The Best Iron Man Writer

[Paiute 1]

Who in your opinion realy got Tony Stark down right?

My Choices are:

1. David Michelinie
2. Archie Goodwin
3. Bill Mantlo
4. John Byrne

I never liked O'neil and I realy did not like anybody till I quit collecting five years ago. Even Buscik did not seem to get it right and Joe Q, nuff said.

[InfoBroker]

I find Kurt Busiek's analysis of Tony Strak in his Iron man set of the late 90s to be quite satisfying. He went back to the roots of the characters along with the series' premises and presented a well crafted set of tales, including what I consider to be one of the best Iron man tales ever told in the two part tale The Iron Age.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x161/infobroker/6034_2_01.jpg http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x161/infobroker/6034_2_02.jpg

Since they are drawing from the same root material, it would hard to prove just how much the movie writer(s) were influenced by Kurt's classic tale, but my instincts lean towards them being somewhat inspired by it, especially the presentation of Pepper Potts.

Jack Kirby's Iron man material in Tales of Suspense, the early Avengers tales and the Tony Stark moments in Shield are also very much favorable to my character oriented tastes for great comical book material.

Archie Goodwin had several tales of the late 60s early 70s that need more attention by us fan guys and gals. It's a greatly underrated run, overlooked by many fans, including hardcore Marvelites, Zombies, and Fandom FOOMers. He examined Tony deeper, adding more depth to him, the supporting cast, and the villains.

- jb the "crush on Gwenth Pattrow is still there" ib -

[InfoBroker]

Oh and Roy Thomas makes the list because while his Iron man output was minor, he told one tale with Barry Smith that I consider a gem.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x161/infobroker/ironman47.jpg

-jb the "always like life reaffirming tales" ib

[MWGallaher]

O'Neill's run was the only time I bought Iron Man regularly. So he was doing something right, at least by me.

[Paiute 1]

I guess I should not base my opinion of Busick on his use of Fin Fang Foom or S&M whiplash. It just seemed that Kurt did not put as much into this title as he was the Avengers.
And before I get blasted I am a huge Busick fan.

[Cherokee Jack]

Archie Goodwin.


Stan Lee (not the early stuff, but from about TALES OF SUSPENSE # 70 on.)

[Cherokee Jack]

I guess I should not base my opinion of Busick on his use of Fin Fang Foom or S&M whiplash. It just seemed that Kurt did not put as much into this title as he was the Avengers.
And before I get blasted I am a huge Busick fan.

You are talking about Kurt BUSIEK, aren't you?

[icctrombone]

I enjoyed Oneils run. it was the fall from sobriety which had Rhodey taking the armor for am extended period.

Michelinie was probably the best during his first run with Romita Jr. and Layton.

[Cei-U!]

I literally just finished re-reading that first Michelinie/Layton run so perhaps it's just freshest in my mind but theirs is the definitive Iron Man for me. Archie Goodwin runs an extremely close second. I'm also a big booster of Larry Lieber's origin story. Stan's Iron Man was okay, especially with Colan pencilling, and Allyn Brodsky's issues are surprisingly solid. As much as I loathed O'Neil's run (and, trust me, I did), it was not the worst. That "honor" goes to either Robert Bernstein (particularly when Kirby was at the drawing board--Jack had no feel for Iron Man) or Mike Friedrich (at least until I read those runs published after '86 or thereabouts).

Cei-U!
I summon the Armored Avenger.

[Paiute 1]

I always felt that Mantlo saved Iron Man; the series was getting a lot of fill in Writers and seemed to be loosing steam.
Along came Mantlo with his, and this is no slight, simple but good stories and the book just seemed to grow.
He realy paved the way for my favorite, Michelinie who by the way had two great runs.

[Lone Ranger]

Dave Michelinie for me, with Archie Goodwin in 2nd.

Like Kurt - I too love those early Lieber written issues.

[Cei-U!]

