Iron Man: Demon In A Bottle

Reprints Iron Man #120-128.
Written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton
Penciled by John Romita Jr. and Carmine Infantino
Inked/Finished Art by Layton
Note:
This storyline has been published several times. My copy is the 1984 edition published under the title The Power Of Iron Man.

Summary:
Tony Stark and his alter ego Iron Man are going through a rough patch.

S.H.I.E.LD. is trying to buy up his company, Stark International.

When Stark takes girlfriend Bethany Cabe to dinner in Atlantic City, he's attacked by three of his old villains: Whiplash, Blizzard, and the Melter. Stark learns that they're working for a man named Hammer, who turns out to be a rival business man.

 Alternate Cover

His Iron Man armor has recently malfunctioned several times and he suspects someone is tapping into his armor and causing this to occur.  

All this trouble has caused Stark to drink more than usual. Three Martinis turn into four. He begins drinking as early as 9:30 one morning. At one point, his drinking affects his ability to fight back in a battle. 

Finally, Iron Man loses control of his armor and causes a tragic international incident. New York Mayor Ed Koch demands Iron Man place his armor in the custody of the city. Stark is forced to fight without the armor. But thankfully, his friend & pilot James "Rhodey" Rhodes is around to help him out. It also helps that his girlfriend Bethany Cabe is a professional bodyguard.

 Cover for 1984 edition

But the real villain in this story isn't Hammer or Whiplash. It's Stark himself, who could lose everything if he doesn't wake up and realize he's an alcoholic.  

Review:
One of the defining storylines for Iron Man that has impacted the character for 33 years and was even referenced in Iron Man 2.

Story:
I better get this out of the way: I'm not a big fan of Iron Man or his series. I always thought he was a character who worked best as an Avengers rather than a featured solo character.  

The final chapter of this tpb (the only portion actually titled 'Demon In A Bottle') is excellent. It's a classic of the Bronze Age. Comic book characters had suffered from drug abuse and addiction before this story, but it was always sidekicks or support characters (like Speedy and Harry Osbourn). Writing Stark/Iron Man as an alcoholic was truly groundbreaking and Michelinie and Layton should be commended for it (Editor Roger Stern and Editor In Chief Jim Shooter also deserve kudos for approving it for publication).  

But what comes before that isn't so great. One problem with Iron Man is that I've always felt he's too damn powerful for most villains he faces and that most of his top foes are just other guys in armor. 

Iron Man dispatches about a dozen villains in this story in less than half an issue. True, most of them are B-grade baddies, but Constrictor held his own against the Hulk shortly before this and Whiplash has previously given Shellhead an issue's worth of trouble. Yes, alcoholism is the "real" villain here, but a superhero should be given villains who can last for more than a few pages.

One of my favorite scenes in the book features Iron Man saving a woman driving a car full of little leaguers from one of the worst menaces in the universe: a dead car battery!

Iron Man charges a car battery!

Michelinie also does a great job of strengthening Iron Man's supporting cast. Rhodey is cemented here as Stark's best employee/best friend and closest confidant. And Bethany Cabe isn't just a great romantic match for Stark, she chips in and saves Iron Man at one point. 

Art:
In a word:gorgeous.

John Romita Jr. is listed as "penciler" for these stories, but Bob Layton has just as much to do with the artwork as JR JR. In fact, Layton should really be credited as co-penciler instead of "inker" or "finishing" artist. And that's not a slam on Romita. I loved his later work on Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil, but the art here looks nothing like that.

Demon In A Bottle also contains a retelling of Shellhead's origin, drawn By Carmine Infantino.  

How does it look?:
The version I own looks great, nothing weird or off about the colors. This splash page (along with the "car battery" paged scanned above) is a good example of how the book looks:

Iron Man is attacked by Blizzard,Whiplash & Melter

I don't own any of the more recent editions of the book, but I have checked them out in comic shops.  They look just as good if not better than the scans you see here (you'll just have to take my word on that!).  

Extras:
The 1984 edition features an introduction by Stan Lee. He praises Michelinie, Layton and Romita as only Stan "The Man" can. In the 2008 reissue, Michelinie writes the intro, he details why he and Layton decided to make Stark hit rock bottom.  

Despite my criticisms of the story, Iron Man: Demon In A Bottle is still a worthwhile tpb. The last chapter alone makes it worth reading and the artwork is great. Any Bronze Age fan should check it out.  

