IRON MAN vol. 3 #79 (424): (June 2004) "Meeting Hell" -- The Deep End, part 1.
Cover art: Adi Granov.
Script: John Jackson Miller.
Art: Philip Tan.
Mystery introduction: Several U.S. troops in Iraq encounter a nerdy college student who thinks he's discovered the center of the "Assyrian cult of Ishtar." Suddenly, the soldiers are picked off one by one by an unseen force -- and we catch a glimpse of a female figure (albeit apparently glowing and heated) approaching the college kid and him screaming "NOOOOOOO!" Cut to Washington DC, where Tony Stark is being sworn in as Secretary of Defense! In attendance are the Avengers, but that scarcely matters as Stark promptly goes to work! He "lays down the law" at his first Pentagon meeting, much to the dismay of the assembled bureaucracy! Later, at the White House, the main man himself, President Bush, informs Tony that he'll be headed to Iraq to determine what's been causing unusual damage to U.S. equipment (and troops). Mystery epilogue: A figure who's clearly hostile to the notion of "Secretary Stark" appears to be in armor -- and is mighty angry!! Hoo-boy! My guess on the baddy's ID: Firebrand!
Jackson's script works very well once again, as he demonstrates his knowledge of bureaucratic jungle known as Washington. The pacing could have been better -- for instance, the introductions at the Pentagon meeting take four panels (a whole page). But that's probably being picky. Tan's art, on the other hand, is absolutely putrid! I've haven't seen so many lines on peoples' faces since the last time I saw a Charles Bronson movie! Tan has a distinct Rob Leifeld-ish influence, but he clearly overdoes it with needless additional inking. Ugh. Thus, unfortunately, this ish gets a sub-par
Hube's Recommendation: 2 1/2 repulsors!
Fan Reaction: I really like the story telling of John J. Miller he is doing a fantastic job of keeping continuity up from previous issues (not to mention from the Crimson Dynamo series) plus keeping stories inline with the whole Iron Man mythology. I also think that it pretty cool that he cares enough to check the site out and e-mail his own answers to questions that you and others have raised. However, issue 424 was not with out some faults. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the new storyline but, it hit a little to close to home. Perhaps, Marvel has truly reached its goal of realist comics. I read comics to escape as most people do and even though I find this new story intriguing I can turn on the news to see that soldiers have died in Iraq not read about it in a comic. Second, I am not a fan of the art on this issue. All the people look as if they have sand on their face or they are suffering from some type of chemical or biological weapons attack. Also, this new storyline seems to be shaping up like the last no real use of the armor until the last issue show down. Kind of reminds me of the old Spider-Man movies that would come on TV you would have to watch the whole thing to see Spider-Man at the end. Overall the stories are much better than they were. Finally, someone is writing this book that cares about the book. It’s too bad that Miller will be leaving after this story line. -- SZKZ
Fan Reaction 2: I agree with you. Philip Tan's artwork is awful. --
