Inventor, business-man, playboy...super hero! Gravely injured in combat, billionaire genius Tony Stark saved his own life by designing a life-sustaining shell - the hi-tech protective covering that transformed him into the invincible Iron Man! Now, the world believes him to be Tony Stark's personal bodyguard. In this dual role, he faces boardroom intrigue and super-powered menaces. A modern-day knight in armor, he fights injustice wherever it rears its ugly head! Collects Tales of Suspense #39-72.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Iron Man has not been one of my favorite Marvel characters, but it was interesting to see more of his early appearances. With the short stories as they appeared in Tales of Suspense, character development is limited, and there is a lot of repetition from story to story ("If only they knew their indifferent boss is really Iron Man!" "If only I could tell Pepper how I really feel about her!" "If I can't get my chestplate plugged in, my heart will fail!"). I have a feeling when the stories get full-length, they'll be better. It will be interesting to see how they re-develop his origin in the upcoming live-action movie.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This early Iron Man stuff probably needs two reviews to do an honest job. Old-time comic fans will appreciate this collection of these early stories and the introductions of so many classic Iron Man enemies. The 1960s writing is a nice bit of nostalgia, and the art by people like Steve Ditko and Don Heck is very fun to look at.
But to a younger person, perhaps coming to Iron Man from seeing the movie...not so much. The stories and enemies will seem hokey and the "red menace" stuff will lack the meaning it had to people my age who lived through the Cold War.
I love the marvel essentials series, but let's face it...these are pieces of nostalgia. Early marvels were pretty poorly written stuff. Once Stan Lee established the formula of a hero who whined and carped about his personal life all the time, it became formulaic very quickly. These stories fit in that mold, 18 pages of fighting some communist and a few panels of Stark whining about the metal plate on his chest.
If you understand what you are getting this is a great inexpensive way to grab all these early Iron Man comics...but I wouldn't buy it for a kid.
But to a younger person, perhaps coming to Iron Man from seeing the movie...not so much. The stories and enemies will seem hokey and the "red menace" stuff will lack the meaning it had to people my age who lived through the Cold War.
I love the marvel essentials series, but let's face it...these are pieces of nostalgia. Early marvels were pretty poorly written stuff. Once Stan Lee established the formula of a hero who whined and carped about his personal life all the time, it became formulaic very quickly. These stories fit in that mold, 18 pages of fighting some communist and a few panels of Stark whining about the metal plate on his chest.
If you understand what you are getting this is a great inexpensive way to grab all these early Iron Man comics...but I wouldn't buy it for a kid.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Essential Iron-Man Volume 1
For those of you who have no clue who Stan Lee is (and yes, there are people like this, as shocking as that may seem), you would do well to read the early adventures of Iron-Man from the 1960s, written by Stan Lee, art by Don Heck, Jack Kirby and other great artists, in this compilation Essential.
The Essentials are reprint books that are black & white reproductions of the early stories of these superheroes. This is a cheap way to get the style of writing and the art of the time, read some exciting graphic storytelling and take a peek at the history of Marvel Comics.
This is a collection of Iron-Man's first appearance in Tales of Suspense 39 and goes to issue number 72
Since these are from the sixties and mostly boys were reading these issues, there's bound to be some sexist writing. Example, Iron-Man is told by his girlfriend (while as Tony Stark, millionaire playboy) that Iron-Man would look great painted gold "so his appearance matches his golden deeds!"
Stark later paints his costume gold and remarks, "Wow, what a difference! Leave it to a woman to figure out an attractive appearance!" Oh boy!
Meet Gargantus the Giant One, or stories about Soviet spies. Meet Kruschev, and sneaky Pentagon plots against the USSR. Kirby's art in Kala, Queen of the Netherworld is very cool. The man knew how to draw villianous women. Slinky!
Marvel prided itself on writing real life stories intermixed with the superhero'ing, and these issues are no exception. Pepper Potts follows Tony around wherever he goes. "How can such a walking dreamboat be such a hard-headed boss??"
And my favorite villain, The Mandarin, as only Don Heck can draw him. Silly stuff too, like Happy taking pictures of Pepper Potts in a swimsuit, but he laments "I've been out of film for the past hour! But I'd be nuts to tell Pepper!", as she slinks around posing for the camera.