My rating:

3 Sals.

P.S.
Last year, at my blog dedicated to Assistant Editors' Month, I wrote a post about Tony Stark's alcohol relapse, read that post here if you're interested:
http://assistanteditorsmonth.blogspot.com/2011/07/iron-man-178-part-2.html

Captain America: War And Remembrance

 Cover for 1990 Edition

Captain America: War And Remembrance
Reprints Captain America #247-255.
Written by Roger Stern.
Penciled by John Byrne.
Inked by Joe Rubenstein.
 Note:This review is based on the 1990 tpb edition of this book. Another edition was published in 2011 and I don't know how it looks or if it contains the same introductions or "bonus" pages. I've also posted covers of more recent editions of this title throughout the review.

Summary:
Captain America is a member of the Avengers and a living legend of World War II, but the back story of his alter-ego, Steve Rogers is shrouded in mystery.

Steve is having trouble remembering his past. He spent more than a decade in suspended animation and wonders if his memories are real, imagined or planted. He sets out to uncover his true past.

Cover for 2007 edition

In the process, Steve, as Captain America encounters various villains:

Baron Strucker, the former Nazi turned head of Hydra! 

Machinesmith, master of robotics! He builds robot replicas of many Marvel heroes & villains and sends them after Cap!

Dragon Man, a giant flying super-strong android. He has the mind of a child, but Dragon Man is one of the most dangerous beings in the Marvel Universe!

Batroc the Leaper teams up with the deadly, demented Mr. Hyde! They take control of a supertanker and hold it for ransom...a ransom that Captain America must deliver!

Cap is called to England to help fight an old foe: The Nazi vampire known as Baron Blood!

 Cover for 2011 Hardcover edition

But it's not all doom and danger.

Steve has recently relocated to Brooklyn Heights and is attempting to establish a career as a graphic designer.  He's getting to know his neighbors, Joshua Cooper and Mike Farrell. They're eventually joined by a new neighbor, Mike's old friend Bernadette "Bernie" Rosenthal. Steve and Bernie are attracted to each other from the moment they meet, even if Steve's musical tastes are dated (just like Steve himself). 

During the election season, Cap is asked to run for President of the United States by a 3rd Party! Will he accept? 

Last but not least, Cap's origin story and his first adventure are retold, narrated by none other than President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Guest stars include Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Union Jack and the Avengers!

Review:
These issues were some of the first Captain America stories I ever read. And what a great introduction to the character.

Alternate cover for 2011 Hardcover edition

Story:
Roger Stern really gets Captain America and Steve Rogers. The man out of time shtick has been done before (and since), but Stern doesn't use it to ring out cheap laughs or melodramatic hysterics. I like the supporting cast he created for Steve too. Bernie would become Cap's girlfriend, and eventually his fiance before she was written out.

I especially enjoyed the Baron Blood section of the book. It feels like Stern was going for a "Universal Horror" vibe with a little bit of "Hammer Dracula" thrown in for good measure. Plus, Baron Blood is a Nazi vampire! Talk about a personification of evil!

The story where Captain America becomes a candidate for President is also excellent, and it makes for a great read during an election year. It shows why Cap should never run for office. 
And the last tale in the book is a great retelling of Cap's origin and early days. It's been told and retold many times since 1940, but this is the definitive version as far as I'm concerned. 

Hyde & Batroc concoct a scheme;Bernie visits Steve

Art:
John Byrne does a great job penciling here. I've said in other recent posts here that Byrne was on fire at this time. If you enjoyed his work in X-men, Fantastic Four and Avengers, you'll like this book. Joe Rubenstein isn't Terry Austin, but his inks compliment Byrne's work very nicely. Check out Byrne & Rubenstein's maniacal depiction of Mr. Hyde in the scanned page above. 

How does it look?:

Great. Take a look at the scan below, taken from the tpb:

Dragon Man attacks Cap!

Extras:
Two nice introductions by Stern and Jim Salicrup, who was editor of Captain America when the stories were published.

We also get a few (previously unpublished) pages of what Cap #256 would have look like, if Stern, Byrne & Rubenstein had continued on the book. It's a shame they couldn't have given us another issue or two.

Captain America: War And Remembrance is a great collection of Bronze Age Cap stories. It was my introduction to the character back in 1980 and it's still great 32 years later. Pick up this reprint book ASAP, in any edition!

