Reviewer: Tim Sheridan
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Orson Scott Card
Penciled by: Andy Kubert
Inked by: Danny Miki
Colored by: Richard Isanove
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Nick Lowe
Senior Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics
So here we are, with another first issue of an Ultimate comic. I always look forward to any Ultimate title. I’ve been a big supporter of the Ultimate line for almost 5 years now, and I have not been disappointed often. So when I heard there was going to be an Ultimate Iron Man, I was psyched. After all, Iron Man is a member of The Ultimates, which to me, is the best comic in years. Really.
And then they hired Orson Scott Card, author of the legendary sci-fi novel Ender’s Game (along with many others), so it’s not like Marvel is just trying to churn out another book just for the sake of churning. (hmm….wasn’t that a weird sentence?) It appeared they were trying to make this a good, and important book. They went and got the art team of Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove, who had most recently made Neil Gaiman’s otherwise dull 1602 at least something pretty to look at.
So that’s all nice a good, but did they actually make a comic worth reading? Yeah, they did. The team here tells a very accessible and enjoyable comic featuring…some people. We don’t get to see Iron Man in this first issue, it takes it’s time. In fact, we don’t even see Tony Stark, save for a quick shot of a baby in utero.
Despite that, it’s a story that has peaked my interest. There is a lot going on, with Stark scientists developing a chemical armor, some corporate takeovers, and some lovin’.
There is a lot to take in this first issue, but Card and co. juggle it quite nicely. This reads like the first half hour of an Iron Man movie, where everything is put in its place before something big happens. The only thing is, nothing really big happens in this issue. Sure, there are a lot (like, a whole lot) of little incidents. But there is not that one “oh dang” moment like we got during the introductions of the Ultimate incarnations of Spiderman, the X-Men, or the Fantastic Four. The big reveal here is that Mrs. Stark dies. But we know (because there is more than one issue in this series, and because of every page before it) that Tony will survive. So it’s not terribly exciting. But that doesn’t really make a huge difference to me. It’s still an engaging tale. Card has a knack for slow set ups and big disruptions, so I have faith that this series will turn out to be quite good.
