THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1
REGIME CHANGE
WRITER: CHRISTOS GAGE
PENCILS: HARVEY TOLIBAO
INKS: AVALON’S EDGAR TADEO
PUBLISHED BY: MARVEL COMICS
Annuals. Despite having their traditional place in publishing, their raison d’être in the world of modern comic books has not always been clear – are they a chance to tell a one-off, continuity free story featuring established characters, an opportunity to showcase the work of new, up-and-coming creators, or an extended format for the continuation or conclusion of a monthly storyline? After a lapse of several years, Marvel have attempted to re-introduce and re-invigorate the Annual concept, with the edict that these adventures will have demonstrable impact and consequences on the status quo of the characters involved, rather than being purely stand-alone, ‘throw-away’ stories. While not having stuck to their guns on this in all cases, the Marvel Annual appears to be making a comeback.
Which brings me, finally, to The Invincible Iron Man Annual #1, written by writer-of-the-moment Christos Gage, with art by Marvel newcomer Harvey Tolibao. The potential scope for Iron Man stories has increased dramatically since the events of Marvels’ Civil War – not only is Tony Stark a high profile super-hero and a long standing Avenger; he is now also Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, the world’s espionage-driven peace-keeping force. The decisions that have brought Tony into this position have led to some rather dark tales of a man desperately trying to come to terms with the consequences of the major decisions he has had to make; regardless of the fact that he fully believes these decisions to be correct, they have certainly generated stories that have been, on the whole, gritty and introspective…
…which, by way of contrast, all makes this spy-heavy romp of a story even more enjoyable, as Tony attempts to lead a regime change in the criminal haven that is the independent island state of Madripoor, aiming to wrest control from Hydra and place it in the hands of a more ‘friendly’ ruler. While the political mirroring of this story is not lost, Gage does not dwell too long on these issues, merely marking them out to the reader before embarking on a shameless Bond-style caper of open infiltration behind enemy lines.
Now, I am a huge fan of James Bond, so it’s no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this issue as soon as I realised what a perfect handle Gage has on this genre, while still couching this quite clearly as an Iron Man adventure in its own right. There are gadgets galore utilised throughout, despite the Iron Man armour making only sporadic appearances. Gage’s Tony Stark is cocky and confident, and quips with eloquent ease, whether the situation requires it or not. But you also get to see the tough side of Stark, hardened by the events of the last year, a man who constantly has to make tough decisions with conviction – but no guarantee – that he has made the right ones, and balancing the lives of the few with those of the many.
Madripoor is a fantastic setting for this kind of story – the time Wolverine spent there as his alter ego ‘Patch’ at the start of his first ongoing series was the highlight of any Wolverine solo adventure in my opinion, and although this is an altogether different type of tale, the dynamics of this lawless island run by a terrorist organisation provide the perfect backdrop for this issue, hopefully bringing this rogue independent state back into the Marvel spotlight.
As Gage’s writing here is spot-on, newcomer Tolibao produces some really dynamic artwork that reminds me of Bart Sears in his Valiant days. While it would be easy to produce a rather dark, gritty interpretation of events (for comparison, think Casino Royale), Tolibao instead works with the larger-than-life Bond action style of the Connery / Moore era, and carries it off really rather well, with particular attention given to the unsurprisingly attractive swarms of female companions and antagonists. Perhaps some of the background work is a little light, but I really look forward to seeing some more of his work in the future; it really is an excellent Marvel debut.
My only real gripe is that it all ends rather quickly – but then again, just like the Bond movies, the build-up was always much more fun than the final scenes, and this certainly didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
Despite possible contradictions, this is an eloquently written and stylishly rendered spy caper in the best of the James Bond tradition, which is a delight to read as an individual story, while also establishing a plot thread that has wider ramifications for the future role of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It will be interesting to see what effects the outcome of this issue will have in future storylines. It looks like the Marvel Universe will be pre-occupied with Secret Invasion for the next six months or more, but there is great potential here to explore the consequences of the decisions the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D has made; this is a perfect opportunity for Marvel to mark out its new batch of Annuals as significant players in the future of the Marvel Universe. And if the quality of the books themselves continue to keep pace with this one, then they shouldn’t go too far wrong.
