Before anyone says anything, I would like to say that “No”, I am not an Iron Man fanatic nor am I recommending the book because of the upcoming movie this week. But this is a graphic novel that I would recommend even to the non-comic fan.

The true reason i read this novel was because of two other graphic novels before it turned me on to it. The Ultimates Volumes 1 and 2. Although those graphic novels spanned what happened in the lives of various heroes, there were references to Iron Man that made me want to know a little bit more about the character. Keeping in mind that this takes place in another Marvel Universe, questions about this character kept rearing around like: Why does everyone know Tony Stark is Iron Man? What is that liquid that keeps pouring out of him when he takes off his armor? Why hasn’t anyone acknowledge his excessive drinking in almost every scene as if there wasn’t a problem with alcohol? Especially since he works for S.H.E.I.L.D.!

I was extremely impressed with the origin in this storyline, particularly because it was completely different than the story we all knew for the past 30+ years. Without spoiling the story, I will say this delves much deeper than the character of Tony Stark himself. It goes back even before he was born. Tony becomes both blessed and cursed with becoming a genius. That is all that I can say for now.

The art, done by Andy Kubert and Mark Bagely were very good. There was no over abundance of color or “flashiness”. And there wasn’t any panel that confused what the artist were trying to convey. I felt that Orson Scott Card has outdone himself with the writing and I look forward to reading Vol. 2 of this graphic novel.

The trade paperback of this novel comes with quite a few features in the back. Features include a “Rough Cut” scripting of the first scene, showing rough sketches, Variant pencil and color sketches of the cover art. Conceptual Art of Iron Man including some that did not make the cut. It also provides a brief overview of the origin of Iron Man including his time with The Ultimates.

I definitely recommend this book.

Pictures of my little adventure are on the way. (I promise)

• #6 Play Games - There is a dedicated section of the Comic Con that has multiple tables for participation in various games. Comprising of mostly RPG’s like Dungeons and Dragons and card games such as MAGIC. There are tournaments that take place and the winner takes home some cool prizes (including cash). But its not just limited to just Role Playing Games. There are video game tournaments as well. This years convention featured games like Super Smash Brothers, Metal Gear Solid 4 Online, Quake Wars, and Iron Man.
• #7 Watch Previews – This is where they show extended trailers of upcoming movies. Dark Knight Returns, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were in full rotation this year. You really can’t hear any of it because of all the commotion. But I don’t think it will matter to us fans.
• #8 Meet B-List Celebrities – Some stars from the show Heroes made an appearance, and so did Lou Ferrigno. If you are willing to wait on long lines to meet them, then go all out. But be warned, you may be asked to pay a fee meet them. I wanted to just take a picture with the Incredible Hulk himself. But I took a glance at the sign and they wanted to charge me $30 to just take a picture. Now I wouldn’t mind paying money to take a pic with a celebrity I guess. But $30 for a guy who’s last acting job was as a neighbor on the King of Queens (for only 3 episodes)?…I don’t think so.
• #9 Meet the Real Celebrities – Theses are the creators of the comic book characters we all know and love. And the best part is they don’t charge you for shaking their hand. I got to meet the creator of the Joker character, Jerry Robinson there. The man is old…but he can still draw with best of them. I also got to meet the creator of Ghost Rider, Gary Friedrich. He’s currently suing Marvel and Sony over the movie of the same name.
• #10 The Artist Alley – This is probably the best reason to go to this convention. A section of the floor is dedicated to “the starving artist”. There are so many artists with great ideas just waiting to be discovered. I know I haven’t visited all of them but when I will showcase some of them on this site when I get all my souvenirs in order. Not only do you meet the artist and writers, you can even meet the models that they were based from. Some of them give you their art for free or for a low price just to get their name out there. Very very innovative stuff.

On Saturday April 19th, 2008, I attended my first Comic Book convention in New York. On my adventure I began noting some of the things I enjoyed and not enjoyed through it. With these notes, I created a list detailing how to get the best out of a Comic Book convention. This is aimed mainly at newcomers, but if there are more that should be posted, feel free to comment on them.

Pictures are on the way.

• #1: Enjoy the Art – There are so many vendors out there displaying the sculptures of superheroes and movie icons that it would be almost a sin to miss out on them. The amount of detail and work they put into some of them are uncanny. Even if collecting statues / action figures is not your pleasure, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not checking them out.
• #2: Check out the Costumes - Just like what I said above, it’s fun to see the amount of people who put their hard work into creating these costumes.
• #3: Read / Buy Comics – It wouldn’t be a comic book convention without comic books right? There are plenty of vendors selling them at much discounted prices. You can catch up on all issues you may have missed, or get entire story lines for a cheap price. It ranges from 25 – 95% off the cover price. Pretty Snazzy eh?
• #4: Watch for Scammers – When viewing the art of that the vendors displayed, I was becoming more and more tempted to buy one of them. Lo and Behold there was the most beautiful statue staring at me. It was a chrome plated 12″ statue of The Silver Surfer.
  The way he was meant to be displayed. When I asked the lady how much it was, she had the nerve to say $4000. Yes, you read that right…FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS (in American currency). Now I’ve seen better looking models for much less. There were other items there that seemed largely inflated. My advice, do your research first before putting a down payment on the item in question.
• #5: FREE Giveaways – Yes, free giveaways. There are always people out there willing to sell you a product by giving away a sample of it. Prizes can ranging from comic books, DVDs and toy props. Take advantage! You know the old saying, “There is no price better than free”.