Comics

Looking forward to Iron Man but wanting a little more info on the character before you plop down two hours wages on a movie ticket?  Don’t fret folks, your RF pals give you the skinny on a select group of Iron Man graphic novels.

From his first days in print, his first encounter with the Mandarin, Tony Stark’s troubles with alcohol, the famous Armor Wars, the adventures of War Machine, Iron Man’s role as a member of the Illuminati, to his current post as head of S.H.I.E.L.D., we get you up to speed and ready for Friday.

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The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus Vol. 1 – Let’s start at the beginning with the mammoth collection of early Iron Man adventures captured in this oversized hardcover.  Not willing to dish-out the $99.99 for this?  For $16.99 a pop you can pick up the b&w Essential Iron Man volumes 1-3.

Iron Man: Armor Wars – This trade paperback collects the “Armor Wars” storyline featuring Iron Man tracking down both heroes and villains who have stolen Stark technology.  Includes loads of villains, new armor, and a confrontation with Steve Rogers. [$24.99]

Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin – This trade paperback collects the recent mini-series featuring the origins of the Mandarin, one of Iron Man’s oldest foes, and a retelling of their first meeting. [$14.99]

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle – One of the most discussed storylines of the hero’s career centers around Tony Stark’s loosing his battle with alcohol. [$24.99]

Iron Man: War Machine – I was never much a fan of the War Machine armor, but if you are then this trade paperback was made just for you! [$29.99]

Iron Man: Hypervelocity – A slightly different take on the hero and his world in this collection of the mini-series featuring a war between “the bleeding -edge technology of an insurgent mecha subculture and the massed hardware of an elite ‘cape-killing’ paramilitary force.” [$14.99]

Iron Man Vol. 1: Extremis – The current run on Iron Man began with this reboot by Warren Ellis taking ol’ Shellhead into the 21st Century. [$14.99]

New Avengers: Illuminati – Iron Man and the other leaders of the super-secret guardians protect the planet from harm, no matter the cost.  This trade paperback collection leads into the current Secret Invasion storyline. [$14.99]

Iron Man: Civil War – Marvel’s Civil War from the perspective of Tony Stark. [$11.99]

Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Collects the first few issue of Tony Stark as the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. [$14.99]

 

The year was 1985, Marv Wolfman and George Perez set out to do something never before attempted, and still (now 23 years later) never equaled.  Taking 50 years of comics history the pair revamped the DC Comics landscape from the ground-up eliminating the Multiverse and streamlining a history filled with numerous continuity problems which had crept up over the years.  Not all heroes would survive, and, as promised, the DC Universe would never be the same.

With DC Comics ready to launch Final Crisis we begin our look back in history at the event which started it all.

Crisis on Infinite Earths
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“Worlds will live.  Worlds will die.  And the universe will never be the same.”

Crisis on Infinite Earths was a first.  There had been mini-series before, but nothing on the scale which Marv Wolfman had conceived.  Over twenty-years later events from Crisis still reverberate across many corners of the DCU.  No other series can make such a claim.

For decades the continuity of the DC Universe had grown harder and harder to rectify.  This twelve-issue maxi-series would reboot the entire DCU, removing the parallel worlds which made up the vast Multiverse and creating a single earth.  Universes died, as did heroes – most notably Supergirl and The Flash (Barry Allen), but many others as well.

The entire DC Universe was put in danger by an alien scientist who disrupted the balance between the matter and anti-matter realities.  Through his experiments he released the Anti-Monitor from slumber and set in motion a series of events which would destroy the Monitor of our dimension and all but one universe which would remain.

It was an epic tale of all of existence versus a power-hungry god wanting to wipe it out.  And the Anti-Monitor was too strong for Superman (or even Supermen) to tackle alone.  Eventually even the villains of the DCU were forced to help save reality from non-existence.

From every corner of the DCU heroes banded together and stood against the rapidly shrinking reality and managed to save one Earth, a single reality from which continuity would restart and heroes across the DCU, most notably Superman, would be relaunched.

 

The event did what it set out to do – it reset the DCU and served as a jumping off point for many characters and a welcome for new fans to jump on board from “the beginning,” making it one of the most unique and important series ever launched.  It also had the negative effect of inspiring countless self-important “events” being launched every year by both Marvel and DC (how many of you remember Millennium?).  So far only Marvel’s Civil War has come close to the scope of Crisis, but from current storylines, such as Secret Invasion, it seems unlikely it will have the same lasting impact.

And it still holds up.  The death and sacrifice still mean something, all these years later.  And it did what it promised by changing the fabric of the DCU, in some good ways (return Hal Jordan to the Corps, folding the Charlton characters into the DCU) , some sad ways (the death of Barry Allen), and some bad (the loss and removal of several characters from the DCU for years).  Crisis on Infinite Earths is available in a trade paperback and a mammoth Absolute Edition complete with several cross-over issues, notes, the official index to the series, and the aftereffects.  Whether you’ve never read it, or it’s been a few years take a look and this landmark of comic history again, especially now as DC gears up for Final Crisis.

I’ll admit I wasn’t much of a Teen Titans fan growing up, but the idea of the original team, plus a few of the popular editions from it’s first relaunch, once again being reunited (for whatever reason) piqued my interest.  Nightwing, Beast Boy, Flash, Donna Troy, Red Arrow, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven are back.  And it’s a good thing since someone’s hunting down current and former Titans (and not to give them a hug).  Here’s our review of Titans #1.

Titans #1
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“Something’s happened.”

Way back in 1964 DC introduced the Teen Titans who earned a comic of their very own two years later.  The original group included Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Aqualad, Beast Boy, Speedy (Roy Harper), Hawk and Dove.  The 1980’s relaunch introduced the characters of Starfire, Cyborg and Raven.

In the first issue of this new series all current and former members of the Teen Titans find themselves under attack from supernatural forces which put many past members out of action, one permanently.  The team gathers together at the end of the issue to take stock and and prepare for what, or should I say who, is coming.

Titans issue #1 works well in reestablishing all the characters and creating a situation which would necessitate the group reforming.  I also like the members chosen for this new team: Nightwing, Flash, Donna Troy, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Red Arrow, and Raven (and the thankful absence of Aqualad).

 

Although this issue didn’t blow me away, it did get me a bit nostalgic and brought enough action to get me to pick-up issue #2.