I always felt that Mantlo saved Iron Man; the series was getting a lot of fill in Writers and seemed to be loosing steam.
Along came Mantlo with his, and this is no slight, simple but good stories and the book just seemed to grow.
He realy paved the way for my favorite, Michelinie who by the way had two great runs.

Mantlo was certainly the best Iron Man scripter since Goodwin but I dunno. His stories have solid plots, good (for the era) dialogue, consistant characterizations and make clever, colorful, usually logical use of the larger Marvel Universe but, on this title at least, there's a flatness or dullness or lifelessness about 'em. Maybe it's the slog of the Midas story arc or the by-the-numbers Tuska art or... well, I can't put my finger on what it is that puts me off but *something* does. C'est la vie.

Cei-U!
I summon my two cents' worth!

[Kurt Busiek]

As much as I loathed O'Neil's run (and, trust me, I did), it was not the worst. That "honor" goes to either Robert Bernstein (particularly when Kirby was at the drawing board--Jack had no feel for Iron Man) or Mike Friedrich (at least until I read those runs published after '86 or thereabouts).

Missed the Allyn Brodsky issues, eh?

kdb

[Cei-U!]

Missed the Allyn Brodsky issues, eh?

Like I said up above, I found Brodsky's issues fairly solid, albeit unimaginative, but maybe I'm giving him credit for Don Heck's storytelling sense.

Cei-U! aka The Other Kurt
See ya at Emerald City!

[Paiute 1]

How about Conways run? What the hell was he trying to do anyway.
Friedrich was the writer when I first stated reading the book, he was solid but not great, so I bought all the back issues and to this day I cant figure out what Conway was doing here and in Daredevil.
Goodwin was great but it sure took Marvel a long time to find a worthy succeser.

[Kurt Busiek]

Like I said up above, I found Brodsky's issues fairly solid, albeit unimaginative, but maybe I'm giving him credit for Don Heck's storytelling sense.
Cei-U! aka The Other Kurt
See ya at Emerald City!

Indeed!

I find the Brodsky run (into which I lump that horror of an issue by Mimi Gold, Songbird's mother) to be the low point of the entire series. The only good thing that came out of it was the Spymaster and the Espionage Elite.

Bernstein at least gave us Happy, Pepper and the Crimson Dynamo -- and to a lesser extent, Gregor Shapanka, the starting point for Jack Frost and Blizzard), and set the early pattern of the strip as one solidly centered on Stark Industries as a shining example of American progress against them Commies.

Much of that may have come from Stan, too, for all we know, but Bernstein was the one delivering the scripts, at least.

I don't think the Friedrich run was any great shakes, I just thought it was more readable than what came immediately before it -- plus, the Super-Villain War was a cool idea.

I do tend to agree, though, that the Mantlo run was the first time the book was actually consistently good since the Goodwin run.

kdb

[Kurt Busiek]

How about Conways run? What the hell was he trying to do anyway.
Friedrich was the writer when I first stated reading the book, he was solid but not great, so I bought all the back issues and to this day I cant figure out what Conway was doing here and in Daredevil.
Goodwin was great but it sure took Marvel a long time to find a worthy succeser.

There were two Conway runs. The first one tried to hard to be political and relevant and meaningful, to the point of flowery incoherence, and the second was straightforward superhero stuff that recapitulated a lot of the late period of Stan's run. Which made it a suitable lead-in to Mantlo, who recapitulated a lot of Goodwin's run.

The "Mister Kline" story, though, was a mess in part because books were shipping late and frequencies were changed, and what was meant to develop in two series concurrently didn't wind up matching at all. It wasn't a good story, but if it hadn't been hampered by outside problems, it might have built to a big finish rather than being quietly abandoned...

Oh, but somewhere in there, there's the issue Bob Kanigher dialogued! "Sizzling pizzas from Pompeii" and "red-hot double-scoops from Hell!"

kdb

[Paiute 1]

So again what was the whole Mr. Kline story line supposed to be, Demons? Futuristic Androids?
Please pretend I'm five and go slow but please tell me what it's all about.

