Okay, so after seeing that fantastic sig pic of Wreckgar's for a while, I decided to start checking out Iron Man. I got into the Extremis series...and I am now hooked. The whole Tony Stark subuniverse of Marvel is really awesome and I'm loving it. Great stuff! Soooo...I'm curious - I'm reading through "Extremis" right now, awaiting Number 6, and I just started Ultimate Iron Man (bought issues 1 and 2)...where do I go from there? I should point out that I only know the Marvelverse at about amateur/intermediate status and followed the X-men comics up until about '94, so I'm not sure if I'd be biting off more than I could chew by looking deep into Iron Man's complete involvement in the Marvelverse.
There's a pretty good Iron Man graphic novel you should check out. It's called "Mask in the Iron Man" I believe. It's about Stark's armor becoming sentient and having emotions. Can anyone recommend any other good Iron Man graphic novels?
I should get money for everytime someone tries something because of me. I got Buzzbeak hooked on Marvel Legends also. Anyway, to get a good read on Iron Man, start at the beginning of Volume 3 right AFTER Heroes Reborn. Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen have a fantastic run of about 30 issues followed by perhaps the best story by Quesada where the armor becomes alive. Then is a run by Frank Teri which is nice but a little off. The middle part of the series from around 30-60ish is meh. However when John Jackson Miller takes over, it rocks again. Then it goes into Avengers Disassembled where the prequel story is better than the actual disassembled story. It ends and Extremis begins. There are some very good older stories as well. but there are some really bad ones. Definately get the Armor Wars story, the first one from issue 225-322 or something around there. Also Iron man 200 is great. #150 teams Iron man with Dr Doom. Then 288-312 involves the highly popular War machine and modular armors but begins the downfall of the series. Rhodney and Tony have a falling out. The best story in the issues is the Hands of the Mandarin which runs in Iron man, War machine, and Force Works. After 320, Tony pretty much goes psycho and is revealed to be a pawn of Kang and is replaced with a younger version until the end of the series at 332.
Thats what I was going to recommend also! The sentient armor storyarc was pretty cool. I also remember enjoying the stories back when he wore the silver armor, although none specifically come to mind.
If you're going to recommend that, I'd also recommend getting #149 (which is the first part), and also #249-250, the sequel in which Iron Man and Doom are transported to the future by Merlin to help stop two foes who have a connection to both.
Well it depends on how far back you want to go. 149-150 is one of the best two parters in the Iron Man series. 124-127 are great issues. Iron Man is framed for murder and has to clear his name. Great villian battle in 127. 131-133. Nice arc with the Hulk. Highlite. Iron Man knocks the Hulk out. With one punch. And I mean puts his lights out for the ten count. And fries his armor in the process 151-152 is anothe good arc. Tony Takes on the Living Laser. At one point you get to see Tony using his smarts to out think the laser. This actually ties into whats happening in Iron Man right now. I could go on and on, but I'll send you here Advanced Iron Its a really great site. Go check it out. PS For pure value, the essential Iron Man books cant be beat. Any questions, feel free to ask!
what is it with marvel and sentient costumes? i need to get me some iron man graphic novels. there must be a "beginning" out there somewhere.
Glad to hear you're enjoying Extremis, Ops. Like Wreckgar said, try to start with volume 3 #1. You can't miss issues 1 through 30 (Kurt Busiek followed by the Sentient Armor arc). You can pretty much skip 30 to 40, though, as it's nothing special (just introducing a sort of lame new villian). Unlike all the others, though, I HIGHLY recommend issues 41-49, though, as those are damn fun (with some of the most stylized art an Iron Man book has ever seen, to boot). Issues 50-55 are bad, but you pretty much need to read #55. I'd suggest the 3-parter (forget the name) and the 5-parter (Manhunt). At that point, a new team takes over with "Vegas Bleeds Neon," and the series is pretty much gold (save for "The Deep End") til the actual Avengers Disassembled arc. My PERSONAL favorite arc, however, would have to be back in volume 1, from issues #278-312, when Len Kaminski wrote the book. Lots happens...I won't detail how much, but suffice to say, you'll be glad you checked it out.
there is a trade paperback that incudes both fights with doctor doom, very good if yuo can find it. I also recommend issues 41-49 of vol. 3. Keron grant just has an amazing style. there is also a marvel milestones comic that reprints tales of suspense #39-40, the first appearance of Iron Man. It also includes some captain america and antman issues as well. so uh... what are you waiting for?
