This is better than you might think, mostly because Scott Snyder knows what he's doing, even if Manuel Garcia's pencils are not well-complemented by the inks and colors on this issue.
Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Invincible Iron Man #11, about which I write the following sentences: "Even though the characters don't visually match the previous issues with much fidelity, Larroca's work here actually looks better than it has on any 'Invincible Iron Man' issue so far. By abandoning the heavy photo reference (or making his use of it less obvious), his work becomes more dynamic, more fluid. This issue cuts between the past and present, and also between War Machine vs. Iron Man action and Maria Hill investigative mysteries. Frank D'Armata uses a different approach to coloring this comic than he does on 'Captain America,' and it looks good here. The sepia-toned flashbacks are well distinguished from the present-day action, and when Larroca gives us men and women in sleek suits of armor (for even Pepper Potts has her own super-suit now), D'Armata's coloring gives a glossy sheen that looks great. Larroca and D'Armata really are at their best with the mechanical aspects of this series, and this issues shows off their talents well. But this is a series about the men and women in those armored costumes, and that's where Matt Fraction comes in."
I reviewed "Invincible Iron Man" #6 yesterday, but Chad Nevett and I wanted to take a closer look at the issue, mostly because Chad kind of hated it, and I kind of didn't. Chad doesn't like a lot of superhero comics these days, and in our discussion we try to get to the bottom of that general sense of disappointment.
Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Invincible Iron Man #6, about which I write the following sentences: "'Invincible Iron Man' #6 isn't perfect, and it's not Matt Fraction's best work, by any means -- that would be 'Casanova,' which, as one of the best comics of the decade, would be hard to top -- but this is a good, solid superhero story. It works particularly well as the culmination of the first half-year of plot developments. On its own 'Invincible Iron Man' #6 is an extended fight scene, but as the climax of the Ezekiel Stane/Tony Stark conflict, it's a successful piece of storytelling. The fight scene does have its nice moments, like the cliffhanger from last issue where Iron Man's head is blown off, carried over here into an assault by a battalion of remote-controlled Iron Men. What would an Iron Man comic be without a multitude of different armor designs? Not as cool. Not by a longshot."
Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #32 about which I write the following sentences: "So the conclusion of the four-issue arc, as heavy-handed (pardon the pun) as it is -- with its imagery of Tony Stark's guilt (as the ghosts of the dead literally hover over him in the final panel) -- just feels like a morality tale from another era. Like Denny O'Neil preaching to us about the evils of racism, or Chris Claremont telling us that blind hatred is destructive. I suppose there's room for such storytelling in 2008. Perhaps the moral lesson is intended for younger readers, but my son has sampled some of this recent arc and come away bored. It's not the Iron Man he knows, with the flippant demeanor and the race car driver enthusiasm. It's a serious Iron Man, heavy with regret."
Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Invincible Iron Man #4, about which I write the following sentences: "The real draw here is Matt Fraction's script. He's brought Tony Stark to life far more successfully than anyone other than Robert Downey, Jr. Fraction gives us the same kind of vibrant Tony Stark that we saw in the film, and there's far more energy in this comic than in the 'Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.' series. One might think an Iron Man as an intelligent sexy superspy comic would be the one to read, but it's not. That one's neither intelligent or sexy, it turns out. I don't want to spend too much time here discussing another comic, but while 'Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.' has all the fun of an administrative bureaucracy, 'Invincible Iron Man' is about the potent intersection between technology and superheroics. It's a bit about technology fetishism too, but most of all it's about characters at odds with one another, using the world as their game board."
Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Invincible Iron Man #2, about which I write the following sentences: "Fraction plays Stark as the ultimate multi-tasker. He's that super-tech geek who needs to be the first one with the new toys, if he doesn't have the new toys, he needs to know about them before you do and pass them by because they're already obsolete. He's the guy that plays the role of the hero, and shoulders the burdens of the world, but acts like it's all a breeze -- partly because he's prepared for it, and partly because he's concerned about what's next and just whizzes through the incidents that would make the average hero tremble. He also allows himself to have fun doing it, and when he battles with M.O.D.O.G. (that's Mental Organism Designed Only for Genocide), it's like a cat batting around a mouse that doesn't yet know it's dead."
It seems Iron Man can't be discussed without comparing it to other superhero movies. At least, I can't think of it any other way. But unlike most of the other superhero films over the past decade, Iron Man presents a sexy, confident hero. Iron Man will kick you ass with his repulsor rays and he'll love it. That scene in the trailer where he shoots the tiny rocket at the tank, then turns and slow walks toward the camera with the explosion behind him? That's not just summer action movie cool. That's Tony Stark cool. He acts like that even when nobody's around to see him, because being a superhero is the world's coolest hobby. Sure, he's got some kind of guilt over years of weapon profiteering, but that's just so he doesn't look like a dick. He loves having a high-tech suit of armor and being able to fly in and act the hero, and the movie knows it.