Recently in Iron Man Category

Jack Kirby did one of my favorite Iron Man covers for issue #80.  Inked by Al Milgrom, I think this image was used on merchandising.

Why do I think this is such a great cover?  It has no action, fighting, or drama of any kind.  Shell-head even has the helmet with the nose.

I admire it because it puts the Armored Avenger in a trippy outer-space setting, something Kirby excelled at drawing.  We had seen Iron Man in a couple of intergalactic fights before this, most notably during the Kree-Skrull War, when he was tearing into spaceships.  Kirby brought back the vision that Tony Stark's armor could take him anywhere in the galaxy.  Nuff Said!

Every comics company loves to give their heroes a new look from time to time.  During the Shooter-era of the 1980s, the Marvel heroes were re-designed with new looks and costumes.

Spider-Man: Black costume from Secret Wars, sans the symbiote.

Iron Man: Tony Stark designed this red and silver armor in Iron Man #200.

Hulk: Grey Hulk from Peter David’s tenure on the series.

Thor: Walt Simonson designed this new battle armor and let the Thunder God grow a beard.

Captain America: Steve Rogers put on this costume and became a free agent for a while.  Later on, US Agent wore this costume whenever a team needed a third-rate Captain America—like the current Mighty Avengers series.

Were these Marvel makeovers as bad as shoulder pads and mullets?  I liked the Grey Hulk the best out of this lineup.  Nuff Said!

Gil Kane did a number of covers for Iron Man during 1971-72.  Here are four of my favorites:

Iron Man #44 really sent chills down my spine when I first saw the creepy Night Phantom, but it's the expression of horror on the face of Stark's girlfriend Marianne that sells the cover.

Iron Man #45 brings back memories of the Vietnam anti-war protests on many campuses around the United States.  Many Marvel heroes had a "Crisis on Campus!" issue, this was Iron Man's turn.

Iron Man #46 has the Guardsman setting Stark's armor on fire--right in front of Stark Industries.  It's really humilating to be defeated in front of your own co-workers.  I really like the inking on this cover.

Iron Man #54 gives us Kane's view of a fight with the Sub-Mariner.  Namor always works best on a cover when he's launching out of the water to attack his opponent.  Bob Layton did a commission where he re-interpreted this cover, you can probably find it on his website.  Nuff said.

After Iron Man’s adventure with Benjamin J. Grimm in Marvel Feature #12, he was low on power.  How did he get back to New York City?  Wait for it true believers…

…Tony Stark roller-skated his way home!  Nuclear powered roller-skates, I am sure, not like those cushy wheels in Xanadu.  I think if I saw a roller-skating Iron Man on the freeway, I’d probably flip out.

Making a sudden exit on the freeway seems like a bitch.  Do you have to give hand signals?

Steve Gerber was making a joke with this scene and most us never forgot it.  I just ran across an interview with Gerber on Comics Bulletin where he mentions this:  …we used to buy comics because comics could show us things we couldn't see anywhere else -- Weaponers of Qward, Reverse-Flashes, Iron Men on roller skates. Today, comics are still showing readers things they couldn't see anywhere else in 1963. The world has changed; comics haven't.  Nuff said.

This was part of Moebius 1980s series of posters for Marvel…

I had this on my wall at home.  A friend of mine came by and said, “Where’d you get that butt ugly Iron Man poster?”  But I really dug Moebius’ take on Iron Man’s armor, even though it went totally against the Bob Layton versions.  Notice the way that Tony Stark’s facial expressions bleed through the mask, like the metal is soft or organic.  Nuff said.

See also: Moebius Thing Poster