Wow. Just…wow. When my cousin told me that this book was amazing, I was kind of skeptical. But I must say, it really was that good. It was a fast read, as most graphic novels are, but a lot of why I read it so fast was because I was completely gripped by the story.
It probably helps that the book is written by Orson Scott Card, Science Fiction Legend. Granted I haven’t read any of his other books, and among my friends the consensus is that Ender’s Game is great, but his other books don’t quite compare. However, judging just by Ultimate Iron Man I think his reputation is deserved. Maybe he has his fair share of less than stellar books, but this book is a witness that he really is a good writer. He completely rewrites the Iron Man mythos, which I actually preferred, since there’s hardly any point in rewriting the origin story if you’re not going to add anything new. I’m looking at you, Ultimate Spider-Man.
I know that my past few reviews all follow a strict template, but I decided I didn’t want to use it this time, as I’d rather have the freedom to let my thoughts flow as they come to me. I’ll continue to try and keep things organized, but I don’t want to use a strict format right now. I might adopt it again, it did work pretty well for my more organized reviews, but at the moment I’m experimenting with format and such things, so we’ll see what works best.
Since I’ve also decided I don’t want to give too much away in these reviews, I’m going to try to refrain from mentioning the plot too much. Especially since most of this plot doesn’t even have anything to do with the original Iron Man story. In fact, a good portion is about his parents. Granted, for some people this deviation from the original might be a turn off, but I found it quite rewarding. It’s a new take on the Iron Man origin story, that completely changes everything, and brings fresh new material to the table. As such I would definitely rank Ultimate Iron Man Volume 1 over Ultimate Spider Man Volume 1. I don’t know how the story advances, but I’m definitely going to start reading this one, as I manage to get my hands on it.
This review may be shorter, but they don’t all need to be long, so I’m going to content myself with keeping this one short. Bottom line, this really is a good graphic novel. Is it Watchmen good? Probably not. Is it an enjoyable read? Definitely. And even if you end up not liking it, it really isn’t a very long read, so no time lost really. So you might as well give it a shot.
If you liked my review, but the Graphic Novel here:
Ultimate Iron Man, Vol. 1 Hardcover
Ultimate Iron Man Volume 1 Paperback
