Fraction Iron Man

Invincible Iron Man 504-509

The Fear Itself tie-in.  (Matt Fraction also wrote the main event title.)  Unsurprisingly, my complaint with this story mirrors that of the parent comic; this is an incomplete arc that doesn’t work without reading the other, and that annoys me.  

Anyway, Tony fights the souped-up Grey Gargoyle, then gets drunk in order to gain access to the forges of Svartalfheim and forge Asgardian superweapons to win the day.  It’s not bad, but lacks the drama of Fraction’s better Iron Man arcs.  Also, it’s sad to see Stark lose his sobriety, even if it is for a good cause.  

It's always the sword that works after all else fails...

I really like Larroca on this title, but sometimes he pulls out a stinker.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Invincible Iron Man 510-515

News of Tony’s drunken piloting of the Iron Man suit goes public, and Tony is forced to give control up to the Hammers.  But he realizes that the Mandarin and Ezekiel Stane are behind it all, and he already has a counterattack in mind…

A lot of set up here, and the only thing keeping all of Tony’s losing from being intolerable to read is the knowledge that he knows what he’s doing.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice