Ultimate Iron Man, Vols. 1 & 2 by Cody Soden

Illustration

            The illustrations for Ultimate Iron Man are done by two different artists. Volume 1 is done primarily by Andy Kubert while Volume 2 is done by Pasqual Ferry. I was very impressed by the cohesiveness of the work and you really can't tell that it is done by two different artists. The art work has the feel of a classic Super Hero comic but with a more modern feel. Each page feels very finished and represents a polished, complete piece. The real give away from the artist switch is Andy Kubert uses black gutters and empty space where Pasqual Ferry uses primarily white gutter space.

Style of Writing

            One different thing in this novel is there is not much narration. Most all of the information you receive from the words is through dialog. I flipped through the novel again and found only a few frames that had narration which were just the classic location and date that helped you understand where the story was taking place. Each person in the story has a unique voice which helps the reader really hear the voices of each character. The story is exceptionally well put together and flows extremely well. Another difference I saw was with the lettering, most of the lettering was done in lower case, not the complete capital letters we are used to with Super Hero comics.

Narrative

            As suggested above, the narration of this story is entirely told through dialog. The only true narrative given from a narrator is when the scene changes and it tells you where this event is taking place. In a way this helped the story, in a way it hurt the story. It helped the story because you relate and understand the story through the characters points of view. I felt it limited the story because it really put a hindrance on the extra information that only a narrator could provide.

Significant Scene

            My favorite scene from this graphic novel is when Tony Stark is born. This scene is signicant because it really takes the reader out of the element of “super hero stuff” for the first time. Initially the story starts very typically, you see Howard Stark inventing stuff and being a boss running a mega corporation. Now however you see a very different version of Howard Stark, a father trying to save his son. It also presents a lot of sadness because Tony's mother dies during child birth because the pain of having Tony was too much for her to handle. When you read the comic you will understand why, it doesn't have anything to do with not wanting Tony but a series of events that lead up to it. This scene really impacted me because you seen Howard, holding Tony and saying “When you grow up and ask me, kid, I'll tell you: you saw your mother … and she held you. He's perfect Maria, you did good.” It just shows the humility and compassion of a Howard Stark we don't commonly know. From this scene you can tell how very different the concept of Iron Man will be in this graphic novel.