Retro Comic Analysis

It's gotta be the sex. Otherwise, what in the name of nanotech would a guy with Tony Stark's looks, genius, fortune and personality have hooking up into any kind of romantic relationship with some of the women that he's been connected to over the years? Just looking at the first volume of his series and our guy's dated mobsters, stalkers and Russian spies. For someone considered a playboy, our hero seems prone to offer his heart or at least his romantic intentions to women

A High-Water Mark Thanks to The Sub-Mariner & A Hot Bald Villainess ! Who knew that a comic book could be a “gateway drug?” That’s exactly what Iron Man #54 was for me. Once I plunked down my two dimes for it back in late 1972, I unknowingly started down a path that became a bit more than a hobby for over four decades. It started simple enough. Later that month, I grabbed the latest Amazing Spider-Man off the rack. Another month, Fantastic Four joined the party. By that

Iron Man's "Lamest" Villain & Some Guy Named Jim Starlin “Good morning, Marvel. I’m the agent for the Black Lama and here to say that I think you really need to put him into one of your comic books. And let’s face it, you owe me after what you did to my client, Cyborg Sinister. That guy had potential and you know it.” “Alright, so what’s this Black Lama’s schtick? “He’s the leader of a mystic cult with followers around the world, trained to channel their emotions to gene

Was This Comic Worth A Busted Lip & Bloody Nose? I owe it all to my cousin Nick! Coming up from LA, he talked me into buying this comic. And why not? We were such great buds! At least until he beat the tar out of me after an argument. Absent my cousin’s coercions, I doubt Gil Kane’s cover would have sealed the deal. I needed more than a mean hippy melting Iron Man’s armor to sacrifice money that could buy me a few Three Musketeer bars. Fortunately, the actual comic pro

The Best Iron Man Villain...We Never Saw Again! With a laughable Rogues Gallery, it only makes sense that when Iron Man faces a villain with potential, we never see them again. Such as the sorry story of Cyborg Sinister. Okay, so the name’s kinda dorky, but hey, one of Marvel’s top two villains is called Dr. Doom. Our hero’s had multiple bouts with losers like The Melter and The Unicorn (try saying that name twice without snickering!). But a villain with a truly eerie visu

A New Low! For his 50th Anniversary Issue, Iron Man Fights a ...Snake! We’re all friends here, right? If so, it’s okay to say that Princess Python is hot. I don’t mean to go overboard with objectifying someone, but those scaly green leggings and that wavey brunette hair combined with that whole “wrap yourself in reptilian coils” thing is sexy. Why in the world am I bringing this up? Because I’m guessing that either writer Mike Friedrich or penciller George Tuska also thoug

An Avenger, an Adaptoid and a Hot Blonde Walk into a Bar and... Can we all agree that Tony Stark doesn’t have the best of luck when it comes to romance? At least up to this point? Check it out. He falls for his staff assistant, Pepper Potts. Whether out of worry because of his bum ticker or wanting to avoid a harassment suit, Tony devotes most of his sixty plus issues in Tales of Suspense to hooking Pepper up with his chauffeur, Happy Hogan. Then there’s Janice Cord - a lo

Onward & Upward to...Mediocrity? Does anyone remember that scene from “Dirty Dancing” where the dorky grandson of the resort owner tells Patrick Swayze that he wants to change things for the big dance during the final evening? Remember how Patrick Swayze’s character is bursting forth with a multitude of ideas only to have this schmuck swat them all down, instead wanting only the most insignificant of revisions to their musical number? I bring that up because in my mind, I en

“Bless Me, Father, For I Have Sinned.” Painful as this is to admit, I didn’t buy this issue off the rack because I did not like Barry Smith’s art. More specifically, I didn’t like how Marianne Rodgers looked in one panel. That was enough for me to decide to see what Archie and his gang were up to that month. Because of that one panel, I didn’t pick up another issue until a cousin talked me into buying #52 several months later. This issue was one of the last holes I fill

My First Issue of Iron Man Has Tony Stark Popping the Question! They say that every issue is a first issue for someone. For me, it was tumbling into a rather complicated mess of a story where new writer Gary Friedrich, attempts to remove the wreckage left from the previous one. It's a task that will require one more issue to complete. In the meantime, the drama is amped up with protesting students, board room shenanigans, best buddy betrayals and ... Tony Stark proposing