I was very dissapointing no matter what, I think I recall Marvel was thinking of canceling the book after that.

[Kurt Busiek]

So again what was the whole Mr. Kline story line supposed to be, Demons? Futuristic Androids?
Please pretend I'm five and go slow but please tell me what it's all about.

It's hard to say, since the story has a beginning, and is then abandoned with a hasty "oh, yeah, this guy blew up months ago but the schedules are screwed up so you're still seeing a chapter of it here" coda.

But "androids from the future" will cover it -- Baal was a supercomputer and Mister Kline, aka MK-9, was its robot legman. This covers it all about as clearly as it gets:

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/mrkline.htm

I was very dissapointing no matter what, I think I recall Marvel was thinking of canceling the book after that.

That's part of why the schedule got screwed up; IRON MAN wasn't selling well and went bi-monthly -- but that wasn't because of the Mister Kline story; sales reports didn't come in that fast in those days. It was the Allyn Brodsky issues that nearly killed the book.

kdb

[Paiute 1]

Thank you Mister Busiek for your quick reponses and no flames.

[Cei-U!]

I forgot to mention Len Wein's brief run on the book, bridging Friedrich and Mantlo. I like pretty much everything Wein writes--he's one of the few '70s fans-turned-pros not suffering from diarrhea of the word balloon--and his Iron Man stories remain a fun read.

Cei-U!
Anytime you trot out the Super-Apes...!

[Roquefort Raider]

I grew up in the Friedrich / Wein / Mantlo period so I'm rather attached to it, but in hindsight I think Michelinie was the best... He really made changes to the Iron Man mythos that could have been the basis for a new permanent status quo, and really enriched the stable of supporting characters.

But as far as writers go, I can't really identify one creator I'd place head and shoulders above the others. (Not so with artists, as George Tuska will always be the one for me)!

[Kurt Busiek]

I forgot to mention Len Wein's brief run on the book, bridging Friedrich and Mantlo. I like pretty much everything Wein writes--he's one of the few '70s fans-turned-pros not suffering from diarrhea of the word balloon--and his Iron Man stories remain a fun read.

Cei-U!
Anytime you trot out the Super-Apes...!

Len wrote (or co-wrote)#82-85, which doesn't quite bridge Friedrich and Mantlo -- Bill wrote a two-issue fill-in after that, but he'd done one before, too; he was Marvel's fill-in go-to guy at the time. After that, we got Archie Goodwin's brief return (also fun), and then Gerry Conway's second run, from #91-97, though Bill started dialoguing over Gerry plots with #95, and took over fully with #98.

I like a number of those issues, but neither Len nor Archie got to build up any steam -- Len only dialogued two issues (though he plotted four) while Archie plotted three and scripted two.

kdb

[icctrombone]

Not to derail the thread but, Ironman has had really great artists in its day. Colan, Tuska, Romita jr/layton. Nice roster.

[InfoBroker]

As much as I loathed O'Neil's run (and, trust me, I did), it was not the worst. That "honor" goes to either Robert Bernstein (particularly when Kirby was at the drawing board--Jack had no feel for Iron Man) or Mike Friedrich (at least until I read those runs published after '86 or thereabouts).


While Jack doesn't have a lot of involvement in the Iron man run itself, the quick mental scan I do of silver-age Iron Man material links to several important moments with Jack at the drawing table (and beside doing the rendering, probably fleshing out and firming up the plot/story elements as well) that not only get at the feel of Iron Man, but several are defining in scope, while others show broadening insights into the character as both Tony Stark and Iron man.

Some off the top of my head examples include:

Suspense #41 - The stronghold of Dr. Strange (the other one).
Lot of bits, new at the time establishing the playboy inventor, Stark Industries, the philanthropic part of Tony's attitudes about being in charge and owning a large successful company, and balancing that in his new found role as Iron Man.

