Written by by Dean Hale
Art by Douglas Holgate
Published by Abrams Books
This was a cute and enjoyable book that had a little heft to it. I am really enjoying these collaborations between Marvel Comics and Abrams Books. They are putting out some really entertaining and truly cool releases.
Like all of the other books from the Abrams line, it has a very unique story with some interesting artwork.
Despite the clean simplicity of the art, there is more going on underneath the surface of the writing than you originally think.
This is the fourth installment, each of them features a team up-between two Marvel characters.
This volume has Iron Man and Doctor Strange and teaming up. Personally, I thought it was awesome to utilize these two characters as they generally veer more toward an adult audience as characters. Hale has a good take on them both, and writes incredibly interesting characterizations that young people can enjoy, while not totally ignoring that these characters have mature elements about them.
Iron Man in this story is shown to have a huge reliance on technology.
Tony Stark lives and breathes science. Anything that comes his way, he generally uses the tech to aid him in dealing with it. Even little things that should be simple, Tony uses some kind of tech.
This is when Doctor Strange comes in. Stephen Strange actually questions Tony’s addiction to tech. He thinks, surely Tony can’t be that dependent on it? Yet, he finds that Tony and Iron Man are hopelessly too deep into their electronic relationships.
Chaos then erupts at Avengers Tower. It seems like the entire world might just be in peril! Iron Man is quick to the scene! Doctor Strange shows up as well. They then realize that they have to go up against Gargantos, who is a threat unlike anything that either of our heroes have come up against before!
There is an army of these creatures marching across New York City and wrecking anything that comes across their path! The pair of heroes have a tough time initially trying to take this army out. Things start to get a little bleak for a while.
Tony Stark then has to confront his relationship and reliance on technology head on. I like that this theme is so prevalent in this story. It is at the forefront of every panel. The artist does a good job in showing Tony’s struggle, and it never comes across as too heavy handed. For a book aimed for kids, the creators do have a way of keeping everything as light as can be.
Gargantos has its children missing and it is wrecking havoc everywhere it goes. It is a mystical threat as well. There seemingly is no way to stop its terrible rage.
Yet, Iron Man and Doctor Strange form a plan. It is seen as something not far off from a “Hail Mary!” kind of plan. Can they stop this terrible creature from creating more destruction? Is it even a terrible creature to begin with? A lot of questions are asked at every turn of this vibrant story.
The whole story leads to a crazy conclusion.
It is pretty clear and obvious what the proverbial “twist” of the story was going to be. But I didn’t mind at all. The execution by the creative team make the whole thing worth it. I was actually caught up in the proceedings so I hardly cared. At the end of the story, both Iron Man and Doctor Strange advance a little bit as characters. They do so in a new way as well, and it is done in a different way than we have seen before.
All in all, this book is a blast. The story by Dean Hale is really quite strong and the characterizations of the two main characters are really great. The artwork by Douglas Holgate is really pitch perfect here. He gets the story beats down nicely, and it is an easy and accessible read. This is a great book for the younger generation but it also doesn’t exclude adults either.
I enjoyed this very much and hopefully the creative team gets to explore this world again.
RATING: B+
You must be logged in to post a comment Login