My rating:

4 Sals!

Avengers: Nights Of Wundagore

Reprints Avengers #181-187, plus one page from X-men #125.

Written by David Michelinie, Steven Grant, Mark Gruenwald, Chris Claremont (one page)

Drawn by John Byrne.

Inked by Brett Breeding, Gene Day, Dan Green, Klaus Janson, "Diverse Hands", Terry Austin (one page).
Summary:
All of the current Avengers are called to the Avengers' Mansion. The team's Government liaison, Henry Peter Gyrich tells them that it's time to form a new team. If they want to regain their Government Security Clearance (and the legal protection that it affords), they will need to reduce the team to 7 members. Some of the Avengers are not happy with the new lineup.  

Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch encounter a mysterious toymaker from Eastern Europe named Django Maximoff, who claims to be their father. They don't believe him, but they think he may be able to answer questions about their mysterious past. They accompany him to Transia, where Scarlet Witch meets the sorcerer Modred The Mystic. He lures her to Wundagore Mountain, where he intends for her to be possessed by the demon Ch'Thon! Quicksilver has to summon the Avengers for help.

At the same time, the Avengers are called in to stop Carl "Crusher" Creel, AKA the Absorbing Man, when he goes on a rampage in New York Harbor.  An epic battle ensues!

Review:
 A reprint of this story was published 20 years ago, titled Avengers: The Yesterday Quest. But that tpb reprinted only part of the story. Nights of Wundagore includes Avengers #181-184, never reprinted until now.

Story:
An excellent story.  There are three writers credited, so I'm not sure who gets credit for what. I never cared much for Quicksilver but he's a sympathetic character in this story. That's the ultimate tribute to the creative team. He and Scarlet Witch had been around for 15 years at this point, so it was about time they got a more complete "origin" story.  In case anyone reads this who hasn't read the stories, I won't reveal the identity of their true parents.

I'll admit that I'm a bit biased here, since this is the Avengers team I grew up with. Beast and Wonderman palling around in New York City, Vision and Scarlet Witch as a happily married couple, Captain America and Iron Man still close friends. An all around great team. 

And there's a reference here to the (then) contemporaneous drinking problems Tony Stark was having in Iron Man's solo series. Yay for continuity!

Henry Peter Gyrich's presence here also adds a nice element of realism to the story. If the Avengers existed in our world, they would likely be subject to the treatment given by the U.S. Government here.  It helps that Gyrich works for the National Security Council (NSC) instead of some made-up agency that only exists in the Marvel Universe.  

But the highlight for me is the battle with the Absorbing Man. He is treated like an A-list threat in this story, absorbing the turbines of a ship and turning into a metallic giant. He's a favorite villain of mine, but I don't ever remember him being this deadly. Classic stuff, one of the best comic book fights of all time!

Art:
John Byrne's pencils are the only constant here, and his art is great as it usually was in the late 70s/early 80s. His work here serves as a nice companion piece to his X-men run, since it features Beast (a former X-Man), plus Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who got their starts as X-Men adversaries. If the book has any weakness, it's that Byrne is inked by several different inkers. This results in an inconsistent look, but it didn't make me enjoy the book any less. Gene Day, Dan Green, Bret Breeding and Klaus Janson were some of Marvel's top inkers when these stories were first published, so that helps as well. 

Extras:
One page from X-Men #125 that reveals some information about the parents of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. 

Low does it look?
It looks great, no weird re-coloring job on this tpb. Check out these scans from the book:

Absorbing Man tangles with the Avengers!

Modred takes out Captain America

If you enjoy Bronze Age Avengers stories, or John Byrne's 70s art, you should pick up Avengers: Nights Of Wundagore. It's lots of fun, especially the battle with the Absorbing Man.

My rating:


4 Sals!

Avengers: Hawkeye (Marvel Premiere Classic)

Reprints Hawkeye (1983) 1-4, Tales Of Suspense #57, Marvel Super Action #1, Avengers #189 and Marvel Team-Up #95.

Written by Mark Gruenwald, Stan Lee, Mike Friedrich, Steven Grant & David Michelinie & Roger Stern.
Penciled by Mark Gruenwald, Don Heck, George Evans, John Byrne & Jimmy Janes.
Inked by Brett Breeding, Danny Bulanadi, Don Heck, Frank Springer, Dan Green & Bruce Patterson.