Avengers #16 - The Old Order Changeth! Tony/Iron Man, besides exercising his leadership skills, at the time on par with Captain America's, but there is a wonderful touching private moment at the end with Iron Man noting the inevitable and necessity of change.

Strange Tales #135 - The Origin of Shield.
Tony again as philanthropist, and his interest and understanding in needing a highly sophisticated organization for handling complex threats to society.

Captain America #112 - <need to look up the title for this one- drats!>
Iron man narrating the "closing of the books" on Captain America's career. From the opening scenes of his entering Avenger's Mansion on a rain and thunderstorm evening, to the sealing of Cap's personal locker at the end of the story. At no point in this wonderful story (and done over a single weekend btw), does Jack go off page in rendering or speaking the essential elements the who and what that constitute the id of Iron Man/Tony Stark.

-jb the "and those are but a few examples" ib -

[Cei-U!]

Sorry, jb, I should've been clearer: Kirby lacked a visual feel for Iron Man. His version, whether his over-simplication (and consequent reduction in mobility and thus credibility) of the original armor or his clunky renditions of the later, sleeker armor, just looks wrong to my eyes, just as his versions of Spider-Man or Dr. Strange do. Jack also had the annoying habit of having Iron Man pull some never-before-seen gizmo out of his ass to resolve whatever situation he's in (think the ridiculous scissors he uses to return to Earth's surface in the Kala story), a habit he'd indulge again with Machine Man years later. Now that I think about it, that reliance on deus ex machina, as epitomized by the Ultimate Nullifier, is the single biggest flaw in Kirby's storytelling... all in my opinion, natch.

Cei-U!
I summon the stovepipe suit!

[InfoBroker]

re: Mr Kline story arc

To augment what Kurt Busiek mentions, the other part of of the schedule screw up that impacted the Mr. Kline story arc weaving about in Daredevil and Iron Man, was the immediately aborted 52 page for 25 cents format that Martin Goodman masterminded.

The plan was for DD and Iron Man to merge into one book, and I'm speculating here that Gerry Conway's story arc was designed to culminate with that merging.

During the weekly comic book runs circa the summer of 1971, several of these issues impressed me as they unfolded. The Scorpion storyline in DD #81 in particular. This Gerry Conway fellow had promise. His first published science fiction novel was also on the racks that summer. Very impressive for someone still under 20 years of age.

re: Allen Brodsky and Mimi Gold

These issues had the misfortune (or from my perspective fortunate) aspect of being on the newstands during my year long sabbatical from comic book purchasing starting in the Spring of 1970. Unknown to me these issues were, until I came back a year later and acquired most of them from second hand books stores.

I didn't find much solid material in them at the time, and while they still are in boxes (somewhere) in my messy comical book room, they haven't been pulled out much since those early days in the 70s, except for referencing or curiosity

Needless to say, I don't have their content ingrained in my comical book memory banks. I was impressed (and still am) that ten+ years ago, when Kurt doggedly and diligently read every single Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Avengers (and who knows what other titles) published to that point, all as research for his upcoming Iron Man and Avengers assignments. The old AOL Comics and Animation forum had several threads where we discussed, aided where we could, encouraged where we couldn't, and I at least, admired his herculean task.

I'm not sure I could muster the ability, nor the energy to get through all of that. Some of it, a bit Augean in nature.

-jb the "sense of smell challenged" ib -

[Cei-U!]

I'm not sure I could muster the ability, nor the energy to get through all of that. Some of it, a bit Augean in nature.


In the last 18 months or so, I've re-read (and taken notes on) every single issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and X-Men up through mid-1982, including the relevant issues of Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish.* It has indeed been a herculean, albeit entertaining, task, often involving stories I hadn't read in 25-30 years. These are the circumstances under which I reencountered the Brodsky Iron Man run, which honestly were much better than what I remembered. That may be why I'm so forgiving.

