The Invincible Iron Man #2

Marvel Comics
The Invincible Iron Man #2
By Hervé St-Louis
July 5, 2008 - 16:07

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Matt Fraction
Penciller(s): Salvador Larroca
Inker(s): Salvador Larroca
Colourist(s): Frank D'Armata
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist(s): Salvador Larroca, Frank D'Armata
$2.99 US, $3.05 Canada

Iron Man is still on the trail of the technology used by his armour and this time, he fights an AIM splinter group and their very own Modok who calls itself Modog. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Stane has been paid to destroy the Philippines’ super hero team, the Triumph Division. But just when Stark thought he was close on gaining on the person responsible for stealing the repulsors’ technology, Stane ambushes him by blowing up an entire building. How will Stark fare out of that one?

Fraction understands intrigue and how to use technology to make a story even more interesting. His mission in this story seems to be to bridge aspects of the Iron Man film with the standard comic book continuity. How he inserts Stane and the hovering capabilities of Iron Man’s repulsors are but a few examples of this. I wonder why the regular Iron Man series was skipped to do the conversion of the the movie version to the comic book? I also wonder if the new Iron Man armour Tony Stark is designing will be closer in look to the one he wore in the film.

Art-wise, the entire book is a delight. There is a risk that the colouring which is heavily paint-like will stiffen the storytelling, but Larroca,s dynamic posing and effective use of iron Man allows the work to breathe like a comic book instead of a photo novel.
Rating: 8/10