Invincible Iron Man #500 hits today (Wednesday), the 19th of January, and folks, do not let this book pass you by. I mean, even going beyond the fact that INVINCIBLE IRON MAN has been one of the most consistently good Marvel books on the stands, and even going beyond the fact that Fraction and Larocca have been on this book since issue #1, with no delays in scheduling, the book is still a must-read for many other reasons.
FEAR ITSELF – The landmark 500th issue kicks off a brand new story arc for the Armored Avenger, while at the same time, it looks to be planting the seeds of the highly secretive Marvel summer event story, FEAR ITSELF. Marvel is promoting FEAR ITSELF to be as big as CIVIL WAR was, and the little bit of info we’ve seen on it, has us extremely excited. So, when we saw what looks like possible clues as to what could be the heart of the FEAR ITSELF event (also being written by INVINCIBLE IRON MAN writer MATT FRACTION), it made us love this issue even more. In other words, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 could be an integral issue for the Marvel Universe circa 2011.
As For the Issue Itself, How Is It? We’ve been in love with Fraction and Larocca’s run on Iron Man since issue #1, and recommend the entire run to ANYONE who just wants a plain good read. However, #500 was the best yet, with a very “DAYS OF FUTURE PAST” or “OLD MAN LOGAN” feel to the alternate future sequences that show us an elderly Tony Stark being used by the Mandarin to sustain his life. A post-apocalyptic landscape, where Stark Tech technology has gone wild. And, of course, those cryptic spidery-legged beings that keep showing up in promo mentions for FEAR ITSELF. Fraction nails it once again with an expert eye for dialogue, characterization, and well-crafted plotting and pacing.
Can I Jump On Fresh With This Issue? YES! INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 acts as a perfect jumping on point where new readers can hop onto the book, and easily get into this fantastic series. It even works well as a stand-alone issue to warm you up for FEAR ITSELF.
Conclusion? INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 gets our pick of the week vote this week due to the high quality writing and artwork, coupled with the importance of the book to the Marvel Universe and it’s upcoming events. As far as a new reader friendly book, this is a great spot to find out how good one of Marvel’s best titles is.
Click here to see a trailer for INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500
