Heroes Reborn: Iron Man [Paperback]

Scott Lobdell (Author), Jeph Loeb (Author), Jim Lee (Illustrator), Ed Benes (Illustrator), Whilce Portacio (Illustrator), Ryan Benjamin (Illustrator), Terry Shoemaker (Illustrator), Mike Miller (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

Iron Man left two lives behind when he vanished, but can he avoid his former mistakes in his new one? The armored Avenger takes on Hydra, Heralds and the Hulk - and the eyes of the Marvel Universe are upon him in the form of Loki, the Watcher and Onslaught himself! Featuring Doc Samson and... or rather as ...the Abomination! Plus: Rebel O'Reilly, later of Thunderbolts fame! Collects Iron Man (Vol. 2) #1-12

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Marvel; Direct Ed edition (November 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785123385
• ISBN-13: 978-0785123385
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Comic book illustrator Jim Lee is the editorial director of WildStorm Studios (which he founded in 1992) and the artist for many of DC Comics' bestselling comic book and graphic novels, including All Star Batman and Robin, Batman: Hush, and Superman: For Tomorrow. He also serves as the creative director for the upcoming DC Universe Online videogame. Prior to DC, he was one of the founding fathers of Image Comics and best known for his run on the X-Men for Marvel Comics during which he co-created such characters as Gambit and Agent Zero. In his spare time, Jim enjoys a good laugh or two.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shell-head reborn, kind of, February 19, 2007

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heroes Reborn: Iron Man (Paperback)

In the mid-90's, Marvel decided to conclude their much maligned Onslaught storyline with the deaths of many of their top tier heroes. The Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, and the rest of the Avengers, all bought the big one as their respective titles were canned and re-launched with a new direction (allegedly) as Marvel teamed up with Wildstorm (before they became part of DC) to produce some new takes on old stories. Heroes Reborn: Iron Man finds our favorite alcoholic, shell-headed super hero reimagined (kind of) as he takes on the usual suspects in his rogue gallery. The only thing is, this book is so wildly inconsistent in terms of it's story and art (Jim Lee and Ed Benes can't save everything) that at times the whole shebang just seems incoherent. There's some nice ideas here and there, like a new twist on old Hulk villain the Abomination, but that's it. And at this price, that's simply not enough. Of all the Heroes Reborn books, the Fantastic Four one is the only one that really worth it's purchase price. If you're a die hard fan of Iron Man, this might be worth a look, but don't dare lay down the full price for this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It made sense at the time..., June 26, 2009

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heroes Reborn: Iron Man (Paperback)

Back in the mid 90's, Marvel handed control over their "flagship" titles (the ones that didn't start with X or Spider) to the hotshot artists from Image Comics for a year. The goal behind the "Heroes Reborn" project was that guys like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld could somehow repeat the runaway success they enjoyed with Marvel earlier in the decade and boost sales for Captain America, The Avengers, Fantastic Four and Iron Man. The characters were removed from continuity for the duration of the project so that Lee, Liefeld & company could get creative without bothering with decades of convoluted continuity. You know, just like the Ultimate Marvel Universe, only with bad writers. Sales did in fact increase for the four titles, but they were all marred by poor writing, uneven artwork (did anybody really expect any of these artists to draw 12 consecutive issues of anything?), and a needlessly complex new continuity.

The Heroes Reborn reboot of Iron Man was the title I was most interested in. I'm a big fan of the character, but by the 90's I had pretty much given up on the series, and Marvel had all but ruined the Tony Stark character (making him a time-traveling super-villain and replacing him with his teenage self) before this relaunch. Jim Lee was overseeing Iron Man, so there was at least some chance it wouldn't totally suck. Captain America and the Avengers didn't have a prayer with Liefeld at the helm.

Iron Man was written by Lee, Scott Lobdell, and Jeph Loeb during the 13-issue run. They put together a decent "back to basics" storyline that soon spiraled out of control. Early issues included the birth of the Hulk and conflicts with Hydra, but the sporadic Avengers crossovers, time traveling, and indistinguishable supporting cast made the title too hard to keep up with.

The artwork was uneven as well. Whilce Portacio was the main artist for the series, and managed to draw nearly 5 full issues. He has a very unique and, well...ugly (seriously, it's all scrunched faces and hideous long hair) style that was all wrong for a shining streamlined character like Iron Man. Fortunately Ryan Benjamin, Ed Benes, and even Jim Lee were able to give the book a better look.

The Heroes Reborn: Iron Man trade paperback contains the first 12 issues of the series. Issue #13 is not included, since it prominently featured characters from Jim Lee's Wildstorm Universe, which is now owned by rival publisher DC Comics. The omission of issue #13 doesn't harm the overall story, because after a few issues the story is too intertwined with the other Heroes Reborn titles to make sense anyway. Marvel did a great job in terms of paper quality, coloring, and including all of the various covers and bonus material for the series.

This series was a failure in just about every way, but at the time it really shook up the status quo. And if nothing else, the interested it generated in the return of the "real" Iron Man to the Marvel Universe helped put the character back to "major league" status with Marvel. If you're a serious Iron Man fan and have a few bucks to spare (you can get this book very cheap from Amazon's vendors), it's worth checking out. I can't give it a much higher recommendation than that though.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as bad as some say, October 12, 2009

By 

TMena (New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Heroes Reborn: Iron Man (Paperback)

I noticed some people did not like this graphic novel but I thought It was quite enjoyable and the artwork was fantastic. Having the avengers all in one book is not always so bad. Yes some of the time line was confusing but who cares its fantasy and its Jim lee and Whilce Portacio.