Iron Man Volume 1

[The Wayner]

Could someone give me a brief summary of how the first volume of IRON MAN ended? Or, better yet, simply tell me if it had closure before the reboot?

I've been searching for an answer online, wading through Iron Boy and the Crossroads and Heroes Reborn, but still can't find what I'm looking for...

Any help would be appreciated!

[Hombre]

Or, better yet, simply tell me if it had closure before the reboot?



It did not. It ended ingloriously with a couple of dismal Onslaught crossover issues.

[The Wayner]

That's what I kinda figured...

Since the series limped to a finale, what would be a good issue to stop? I have absolutely no interest in the Onslaught nonsense, so would right before it rears its head be acceptable?

[Hombre]

That's what I kinda figured...

Since the series limped to a finale, what would be a good issue to stop? I have absolutely no interest in the Onslaught nonsense, so would right before it rears its head be acceptable?

It all depends on whether you have any interest in the Crossing, a fairly large Avengers crossover devoid of any reedeming features. In that case, you'll have to get it up to #325, and the final issue of Vol. 1 is #332.

If you want to stop while you're ahead, so to speak, issue 306 is the perfect cut off point, being the final issue of the largely satisfying collaboration between Kevin Hopgood and Len Kamisnki.

However, the series remains a pretty good read up to and including the Hands of the Mandarin Crossover with War Machine and Force Works, which wraps up in IM #312. Everything that follows is best avoided, IMO.

[The Wayner]

Hombre: I really appreciate your help! Thanks. :)

[Cei-U!]

My recommendation is to use the departure of the Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton run as your cutoff point and spare yourself the Rhodes-as-Iron Man/Stark-as-derelict fiasco and all its subsequent ramifications... but that's just me.

Cei-U!
I summon the lost glory days!

[Shellhead]

The Armor Wars was the last great Iron Man storyline in volume #1.

[The Wayner]

My recommendation is to use the departure of the Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton run as your cutoff point and spare yourself the Rhodes-as-Iron Man/Stark-as-derelict fiasco and all its subsequent ramifications... but that's just me.

Strangely, I'm looking forward to reading that...

[Sir Tim Drake]

The Armor Wars was the last great Iron Man storyline in volume #1.

Which is kind of sad considering that volume 1 lasted for another hundred issues after that. I've always thought that Iron Man was the worst of the classic Marvel titles, at least in terms of its ratio of good issues to bad issues.

[Cei-U!]

I've always thought that Iron Man was the worst of the classic Marvel titles, at least in terms of its ratio of good issues to bad issues.

I tend to give that edge to Captain America myself but I'll readily agree that Iron Man ran a close second. When I first decided to thin my collection a decade or two ago, I dumped every issue of Iron Man between #26 and #115 and every issue after #156. Later, I sold/traded #115-156 too.

Cei-U!
I summon the castoffs!

[scratchie]

Given all the (probably deserved) grief that Shellhead is getting, I just have to put in a good word for the current Iron Man: Inevitable miniseries. I haven't followed Iron Man at all, ever, so I have no idea how (if at all) this fits into current continuity, but this particular mini is well-written and I love the art (penciled, inked and colored by someone named Frazer Irving).

[The Wayner]

I'm diggin' Inevitable, too. Thought it had a slight bump with #3, but feel things will even out before the dust settles with #6.

[Marc Spector]

Iron Man is a character that I used to read, the Layton era, and really liked, but haven't looked at for years now.

My question: who is the best, or your favorite, artist for Iron Man? Have there been standouts?

Let's see...Don Heck started him early on right...then Tuska was in for a while...Layton...I saw a few issues by one of the image guys...don't know after that...fill me in! :confused:

[Cei-U!]

Iron Man is a character that I used to read, the Layton era, and really liked, but haven't looked at for years now.

My question: who is the best, or your favorite, artist for Iron Man? Have there been standouts?

Let's see...Don Heck started him early on right...then Tuska was in for a while...Layton...I saw a few issues by one of the image guys...don't know after that...fill me in! :confused:

Hmm. In Tales of Suspense, there was Heck, Kirby, Ditko and Colan. In Iron Man, there was Colan, Johny Craig, Tuska, Heck... somewhere in there is a Barry Smith issue, one or two Sal Buscema fill-ins... urm, Arvell Jones (not a favorite of mine)... then Romita Jr./Layton, Paul Smith... Luke McDonnell... and then I stopped reading the title.

Anybody remember that mid-Seventies run better than I apparently do?

Cei-U!
I summon the failing memory!

[dan bailey]

i no longer have the issues in question to refer to, but i have very fond memories of marie severin's pencils on iron man for awhile there. going by the gcd, she did 8 issues in '70 & a fill-in (over roughs by, i think, herb trimpe) a few years later.

[Roquefort Raider]

Strangely, I'm looking forward to reading that...

I remember those issues as a longer and slower rehash of both the "demon in a bottle" storyline by Michelinie and the even earlier Midas storyline by Bill Mantlo.

Stark loses himself in drink... check.
Stark loses his company to a hostile takeover... check.
The new owner uses Stark's designs to his own ends... check.
Old friends are taken hostage by the bad guy... check.
Bad guy ends up a victim of his own machinations... check.

It is not a bad run, actually, but it brought little that hadn't been seen before. It also didn't compare all that well with the Michelinie-Romita-Layton runs.

[Simon Garth]

My recommendation is to use the departure of the Michelinie/Romita Jr./Layton run as your cutoff point and spare yourself the Rhodes-as-Iron Man/Stark-as-derelict fiasco and all its subsequent ramifications... but that's just me.

Cei-U!
I summon the lost glory days!

I'll second that - they were great issues, and the Denny O'Neil ones that followed were truly terrible - some of the worst comics I've ever read, and definitely the worst Iron Man - I've never read an Iron Man comic since.

[The Wayner]

IM seems to have had its share of bad storylines. I never truly realized that...

The character also doesn't seem to be as prominent as it once was decades ago. Sure, Tony is fiddlin' around with the New Avengers, is putting his foot down in the Civil War, and wading through his own constantly late title, but he still doesn't seem to be towards the front of the Marvel Universe like he once was.

I wonder why that is?

Is IM that hard of a title to write?

[Shellhead]

IM seems to have had its share of bad storylines. I never truly realized that...

The character also doesn't seem to be as prominent as it once was decades ago. Sure, Tony is fiddlin' around with the New Avengers, is putting his foot down in the Civil War, and wading through his own constantly late title, but he still doesn't seem to be towards the front of the Marvel Universe like he once was.

I wonder why that is?

Is IM that hard of a title to write?

The long bad stretches in volume 1, basically all the non-Micheline stories after issue #150, pretty well killed enthusiam for the character. Also, few heroes were more hurt by the end of the Cold War, since Iron Man had several notable commies in his rogues gallery. And finally, most comic writers are not exactly keeping up with recent developments in technology.

[The Wayner]

Shellhead: Speaking of new technology, what do you think about Tony "bonding" with the Iron Man suit in the latest series?