14th May, 2008

KRIS BATHER

Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 Review

"The draw card here is Granov's art. Iron Man has been his pet character over the last few years on covers, but his interior work has been minimal. His clean lines and realistic anatomy makes these pages look like snapshots from a CGI film that never was."

Ol' Shellhead's box office haul at the cinemas means that everyone now knows who he is. And that's a good thing. Of all of Marvel's ever-expanding stable of characters Tony Stark's metallic alter ego has always just slipped through the public consciousness, despite numerous cartoon adventures through the years since his 1963 debut in Tales of Suspense #39.

Thanks to director Jon Favreau's insistence on casting Robert Downey Jr and staying true to the source material, Iron Man is now cooler than he's ever been, and Marvel is wisely making the most of the spotlight. Invincible Iron Man has just been launched as his second ongoing title and director Favreau, in conjunction with artist Adi Granov - whose designs inspired the look of the movie costume, have teamed up again on this four issue mini-series. Both new series have already sold out, with second printings available next month.

It begins with adventurer Elsa Bloodstone on a trek through China to retrieve a huge golden dragon for Stark's latest venture - a casino in the heart of Vegas. After a poorly scripted terrorist attack on one of Stark's planes (“I will take you to hell, Iron Man!”) Stark changes into the Golden Avenger and takes care of business, before being booed by his fellow passengers for man handling the mad bomber. So, it's off to Vegas for a much needed vacation and this is where we see Tony in his element - drinking, chatting up women and getting caught up in an adventure that would make Indiana Jones envious.

It's a short introduction to this series, but an intriguing one. Favreau's love for the character is well known and he moves the story along at a brisk pace. Obviously the massive dragon sitting atop the Golden Dragon Casino will become more than a fancy ornament for gaping tourists and the lizards descending upon Vegas will also begin to make sense. The draw card here is Granov's art. Iron Man has been his pet character over the last few years on covers, but his interior work has been minimal. His clean lines and realistic anatomy makes these pages look like snapshots from a CGI film that never was.

This is a good starting place for those intrigued by the film who want to see more of Stark and his hi-tech suit.