A note to readers:
I started this blog last September, shortly before some craziness entered my "offline" life. I've intended to restart this blog (that was barely started!) for a while. But the new Avengers movie will be released this May, so I thought this would be a great time to post reviews of Bronze Age Avengers stories (and "solo" stories that feature heroes who appear in the film) that have been reprinted as hardcovers or trade paperbacks. Hawkeye leads off!:

Hawkeye, the World's Greatest Archer (AKA Clint Barton) is enjoying life. He has a well-paid job as head of security at Cross Technological Enterprises (CTE) and is in a relationship with Sheila Danning, head of Public Relations for CTE. Clint has made peace with the fact that he's no longer an Avenger.

Alternate cover

One night, Hawkeye is called to investigate a burglary at a warehouse owned by CTE. When he gets there, Barton finds the Mockingbird, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned costumed crime fighter. He attacks her, only to learn that she isn't a criminal. Mockingbird's break-in was part of an investigation into CTE's criminal activities! Hawkeye joins Mockingbird in battling CTE, but it costs him his job and his apartment (which gets blown up!). Clint Barton's life has been turned upside down!

Hawkeye and Mockingbird's investigation of CTE leads them into conflict with Oddball and Bombshell, a duo of evil jugglers, as well as the criminal mastermind known as Crossfire. If Hawkeye and Mockingbird fail to thwart the plans of CTE, all superheroes on Earth could be killed! In the meantime, Hawkeye and Mockingbird turn out to be a pretty good crime-fighting team.

Plus:

We get earlier adventures of Hawkeye and Mockingbird!

Before she became Mockingbird, Bobbi Morse briefly fought crime as the Huntress. She tries to take down a drug kingpin in her only adventure in her Huntress costume.

We see how Hawkeye got the job as Chief Of Security for CTE and his battle with a "mystery" villain, one who normally battles the X-men.

Hawkeye is hired by CTE in Avengers #189

Last but not least, Spider-Man teams with Mockingbird (in her first appearance in the 'bird suit). The heroes battle with agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Review:

I'll mention up front that the content of this hardcover is pretty good, but I'm not crazy about the presentation of the stories. It opens with the reprint of Hawkeye's limited series, then jumps back in time 19 years (before the Bronze Age of Comics) to Hawkeye's first ever appearance where he served as an adversary of Iron Man. The stories that follow are in order of publication. But wouldn't it have made more sense to start with the first Hawkeye story, so we could see some maturation of Clint Barton? A minor quibble. Otherwise, I like the book.

Story:

The limited series is a good introduction to Hawkeye.  It's not a great story, as villains like Oddball and Bombshell aren't the most interesting characters. But Mark Gruenwald's script keeps things entertaining. The development of Hawkeye & Mockingbird's relationship feels natural, not at all forced.

The other stories are good supplements to the limited series, especially the reprint of Avengers #189 (where Hawkeye first goes to work for CTE) and Marvel Team-Up #95 (the first Mockingbird story).

Art:
The bulk of the art is handled by Gruenwald, best known as a writer and editor.  His pencils look good, with decent inking by Brett Breeding and Danny Bulanadi. The black and white piece that features the Huntress has some good art from old-schoolers George Evans and Frank Springer. John Byrne (at the height of his powers) provides the best art in the book (in the story from Avengers #189) and Dan Green's inks always worked well with Byrne's pencils.

Extras:
Hawkeye's aformentioned first appearance, in Tales Of Suspense #57 is reprinted (this story also features an early appearance of the Black Widow, when she was a Soviet spy). It's not a bad addition to the Bronze Age stories, but I wonder why we didn't get the Hawkeye story from Marvel Fanfare #3 (which was reprinted here) instead. That story actually takes place at CTE, and is even referenced in the limited series.

On a positive note, the book also reprints Hawkeye and Mockingbird's entries from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. In addition to the characters' histories, it provides a nice technical rundown of the different types of arrows Hawkeye uses and the mechanics of Mockingbird's Battle Staves .

How does it look?
The reprinted pages look great. There's a scan above and here's another one:

Hawkeye pursues Oddball

Avengers: Hawkeye is a collection of good stories put together in a nice hardcover book. None of the stories are classics by themselves, but when you add them all together, they make the book a worthy addition to the library of any Bronze Age fan.

My rating:



.5

3 and a half Sals!