Cei-U!
I summon the reading glasses!

*That's in addition to literally hundreds of Golden, Silver and Bronze Age DC comics and dozens of short run Marvel titles read during the same short period.

[spoon_jenkins]

In the last 18 months or so, I've re-read (and taken notes on) every single issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and X-Men up through mid-1982, including the relevant issues of Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish.*
At least that's within the realm of possibility. That's one thing I like about reading the Silver and Bronze Age Marvel stuff - it's manageable goal to eventually get through it all (but I'm not trying it over 18 months :eek: ). But in later eras, it's not really worth the effort.

I probably should be taking my own notes. I'm shocked about the things I forget, like when I come across a flashback to a previous issue I read.

I've only read the Daredevil side of the Mr. Kline storyline. It's ominous and intriguing when it starts off. But then when everything comes to fruition, it comes across as rushed and less than satisfying.

[Paiute 1]

It's hard to say, since the story has a beginning, and is then abandoned with a hasty "oh, yeah, this guy blew up months ago but the schedules are screwed up so you're still seeing a chapter of it here" coda.

But "androids from the future" will cover it -- Baal was a supercomputer and Mister Kline, aka MK-9, was its robot legman. This covers it all about as clearly as it gets:

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/mrkline.htm



That's part of why the schedule got screwed up; IRON MAN wasn't selling well and went bi-monthly -- but that wasn't because of the Mister Kline story; sales reports didn't come in that fast in those days. It was the Allyn Brodsky issues that nearly killed the book.

kdb

Kinda makes you wonder if Marvel will give these issues the essensial treatment.

[spoon_jenkins]

Kinda makes you wonder if Marvel will give these issues the essensial treatment.
Well, the Daredevil stuff is in Essential Daredevil vol. 4 and that peripherally related issue of Cap is in Essential Captain America vol. 3. But the reprinting of Iron Man hasn't reached that point yet.

[Jay Dogg]

Denny O'Neill

[InfoBroker]

In the last 18 months or so, I've re-read (and taken notes on) every single issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and X-Men up through mid-1982...

My hat is off to you too. While I can and have read and re-read the silver age material of Marvel many times in its near entirety, post 1970 starts to have a lot of cracks and pot-holes for me to consume in total. Don't get me wrong, the road is still navigable, but it is also torturous.

You know what is kinda scary though? Your delineation reading marker of 1982.

There are more years and more (lots!) Marvel continuity to content with after that date than before it. Now that path would have some serious roadblocks and detours to content with.

This post also brought back a nice nostalgic memory for me, one dating back to the late 60s.

During summer breaks, usually the heated month of July, I would bring down from the self-built shelves that aligned all the walls of my closet, all of my Marvelous Marvel Masterpieces, stacking each title into a separate pile, which would just about eliminate all the floor space in my bedroom. After admiring the sheer glory of it all (and noting which titles had the tallest stacks), I would begin a marathon where for the next ten or so days, I would read each and every title from start to finish (at least for what I had).

It was a very doable task back then as there wold have been 50 to 80 issues or so to read. Depending on which summer it was and how big my collection had gotten. At the start of each day at around 1 or 2pm (that's about the time I woke up - HEY! It was summer! And besides I would have been up until 3 am or later the night before working at my makeshift drawing table) a title would be selected (I usually saved Spidey, Thor and the FF till the end), and starting with the earliest issue I had, the reading would commence. For the duo titles like Strange Tales, Suspense and Astonish, each character had its seperate marathon. Iron man would be consumed separately from Captain America, not togehter.

Each daily session included of course, taking breaks to fetch a 12 oz. bottle of pepsi or mountain dew from the basement fridge (that's all that was in the basement fridge - SODA POP!), or taking time for a snack (not to be eaten near the comics) or have our family dinner when mom got home from work (that was a must do tradition). Around 6pm or so the intense reading of that day's comic title concluded.