Please Tell Me That We've Hit Rock Bottom! Are you happy now, Marvel? After several years of treating this series as an afterthought, assigning inexperienced writers with little editorial oversight, Iron Man has been reduced to bi-monthly status with rumors of impending cancellation rampant. As it is, our hero's story is a scant thirteen pages - an abbreviated length due to the previous plan to pair his adventures with Daredevil. The remainder of the book consists of a sill

Twenty-Five Cents for Iron Man to Fight David Bowie’s Little Brother? Welcome to August 1971! A month where Marvel upped the price of their comics from 15 to 25 cents! That's an entire dime! But this extra cost came with additional pages of story and art! Uh, except for two titles. Daredevil and - you guessed it - Iron Man. Y'see Timmy, both books were struggling in the sales department, leading Marvel to consider combining into a single title. Fortunately, that didn't

Happy Valentines Day, Tony Stark! Did you know you're dating a Demon Queen? There are any number of "red flags" that guys should look out for in the beginning of a new relationship. You know, what's her response when you want to hang out with your buddies? Or what's her opinion of your music? And of course, is she trying to change you in some way. Then there's, does she become a Demon-Queen and seek your destruction? That's the "red flag" Tony Stark faces with his new gi

Teenage Boy's Worst Nightmare Comes True! Iron Man takes on a character who has tendrils with giant pinchers emerge from huge zits on his forehead! Which is surely the worst fear of any adolescent boy who's suffered from acne! The issue starts with a rather frantic cover, showing our determined hero trying to save some poor woman falling to her death but unable to do so because some hideous-looking creature with funky pinchers springing out of his forehead is in the process

Just How Bad? No sense beating around the bush. Iron Man #39 is bad. I’m not just talking about a comic book that’s not very good. No. I’m talking about one so hideous that in an alternate universe, Reed Richards used it instead of the Ultimate Nullifier to scare away Galactus. We’re talking about a story that makes less than zero sense visualized by perhaps the worst art job ever printed in an Iron Man comic. While I’m not a fan of Herb Trimpe, this is without a doubt

“When Calls Jonah..!” Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee talking with a group of creators in 1971… “No! No! No! You’ve got it all wrong! This is not a character of science fiction! This is a someone born of the streets! Someone to brave the dangers of the night! Someone willing to tackle hoodlums of the Hood! Someone who’s true calling is to battle gangsters, mobsters and other organized baddies! “And I am envisioning such a wicked recidivist now! A master crimin

Cover Art: Marie Severin The North Pole - Day After Christmas! “Sir? Sir? I hate to wake you up, but we have a call from a certain national capital to the south of us.” St. Nick rubbed his tired eyes, stifling a yawn. “They’re all to the south of us. What’s serious enough to interrupt me after going to every home around the world?” The elf gritted his tiny teeth. “This particular individual says they either speak to you or we’re slapped with 100% tariffs.” “Oh my sweet c

Cover Art: Sal Buscema The North Pole on Christmas Eve of this past year with Santa about to start his deliveries. “Hey guys, why is my sleigh a bit lighter this year?” "Uh, well," the head elf begins sheepishly, “W e meant to tell you about that. Seems we ran short of coal for the stockings for everyone on the Naughty List. So, we had to find a substitute.” “Well, with that new administration in that certain nation, I guess I’m not surprised. What did you use as a substit

"Revenge!" Introduction “Alex, I’ll take ‘Atrocious 1970’s Comic Book Crossovers’ for $500.” “This comic book has both Daredevil and Nick Fury as guest stars as they’re attacked by four lame supervillains for the control of some silly apparatus called the Zodiac Key.” “What is Iron Man #35?” Bad Jeopardy parodies aside, there’s so much going on with this issue that it’s hard to know quite where to start. We've got another eye-catching Sal Buscema cover. I’m not always a fan

“Crisis .. and the Calamity” Introduction Dah-dah, dah-DAH-DAH, dah-dah, dah-DAH-DAH, Bah-bah-bah-BAH, bah-bah-bah-BAH, Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh... Yes. That’s the "Mission Impossible" theme. An earworm that's nearly impossible to remove. But I can't help it. Researching this issue for this review inevitably plants that theme smack into the center of my brain. And you know what? It's really the best part of having to dive back into the Spymaster's first tussle