Silly, charming and fascinating -- The Invincible Iron-Man!
OK, you know who Stan Lee is now, right?
Other Marvelous Marvel Essentials:
Essential Iron Man, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 3)
Essential Power Man and Iron Fist, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Daredevil Volume 5 TPB
For those of you who have no clue who Stan Lee is (and yes, there are people like this, as shocking as that may seem), you would do well to read the early adventures of Iron-Man from the 1960s, written by Stan Lee, art by Don Heck, Jack Kirby and other great artists, in this compilation Essential.
The Essentials are reprint books that are black & white reproductions of the early stories of these superheroes. This is a cheap way to get the style of writing and the art of the time, read some exciting graphic storytelling and take a peek at the history of Marvel Comics.
This is a collection of Iron-Man's first appearance in Tales of Suspense 39 and goes to issue number 72
Since these are from the sixties and mostly boys were reading these issues, there's bound to be some sexist writing. Example, Iron-Man is told by his girlfriend (while as Tony Stark, millionaire playboy) that Iron-Man would look great painted gold "so his appearance matches his golden deeds!"
Stark later paints his costume gold and remarks, "Wow, what a difference! Leave it to a woman to figure out an attractive appearance!" Oh boy!
Meet Gargantus the Giant One, or stories about Soviet spies. Meet Kruschev, and sneaky Pentagon plots against the USSR. Kirby's art in Kala, Queen of the Netherworld is very cool. The man knew how to draw villianous women. Slinky!
Marvel prided itself on writing real life stories intermixed with the superhero'ing, and these issues are no exception. Pepper Potts follows Tony around wherever he goes. "How can such a walking dreamboat be such a hard-headed boss??"
And my favorite villain, The Mandarin, as only Don Heck can draw him. Silly stuff too, like Happy taking pictures of Pepper Potts in a swimsuit, but he laments "I've been out of film for the past hour! But I'd be nuts to tell Pepper!", as she slinks around posing for the camera.
Silly, charming and fascinating -- The Invincible Iron-Man!
OK, you know who Stan Lee is now, right?
Other Marvelous Marvel Essentials:
Essential Iron Man, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 3)
Essential Power Man and Iron Fist, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Daredevil Volume 5 TPB
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good place to start
This was my first endeavor into the Marvel Essential series. For that matter, it's my first endeavor into early age comics like this. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Kaleb Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Iron Man - Awesome
I received this book very quickly, and with no hassles. Very happy, and will be buying a lot more Marvel Essentials in the future!
Published 9 months ago by Josh
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of Fun
I found this book a lot of fun. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is that some of the other Marvel Essentials from this time, such as Spiderman, the Hulk, or the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Paul A. Houle
3.0 out of 5 stars
The transistor-powered Iron Man!!
So, I've just finished reading the massive first volume of the Essential Iron Man series. The book itself is really neat in that it gives you all the story of those old, hard to... Read more
Published on May 1, 2011 by lisaokapi
3.0 out of 5 stars
not in colour
It came quickly, but I didn't realize it was going to be in black and white- so I'm a little disappointed that it's not in colour.
Published on January 21, 2010 by Kathryn L. Schmidt
5.0 out of 5 stars
''The Real IronMan''
Another hit from the house of ideas.Again Stan Lee writes about what he knows best---- super-heroes. Read more
Published on November 18, 2008 by Henry E. Yanezjr
3.0 out of 5 stars
Oxidized Iron
The Iron Man idea is great, and Iron Man has lasted a while as a first tier Marvel hero, though often falling to the fringes of the first tier he would always return with strong... Read more
Published on September 29, 2008 by David Hood
2.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Ironman Vol. 1
Just got this book and man am I disappointed! Oh, it's thick enough, lots of content. And the graphics are clear, and its dimensions are nice. But... Read more
Published on July 25, 2008 by B. Millan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must have for Marvel readers
WOW, what else can be said about this collection of original Iron Man stories. I read all these as a kid, but like most kids of my time my mother threw them all out. Read more
Published on July 2, 2008 by Franco C. Comunale
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories from a different time
What a great way to read the old stories. The Essential collection from Marvel has always had both positive and negative aspects. Read more
Published on May 26, 2008 by Tim Lasiuta
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