Iron Man #1

By Kieron Gillen and Greg Land
You may recall my glowing praise for the last issue of Iron Man by Matt Fraction and Salvador LaRocca. Dynamic, exciting and full of humor and drama...

Sadly all of that is thrown to the gutter with the 'Marvel Now!' version of Iron Man introduced this week. It's a shame since Gillen's script is at least serviceable (if not up to par with his X-Men or Journey into Mystery work) but is hampered by the trace-art-work of Greg Land, a man so lacking in talent that one has to wonder why he still gets hired for any comic book, let alone a high-profile issue such as this.

The artwork that involves Stark in the Iron Man armor is fine, but any time a human face is featured it falls apart.

What's even more bizarre is that the previous Iron Man series ended with Stark heading to the stars to get his head together, no doubt resulting in his inclusion for the new Guardians of the Galaxy series. So imagine my surprise when Stark is seen grinning like a corpse talking about his well-earned reprieve. Maybe it's a simulacrum and not Stark at all, that may explain his non-stop lunatic grin. The action is definitely trying to break out from the staid and awkwardly stiff line-work of Land's tracing table.

I also have to wonder why Emma Frost is having a drink with Tony Stark as it appears to be her in the sample below. Nope, it's just one of three women that Land chooses to draw in every project he works on.

Look at what I can do with my tracing table!

I hate to be so negative about anything but given the importance of this new series and the launch of Marvel Now! along with the normally high quality of Gillen's writing... I have to voice my disappointment along with my dropping this monthly comic from my pull list for the first time in about six years. Gillen has it in him to take up the mantle from Fraction, but he needs a solid artist to support him and make this series great again.