COMIC BOOK REVIEW - International Iron Man: Another Stark Innovation

By The Masked Medic

Back in 2008, Marvel Studios released the first Iron Man film and suddenly what once could be considered one of the B-level Marvel heroes was suddenly catapulted to the top of the popularity scale. Once upon a time, my favourite Marvel character, I was interested in seeing how the comics would fare.

The novel, “Another Stark Innovation” is a comic set in two-time frames; the present and the past. It tells the story of Tony Stark attempting to find out who his real parents were after finding out that he was in fact adopted. This mission leads him into the crosshairs of Cassandra Gillespie, a woman he once fell in love with, who seems to be working for a terrorist organization. As he attempts to get the information he’s seeking, we are given flashbacks to his past as well as the history of his adoptive parents.

I have to say, this novel was not what I was expecting at all. In many ways, it was less an Iron Man novel and more a Tony Stark novel, which I thought worked really well. It was all character development, and not just Tony’s, but also Cassandra’s and Howard Stark’s too.

I really liked the artwork in this novel. It wasn’t especially crisp which I usually prefer, but it worked for the novel. The covers, on the other hand, I found lacked a little bit, but overall, this was a pretty good one-shot novel!

Favourite Panel:

I have to say, he had me cracking up a lot in this novel!

Favourite Character:

Tony. Easy. He’s smart and funny, it’s easy to see why I liked him so much as a kid.

Rating:

• Story Arc: ★★★½

• Character Development: ★★★★

• Artwork: ★★★½

• Enjoyability: ★★★½

• Re-readability: ★★★½

Level: Beginner