Thor, and then realizes that if The Destroyer kills Thor, Odin will blast him to atoms. This leads to a sequence where Loki tries in vain to awaken a sleeping Odin and ends up saving Thor’s life. The back-up feature, Tales of Asgard, is great also, heralding the first appearance of the mighty Volstagg, who has served as comic relief for lo these many decades.

Good stuff, especially if you like Jack Kirby and Thor!