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

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

“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

Cover Art: Sal Buscema Introduction “Good morning, Spymaster. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate and destroy Stark Industries' NY facility, as well as capture CEO Tony Stark. In addition, part of your mission is to increase the sales on Iron Man. Assisting you will be an artist whose talents do not lend themselves well to stories of this style. As always, should you or any of your Espionage Elite be caught or killed, the Publisher will disavow