Product Description: Iron Man faces his most untouchable foe in criminal industrialist Justin Hammer and his literal army of super-villains! But can the Armored Avenger overcome an even more implacable personal demon, invulnerable to technology or wealth? Guest-starring Ant-Man and the Sub-Mariner! Collects Iron Man #120-128.
The story that changed Tony Stark forever This is a collection that really shouldn't be ignored if you're a fan of Iron Man as it tells the story that developed Tony Stark's character by adding alcoholism to his list of human frailties. Although this isn't the story where Stark hits rock bottom (and is temporarily replaced by Jim Rhodes as the Golden Avenger) it was at the time a bold move in an industry that was heavily censored by the Comics Code Authority.
The book mostly centers around Justin Hammer's plot to ruin Stark which leads to a lot of classic, high action adventures. It's a lot different than super hero comics today which are designed to be sold in trade paperback format and for the most part does not deal at the issue of alcoholism until the end, though it does hint at it along the way. These issues are the highpoint of David Michelinie and and Bob Layton's first Iron Man run with superb pencils by John Romita Jr. Michelinie and Layton would team up a few years later to bring us the Armor Wars storyline which is in my opinion THE definitive Iron Man story.
In any case, if there are any Iron Man stories deserving of a hardcover collectors edition, this one is it. New fans and old should check this one out, especially if they're only familiar with the post Civil War or movie version of Tony Stark.
Iron Man's best story in it's best format The story is classic by now and known not only to Iron Man fans, so the contex of this book won't be reviewed here. What is worth saying is the top quality paper and wonderfull job done at the colours. Additional credits should be given for the hard cover and the jacket illustration. Every issue comes with it's original cover.
This is Iron Man and Marvel at their best. May many more stories follow in same format.
The first of Michelinie and Layton's home runs. There was apparently an Iron Man animated series running in the early 90s, the period of my youth, when I wasted many an hour watching episodes of Batman, Spider-Man, and X-Men, making me lifelong fans of all three franchises; however, I never saw so much as one episode of the Iron Man show, and so I never developed much interest in the character (or the entire Avengers franchise in general, which was absent from the screens in that era, only arriving in highly diluted form after the big boom was over). Once I started reading comics, I gradually became familiar with him, and with the big movie on the way (which looks great), we're seeing a renaissance of Iron Man product; this is often heralded as Tony's big story, so I bought the very nice-looking Premier edition, collecting the nine-issue "Demon in a Bottle" arc (which, in the tradition of older comics, is really a series of one-, two-, or three-parters linked by a common subplot.
The overall verdict: pretty good stuff. Certainly quite readable, and Michelinie and Layton largely avoid smothering the pages with captions, giving Romita Jr. room to work, something Chris Claremont never learned to do (not to say there aren't plenty of captions; much more than you'd find in a modern comic; in particular, there's the understandable need for each issue to recap, in space ranging from a few panels to a few pages, the preceding issue, which is rather awkward in a modern collected edition which this story clearly wasn't written with in mind).
This is trumpeted as Tony's big brush with alcoholism, but for all but the last issue or so that's deep-background; the main plot involves the newly-introduced Justin Hammer's attempts to undermine Stark Industries by various means, which is just the main of many pressures building on Stark that drive him to drink (including a notably unresolved plot introduced before this collection even begins involving SHIELD, but the ending provides a sort of "go get `em" closure where you know Tony will get by fine now that he's got his winning edge).
The principle supporting cast is Bethany Cabe and James Rhodes; the former, Tony's new love interest (with some discreetly implied casual sex in a hotel), is a memorable character; Rhodey's fine here, though he hasn't yet become War Machine (or even found out about his boss's real name). Also present are the Avengers (notably a sparring session with Captain America), the late Ant-Man II (a Michelinie creation), and Namor (there are few better choices for a misunderstanding-fight than Namor, given his nature). One thing I found kind of amusing is the status of secret identities here: nobody knows who Tony is; not Cap or any of the other Avengers, not Bethany or Rhodey, not Ant-Man (particularly notable, since Tony doesn't know Scott is Ant-Man either); it feels a bit forced, really, but it's not anything close to a real issue. I really like Romita Jr.'s art here; nowadays his stuff is just boxy and ugly, but the classic look is wonderful.
Worth it for nostalgia's sake One of the most important moments in Iron Man's history occurs in Demon in a Bottle, which makes it worth picking up for nostalgia's sake if nothing else. While villain Justin Hammer rears his ugly head, Tony "Iron Man" Stark takes on his toughest opponent: alcoholism. While David Michelinie (who's run on the title is the closest thing Iron Man ever had to a definitive writer) attempts to give a powerful/human story here, the issue gets resolved way too quickly for anyone to consider it believable. Not to mention that the book comes off as quite dated thanks to the atrocious dialogue and overall lame conflict and storyline. Despite that though, Demon in a Bottle marks a historic moment in the Iron Man mythos, and the artwork from Bob Layton and John Romita Jr. isn't bad either. All in all, Demon in a Bottle is worth picking up for nostalgia's sake alone for Iron Man fans, but all others should proceed with caution.
A bit dated, but still worth a read I picked this up thinking that it would be all about Tony and his drinking problem. imagine my surpize to find it only happened in the last issue in this collection. Now, I can surmize the point of the issue, but its a real letdown than one would expect.
it gets three stars because even though it was a good read, the real questions that the book clames to tackle ultimately get resolved too quickly to prove lasting.
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