After that, the drawing table beckoned. It was mounted in my closet - the same place where all the comical books were stored. There were no clothes in my closet. just the drawing table surrounded on both sides and above with comical book boxes. As mentioned earlier, you could usually find me there until the wee hours of the morning.

During those marathons, nature would call (given the pop swelling, quite often in fact), and somewhere in there I also squeezed in personal hygiene and some outdoor activities with the neighbors.

But who the heck remembers that trivial stuff?

-jb the "sometimes would put a pepsi or two in the freezer so he could have slush pop" ib -

[Cei-U!]

My hat is off to you too. While I can and have read and re-read the silver age material of Marvel many times in its near entirety, post 1970 starts to have a lot of cracks and pot-holes for me to consume in total. Don't get me wrong, the road is still navigable, but it is also torturous.

You know what is kinda scary though? Your delineation reading marker of 1982.

There are more years and more (lots!) Marvel continuity to content with after that date than before it. Now that path would have some serious roadblocks and detours to content with.

Oh, I'm not stopping at '82. That's just how far I've gotten to date. I intend to take notes through the close of the Shooter era (roughly 25 years after Fantastic Four #1) and I intend to read much further. I get bored if I read too many issues in a row of any one book so I cycle through the titles, reading 6 issues per round. I'm not sure if I'm just methodical or if I've crossed into As Good As It Gets territory.

This post also brought back a nice nostalgic memory for me, one dating back to the late 60s.

During summer breaks, usually the heated month of July, I would bring down from the self-built shelves that aligned all the walls of my closet, all of my Marvelous Marvel Masterpieces, stacking each title into a separate pile, which would just about eliminate all the floor space in my bedroom. After admiring the sheer glory of it all (and noting which titles had the tallest stacks), I would begin a marathon where for the next ten or so days, I would read each and every title from start to finish (at least for what I had).

I did that too!

It was a very doable task back then as there wold have been 50 to 80 issues or so to read. Depending on which summer it was and how big my collection had gotten. At the start of each day at around 1 or 2pm (that's about the time I woke up - HEY! It was summer! And besides I would have been up until 3 am or later the night before working at my makeshift drawing table) a title would be selected (I usually saved Spidey, Thor and the FF till the end), and starting with the earliest issue I had, the reading would commence. For the duo titles like Strange Tales, Suspense and Astonish, each character had its seperate marathon. Iron man would be consumed separately from Captain America, not togehter.

I kept 'em stored in alphabetical order so that's how I read 'em. God, I'm pathetic.

Each daily session included of course, taking breaks to fetch a 12 oz. bottle of pepsi or mountain dew from the basement fridge (that's all that was in the basement fridge - SODA POP!), or taking time for a snack (not to be eaten near the comics) or have our family dinner when mom got home from work (that was a must do tradition). Around 6pm or so the intense reading of that day's comic title concluded.

Coke, pepperoni sticks and Lay's were the favored dining experience while Li'l Cei-U! was on a comics binge.

After that, the drawing table beckoned. It was mounted in my closet - the same place where all the comical books were stored. There were no clothes in my closet. just the drawing table surrounded on both sides and above with comical book boxes. As mentioned earlier, you could usually find me there until the wee hours of the morning.

I had a drawing board that I used laying down on my bed. I would draw whatever new characters I ran across that day.

During those marathons, nature would call (given the pop swelling, quite often in fact), and somewhere in there I also squeezed in personal hygiene and some outdoor activities with the neighbors.

But who the heck remembers that trivial stuff?

Cei-U!, that's who!
I'm off to Emerald City!

[Paiute 1]

What did any of you think of Len Kaminski's run?
Even though it's not my favorite it wasent to bad, what ruined it for me anyway was the art work of Hopgood and Morgan.
Of course I was spoiled by Bright, Romita Jr., Guice and to a lesser extent Ryan.

