Review: Iron Man: Extremis Parts 1 and 2

I'm an infrequent comic reader, so this really shouldn't bother me overly much. I like comics, Compared to people who don't read comics, I suppose I count as a "comics person." Compared to my friends who follow them, read them, write them, draw them and see them after they close their eyes at night, I barely move the needle. I just like them, I pick them up, flip through them, occasionally buy them. These purchases will accumulate into a small pile which I will eventually read. Wash, rinse, repeat. One of my friends commented years ago that he simply couldn't comprehend this whole "wait a while until reading" approach. I could have boiled my neighbor's cat for dinner and he would have been less bewildered.

But, oddly, it does bug me when a minor character is killed for easy shock value or because "no one cares about" them. Or sales are down and they decide "let's have a hero go bad." As a general rule, if your plot can be boiled down to the script for an evening of WWE Smackaround, then maybe you need to rethink your plot. I understand that writers want to explore new directions with characters, but there is a fine line between "new direction" and "dumb idea." It may be because I'm an infrequent reader that this sort of thing bugs me more than a more regular comic reader. It's taxing on the nerves to think one day "hey, I wonder what's going on with Iron Man," zip over to the local comic shop and discover, oh, I don't know, Marvel has decided he's been working for Kang the Conqueror all this time and has now betrayed the Avengers to his purple faced master. You've heard the expression "so mad I could spit?" Always thought that was an odd one until that particular trip to the comic store. Yes, Marvel eventually fixed that one, but it would have been easier to just avoid the mess in the first place.

So, with that emotional baggage firmly in hand, along with some other we'll get to a bit later, I picked up Extremis parts 1 and 2. Overall, I'm glad I did. First off, the art. I had never heard of Adi Granov before. I spent the first two readings trying to figure out if this was conventional 2D drawing with intense computer coloring work or a combination of 2D and 3D techniques. Finally I gave up and tracked down the artist's web site. I think (think, mind you) that it's conventional 2D with Granov then doing computer work for coloring, lighting and F/X. I'm not about to place a wager on that, though. However he does it, the technical precision is perfect for an Iron Man story, and the darker tones complement the mood of the story. There's even a nice nod to the suiting-up sequence in CRASH!, the first computer-illustrated Iron Man graphic novel. I'm actually becoming rather fond of the new suit, even the apparently Ultimates-influenced cheekbones. It's really only the cover of issue two where they look totally out of whack to me. Good technical illustration is a must for an Iron Man artist, just as much as a good grasp of science and technology is a must for a good Iron Man story.

Which brings us to the story. Ellis is an excellent writer with an excellent grasp of science and technology. This is essentially an updating of Iron Man for today's readers. The accident that injured Tony Stark's heart and led to the first Iron Man armor takes place in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Tormented by the pain and suffering caused by his earlier weapons work, he no longer takes military contracts (except for SHIELD). Ellis's Stark is Iron Man to atone for the harm his weapons work has done. When an old friend's super-soldier project is stolen and unleashed, Stark swings into action. The de riguer Ellis' hatred of mornings makes an appearance, along with the world's most powerful cell phone. I had been warned going in to Ocean that Ellis' pacing moves a little slower than other writers. It does, but I'm not finding it a handicap. It allows for a much fuller exploration of this than you would get with a faster pace. So far, the story looks promising. Providing. ... providing. ... well that gets into the other baggage I mentioned earlier.

Warren Ellis is a talented wrter. He brings snappy dialog, good characterization, and mind blowing plots to any project he works on. His politics and view of the world's governments and military forces are something else. I hate reading a comic, even a well written one, and have to contend with it taken as a given that the world's militaries are little more than sadistic death squads in the employ of their government/corporate masters or any other number of clichés in that vein. Part of my foreboding at picking up this title stemmed from a fear of being some sort six-issue extended rant on the evils of the military/industrial complex. So far, he's done a reasonable job of keeping things evenhanded, and I earnestly hope it stays that way. As such, I'll spare the gentle reader my own rant on the matter, and sit back to wait for issue three with eager expectation.