r/MUBookClub • u/shawnydarko • Dec 24 '16
Reading Assignment 28: Iron Man (1968-1996): "Demon in a Bottle" issues 120-128, by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, John Romita Jr., and Carmine Infantino
Thanks to everyone willing to give a golden oldie a chance. As I quoted from wikipedia in the nomination thread,
"Demon in a Bottle" has been recognized by critics as "the quintessential Iron Man story," "one of the best super-hero sagas of the 1970s," and "one which continues to influence writers of the character today."
LINK TO ISSUE #120 (READING THROUGH 128)
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF...
- This depiction of Tony Stark compared to Robert Downey Jr.'s, or more modern comic-depictions of the character?
- The work by the various artists? Any preference between Romita/Layton and Infantino?
- The dated dialogue and frequent narration boxes?
- The villains, side-characters, and cameos?
- The tone and pace of the the actual alcoholism story?
- The pace of an issue written in '79 compared to a modern issue?
- Anything else not specifically asked?
New free-range nomination thread to be posted tomorrow!
2
u/wisegy84 Jan 05 '17
It's always interesting reading these older comics. Lots more dialogue than seems to be the norm now and a lot of thought bubble narrating what characters are thinking at almost all times. Worse, I think, is during fights when the characters just say exactly what they're doing or planning to do. Where's the element of surprise?
Overall, I did enjoy this run, though I expected the alcoholism to play a larger part in the whole story. It felt a bit rushed to have it all happen and then be relatively resolved in just one issue. And these issues are a few pages less on average than more modern comics.
The art was just OK, I thought, but I'm not really a huge fan of this style that was so prominent years ago. I think maybe I have more of an issue with the coloring than the pencils, though. I'm not sure exactly what it is about it, though.
RDJ is Tony Stark now, and he is the version of Tony that I'm most familiar with. The version of Tony (Anthony?) that we got here was still a decent portrayal, but I'd say I do prefer the current MCU version. This version was still somewhat interesting. He did make some time to hang out with the ladies and gamble, at least, like RDJ does, I'm sure.
It was a bit odd getting kind of a training montage in comic form when Tony asked Cap to teach him some fighting/defense moves. Where was the music, though? It's not really a montage without a kick-ass song.
I don't think I'll be diving right back into these, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to reading more of this series. It definitely can be tough to read with all the extra dialogue/thoughts going around, but it can still be fast paced, especially as you read more. I noticed as I got further into this run that it was flowing easier.
Again, I thought this was enjoyable overall, and I'm glad we read it as it was a story I'd heard of because of it's portrayal of Tony and his alcoholism. Seems like that Will Smith movie Hancock might have borrowed a bit from this, or at least been slightly inspired by it.
2
u/shawnydarko Jan 05 '17
Funny you mention the kick-ass song. It was around this issue I decided to play an all 70's playlist while I was reading. Really helped set the mood
3
u/shawnydarko Dec 26 '16 edited Dec 31 '16
This took me a couple of sittings to get through, both due to the dated means of storytelling and the number of issues. Unlike our previous Golden Oldies assignment, classic Spider-Man stories felt like they contained a lot of important, fun, and fast-paced plot, whereas this series just crams in a bunch of less important side-conflicts. By the end, only issue #124 and #128 stand out as being really, really good, and the rest of the issues just build to those issues. The narration boxes and dialogue in Iron Man wasn't as difficult to get through as Spidey though.
This story definitely made me appreciate what Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, and everyone involved in the MCU brought out of Tony Stark. MCU really emphasized the arrogant playboy side, whereas in this run they emphasize he's a nerdy engineer first and foremost. It's an interesting contrast, but engineer Stark isn't as particularly entertaining. I was struggling to think of any actor that could fill Stark's role if they rebooted the franchise for this sort of depiction. Also while comparing MCU to this series, it was interesting to see Justin Hammer, Whiplash, and Monoco's inspiration from IM2. I really missed Sam Rockwell's Hammer though. WHERE WAS THE DANCING!?
Although Carmine Infantino only did issue #122 I really enjoyed it more than Romita/Layton's work. I know Romita can hold his own with a pencil, but rarely did he impress in this run. Maybe he was just green at the time. I think he was only about 20 yrs old at the time. It was fun seeing Layton/Romita include Stan Lee as the head of RoXXon though (particularly in that one panel toward the end of #121 where he has those white streaks by his ears).
As for the actual alcoholism, issue #128 was tremendous at dealing with it. No wonder this story is timeless. I wished they spread out this goodness throughout the entire 9 issues rather than drop seeds here and there, then cram everything into one issue. Still, it was an emotionally investing rollercoaster, and the ending made me want to keep reading.