[hondobrode]

Loved Michelinie. He's probably my overall favorite writer. If not his version, then probably John Jackson Miller.

Seriously. I loved his stuff.

Also really loved Joe Q's stint. Couldn't wait for the next issue to come out.

Thought the art was kind of plain, but O'Neil's run was surprisingly compelling.

[Deason]

What did any of you think of Len Kaminski's run?


I'm a big fan of Kaminski's run!

In terms of nailing the character, here's an excerpt from an appreciation of his run that I wrote which was included on the CMBG blog entry at http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/06/02/everybodys-somebodys-baby-day-ten/

"Tony’s conversation with the Goddess (from Infinity Crusade) on pages 8 and 9 of issue #294. Just… distilled perfection. It’s too long to quote here but if a better and more glorious concise explication of Anthony Stark’s world view has ever been printed, I can’t recall it."

(I would love to be pointed towards any candidate passages from any other issues, if anyone has any suggestions)

Other writers whose Iron Man work I've greatly enjoyed include Goodwin, Mantlo, Michelinie, O'Neill, Byrne, Busiek and the Knaufs. While I've read every issue, for some of them it's only been once or twice, and for many others not for some years. It's very hard for me to rank these writers; I think all of them produced great moments and great issues that expanded/improved the conception of the character and his history. Should one rank a writer on who had the single best moment/scene/issue/arc, or the largest number of great moments/scenes/issues/arcs, or the highest frequency of great moments/scenes/issues/arcs? All such schemes make their case, but none, for me, is compelling.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Like I said up above, I found Brodsky's issues fairly solid, albeit unimaginative, but maybe I'm giving him credit for Don Heck's storytelling sense.

Cei-U! aka The Other Kurt
See ya at Emerald City!

I just read Iron Man #33 for the first time. I thought it was boring, but not positively terrible, and Don Heck's artwork was pretty effective.

[Paiute 1]

Loved Michelinie. He's probably my overall favorite writer. If not his version, then probably John Jackson Miller.

Seriously. I loved his stuff.

Also really loved Joe Q's stint. Couldn't wait for the next issue to come out.

Thought the art was kind of plain, but O'Neil's run was surprisingly compelling.

That could explain why I never got into O'neils run, mainly Luke "I don't believe in backgrounds" McDonnell who drew the bulk of that run.

The end of the run with Bright was not so bad.

[Dusty.]

1. Michelinie w/Layton
2. O'Neil
3. Fraction
4. Kaminski
5. Byrne

[Babylon23]

I was never much of a fan of the solo Iron Man series. I loved the character in Avengers but could never really get into his solo stuff.

Then Michelinie, Layton and Romita Jr. came onto the series and I loved it. I've tried other runs but the only ones I've really enjoyed were the two Michelinie/Layton periods.

[Paiute 1]

Whats everyone's opinion of the Friedrich-Tuska run?

I liked the run when i was younger. I got past Tuska's distorted faces and out of propartion limbs and Mike would start a big storyline only to have it peter out.

[Cei-U!]

Whats everyone's opinion of the Friedrich-Tuska run?

I liked the run when i was younger. I got past Tuska's distorted faces and out of propartion limbs and Mike would start a big storyline only to have it peter out.

There were some interesting moments but overall I find Friedrich tedious. As you note, his big storylines rarely pay off (the Villain War: swell concept, boring execution) and his sub-plots, like his annoying revival of the Tony-Pepper-Happy triangle, are often contrived and emotionally unconvincing. Of course compared to his work on Justice League of Americas, his Iron Man run reads like Alan freakin' Moore.

And I love Tuska's art, on Iron Man or anything else, anytime, anywhere. When George's Shellhead throws a punch or smashes through some big hunk of machinery, it's exhilirating.

Cei-U!
I summon the raw power!

[Paiute 1]

I gotta admit that his Iron Man himself was good and he could as J. Busecema would say draw the dames pretty good.

