Iron Man #10

(w) Kieron Gillen     (a) Dale Eaglesham

Kieron Gillen is no stranger to long-form narrative. Just take a look at his run on Journey Into Mystery and how each arc grew from the last and influenced the next, like a novel with it's many chapters. One would think this is how most comic books are written, but it tends to be a lot more difficult than it sounds. Iron Man didn't start out as strong as everyone hoped it would, but six issues in, Gillen upped the ante by sending Tony Stark into deep space where he faced the consequences of his attempt at destroying the Phoenix Force in Avengers vs. X-Men.

"The Secret Origin of Tony Stark" doesn't aim to retell Iron Man's origins. Quite the contrary, in fact. Working inside the strict parameters of comic book universe continuity seems to be Gillen's inspirational constraint. It's one of the elements of the comic book industry that makes it so amazing, that a creator 40 years removed from the character's origin can still add something to said origin, have it make sense, and make it totally awesome.


** SPOILERS AHEAD **


Iron Man #10 plays out like a 60s spy thriller as Howard Stark assembles a team to steal the one thing all his power, money, resources, connections, and intelligence can't get him: hope for his already dying prenatal child. If it seems a bit dark, then Gillen has done his job. Tony's always had a medically spotty history, but this pushes that concept to a whole new level. The fact that alien technology plays a part in this plan means Tony's life was influenced by technology before he ever left his mother's womb. I really like the team Howard assembles, but I wonder just how Gillen plans on using them as the story moves forward.

Overall, I found Iron Man #10 to be intriguing. It's the first official part of "Secret Origin", and it reveals quite a bit about the story leading up to Tony's birth, but nothing is intersecting yet. It's like one of those new puzzles without edges that are just that much harder to start piecing together, but are so much more satisfying when completed.

GRADE

8/10

Iron Man #9

(w) Kieron Gillen     (a) Dale Eaglesham

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how a comic book is done.

From beginning to end, Iron Man #9 is one of the best single issues I've read in quite a while. It's a fantastic 'jumping on' point that really does the phrase justice, the artwork is leaps and bounds better than the previous eight issues under Greg Land's airbrushing hands, and Death's Head might just be one of my new favorite tertiary characters.

Though this issue is technically a prologue to "The Secret Origin of Tony Stark", Kieron Gillen does an amazing job summarizing the last arc through Tony's conversation with Death's Head, a freelance bounty hunter whose written to sound like he's from the Old Country. It's a tactile way to rehash past events, and it doesn't come off as an overbearing information dump. Gillen's organic dialogue feels way more fluid than what most other writers in the industry are producing today. Basically, Iron Man #9 is an extended conversation between Tony and Death's Head that takes three huge turns in the very last pages that beautifully set up the forthcoming look back at Tony's origin.

I first took notice of Dale Eaglesham when he illustrated Villains United for DC as part of the "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" event. Since then, I've only come to enjoy his work more. The pages of Iron Man #9 are a testament to the man's talent and some of the best work I've ever seen from him. There's a subtle depth to his facial expressions as well as backgrounds and crowd scenes. All around, Eaglesham knocks this one out of the park.

Simply put, Iron Man #9 is a triumph. Rarely does a single issue so intuitively cater to both the dedicated fan and the new reader. We need more writing like this in the comic book industry. Sure, it's still about Iron Man zipping around the galaxy with a giant robotic bounty hunter looking for another robot who orchestrated genocide, but somehow, it feels incredibly relatable and down to earth.

GRADE

9.5/10