War Machine - Volume 1: Iron Heart (War Machine (Marvel)) [Paperback]

Greg Pak (Author), Leonardo Manco (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: War Machine (Marvel) | Publication Date: November 4, 2009

Rhodey versus Ares! Man versus Immortal! War Machine versus God of War! With the life of one of his oldest friends in the balance, Marvel's one man army must face the only warrior who can outdo his thirst for battle! Be there as armor meets axe, James Rhodes makes enemies in the highest places, and Dark Reign falls! Collects War Machine #1-5, plus Dark Reign story.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (November 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785131744
• ISBN-13: 978-0785131748
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Pak is a filmmaker and comic book writer best known for directing the award-winning feature film "Robot Stories" and writing the epic "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" storylines for Marvel Comics. He was named one of 25 Filmmakers to Watch by Filmmaker Magazine, described as "a talent with a future" by the New York Times, and named "Breakout Talent" of the year by Wizard Magazine.

Pak's run on Marvel's "Incredible Hulk" comic book included the much lauded "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" epics and was named the Best Ongoing Series of 2007 by Wizard Magazine. Pak created the character of Amadeus Cho, who won a 2005 Marvel.com fan favorite poll, and has written numerous Marvel miniseries, including the top-selling "X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong" and the critically acclaimed "Magneto Testament." Pak also wrote the "Battlestar Galactica" series for Dynamite and co-writes the fan favorite "Incredible Hercules" series with Fred Van Lente.

Pak edits AsianAmericanComics.com and AsianAmericanFilm.com and writes the "Pak Talks Comics" column for PakBuzz.com. He studied political science at Yale University, history at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and film production at the NYU graduate film program. He is represented by Sandra Lucchesi of the Gersh Agency, Los Angeles, and David Hale Smith of DHS Literary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Machine on a Mission, December 1, 2009

By 

P. W. West - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: War Machine - Volume 1: Iron Heart (War Machine (Marvel)) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this TPB. War machine's attitude in recent books is becoming quite similar to the Punisher's. His attitude isn't the only thing changing, War Machine has gained the ability to assimilate any technology into his war armor. In this book, they take that ability to the extreme and he turns in to many different things including a tank and a jet. Personally, I think they took this a little to far. The art in the book was excellent, and the story was great. You do learn quite a bit about Rhodes' history. I must add that, the best part of this book come with the battles with and against the god of war: Ares!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars War Machine Turns Transformers, August 23, 2009

By 

G. YEO "gyeo" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Machine Vol. 1: Iron Heart (Hardcover)

In a world without Iron Man, James Rhodes is a one-man army trying to keep order in a warmongering world where moral ambiguity and greed rule.

War Machine himself has moral doubts, but deep down he's still a hero trying to keep things in balance.

His goal is to reclaim his humanity but whether that will happen remains to be seen...

War Machine is one of the most consistent and violent Marvel titles out there - a cool blend of Iron Man meets Deathlok the Demolisher meets Transformers. (Does anyone know why Marvel made him so similar to Deathlok?) Part machine and part man, War Machine uses his in-built bazookas to blast 'em up - and is now able to morph himself into different war machines by pulling on available scrap weaponry around him - a very nice touch to the series. While earlier incarnations of War Machine's armor were simply clunkier versions of Iron Man - he's now a full fledged arsenal with his own powers, having "transformers" like abilities to change his appearance.

Ares the God of War adds a nice kick to this epic battle which incorporates the undead, viral technology, a love triangle, Tony Stark's ex girlfriend, mercenaries, innocent people and of course, the kitchen sink.

The appeal of the War Machine series like many of Marvel's running plotlines is its dark world and ala Deathlok the Demolisher, the quest for Rhodes to find his own humanity. War Machine remains a solid if ugly alternative to Iron Man...

4.0 out of 5 stars All Action, April 17, 2011

By 

Perkins "Perkins" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Machine - Volume 1: Iron Heart (War Machine (Marvel)) (Paperback)

This run of War Machine is almost exactly what it should be. The Art is incredible by Leonardo Manco, it's a perfectly sketchy gritty look but with clean lines and clear details of all the mechanics. There's some great splash pages. The Transformers inspired style for War Machine to adapt from the pieces of surrounding tanks or jets is genius, and plays off well. The whole first arc is pretty much intense action. It's awesome to see Ares with a machine gun, too. The story by Pak is decent and will appeal to fans of his Hulk run. But it's not on the level of Fraction's Iron Man right now. Since most readers will be coming from that camp, including myself, it's a little disappointing. There are hints of Rhode's past which are nice, but brief. And the subject matter for the present day is in the category of relevant current world events and terrorism but is never developed beyond caricature of those things. I wanted more. I had higher hopes for how they handled the terrorist corporation in a third world country stuff. And the plot is pretty basic, but fast and full of action. I don't mind that, but it could have slowed down a little to develop more meaning in all these events. They throw the words and rape and murder around too superficially for them to ring with any depth. It only refers to these rough topics without exploring them deeply. Still, Pak wanted to go crazy on action, and he follows through on that for sure, if nothing else. If that's all you want, you won't be unsatisfied. The art alone carries this story.