[Norrin Radd]

Michelinie

Wrote the definitive Iron Man.

[David Walton]

I'm no Iron Man expert, but O'Neil was my first experience with the character. I don't even think I read the whole arc, but I vividly remember picking up #198-200 when I was about six. I thought the Stane conflict was really compelling but I was on the tail end of it so I really don't know how good the lead-in was. I also didn't know of Micheline's alcoholism arc so I had nothing to compare it to. But #200 was just fantastic.

I also remember enjoying "Armor Wars," and my memory escapes me (I didn't pay attention to names at the time) wasn't that Micheline's second run?

[destro]

Michelinie is THE Iron Man writer. His stuff was action packed and lots of fun. Working with John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton didn't hurt either.

How did such a great Iron Man writer turn into such a trainwreck of a Spider-Man writer??

[Paiute 1]

Michelinie is THE Iron Man writer. His stuff was action packed and lots of fun. Working with John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton didn't hurt either.

How did such a great Iron Man writer turn into such a trainwreck of a Spider-Man writer??

One word: Editors.

[David Walton]

Michelinie is THE Iron Man writer. His stuff was action packed and lots of fun. Working with John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton didn't hurt either.

How did such a great Iron Man writer turn into such a trainwreck of a Spider-Man writer??

His Spider-man work was incredible. Less so toward the end, but that was largely because he was handed the "Peter's parents are alive story" without knowing where editorial was headed with it. Presumably without editorial knowing where they headed as well.

[Paiute 1]

I'm no Iron Man expert, but O'Neil was my first experience with the character. I don't even think I read the whole arc, but I vividly remember picking up #198-200 when I was about six. I thought the Stane conflict was really compelling but I was on the tail end of it so I really don't know how good the lead-in was. I also didn't know of Micheline's alcoholism arc so I had nothing to compare it to. But #200 was just fantastic.

I also remember enjoying "Armor Wars," and my memory escapes me (I didn't pay attention to names at the time) wasn't that Micheline's second run?

Yes it was and great Bright pencils with the great Bob Layton inking.

[Norrin Radd]

I thought Michelinie (pronounced Mick-ill-line btw) and Layton's second run was actually better than their first.

[Kurt Busiek]

I thought Michelinie (pronounced Mick-ill-line btw)

Actually, it rhymes with "pickle-my-knee."

Mick-il-EYE-nee.

kdb

[InfoBroker]

Actually, it rhymes with "pickle-my-knee."

Mick-il-EYE-nee.

kdb

I got enlightened on this proper pickle-pronunciation waaaay back in 1992 at the San Diego Convention. Some fella named McCloud I think it was.

-jb the name-dropping ib -

[Norrin Radd]

Actually, it rhymes with "pickle-my-knee."

Mick-il-EYE-nee.

kdb

Well you'd obviously know best. :biggrin:

I must have slightly misheard Bob Layton on that Iron Man DVD.

[Paradox]

Cei-U! reads our mind again:

I literally just finished re-reading that first Michelinie/Layton run so perhaps it's just freshest in my mind but theirs is the definitive Iron Man for me.

I as well. I'd read plenty Iron Man before their first run, and knew all the background from numerous Avengers if nowhere else, but something never really clicked with me with Iron Man (possibly because I just saw him as a rich guy in a super-suit). Michelinie was the first to make me really give a shit about Tony. To make him more than (for me, at least) the obligatory super-tech guy. That run also created the vast majority of, what will always be to me, the definitive Iron Man supporting cast. Great Avengers run with Byrne about that time, too (including numerous uses of Tony as well as Iron Man).

[Paradox]

InfoBroker should go back further:

I got enlightened on this proper pickle-pronunciation waaaay back in 1992 at the San Diego Convention. Some fella named McCloud I think it was.

-jb the name-dropping ib -

I believe an "armadillo" gave this pronunciation in a letter page sometime during Michelinie's first run, but I can't remember exactly where.