What If... Doctor Doom was Iron Man?

[samurainoir]

WHAT IF? IRON MAN: DEMON IN AN ARMOR
Story by Bob Layton & David MichelinIe
Written by DAVID MICHELINIE
Penciled by GRAHAM NOLAN
Cover by BOB LAYTON
Back-Up Story By RICK REMENDER & SHAWN MOLL
Would Tony Stark still be Iron Man...if he wasn't Tony Stark? Twenty years ago, in a college experiment gone bad, the young Stark's mind is transferred to the body of impoverished but brilliant fellow student, Victor von Doom! Blamed for the unsanctioned research, his memory wiped clean, Tony is deported and forced to face life as a disgraced Latverian commoner. Meanwhile, von Doom grows and flourishes in the wealth and privilege of being sole heir to Stark Industries. Thus, in separate cauldrons on different sides of the world, both Iron Man and Dr. Doom are forged anew. But who are the men inside the armors...really? Find out in "WHAT IF TONY STARK HAD BECOME DR. DOOM?", co-plotted and written by David Michelinie ("IRON MAN: THE END"), pencilled by Graham Nolan ("X-MEN FOREVER") and co-plotted and inked by Bob Layton ("HERCULES: TWILIGHT OF A GOD"). PLUS, What If: The Venom Symbiote Possessed Deadpool - Part 3!
40 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

[johnmiic]

At least it was written & drawn by the old Iron Man team. I still like the What if Doctor Doom had become Sorcerer Supreme from years ago.

[clemso]

If true, mego was a head of its time

[jds1911a1]

give a whole new tangent to the demon in a bottle story line of the 80's

[samurainoir]

The Big Two do throw the old-school Fan-Man a bone every now and then.

They also let Michelinie and Layton do Iron Man The End a while back, as well as another Iron Man vs Doom book to make it a trilogy (that fits into a nice collected volume I'm sure).


I'm wondering how well Claremont fans have been responding to the X-Men Forever books.

Over at DC, with Len Wein on Legacies, Giffen and Dematties on Booster Gold, there is still stuff for the fans of the seventies/eighties creators.

[Earth 2 Chris]

That's cool that Michiline and Layton are doing some Iron Man, but that "The End" logo is hideous!

Chris

[The Toyroom]

Over at DC...Giffen and Dematties on Booster Gold, there is still stuff for the fans of the seventies/eighties creators.

Giffen and DeMatteis on Booster Gold BLOWS! I dropped the book...I couldn't make heads or tails outta what was going on...TOO MANY words balloons...Ugh, talk about dialogue overkill. And I wasn't too impressed by what I gather was the plot....Their Justice League stuff was good at first but it got crappy real quick with the Manga Khan, L-Ron stuff and it looks like their turn at Booster solo is suffering the same fate....Bwah Ha Ha BLAH!

[samurainoir]

It helps to have a sense of humour about your superheroes when you're reading it!

Manga Khan, L-Ron, J'onn eating Oreos, G'Nort, Brain Damaged Guy Gardner, overweigh Blue Beetle, Barda and Scott trying to have an average life in the 'burbs. COMIC books.

Sometimes you need some chuckles to clear the palet from all the Blackest Night killing and unkilling, Identity Crisis fin-rape, neck snapping pant wearing Wonder Woman goodness.

[The Toyroom]

Not that I didn't have a sense of humor ("One Punch", Hawkman lamenting how this wasn't "his" Justice League, and other stuff) about their run on JLA but I just thing it got ridiculous and ruined some characters for a long time (Beetle and Booster specifically).

Maybe it's because it doesn't seem like their bringing anything new to the table with this latest run on Booster Gold (AND it's such a juxtaposition from what Dan Jurgens was doing on the book). I also had similar problems with Giffen's last attempt on Ambush Bug. Used to be a BIG fan of Ambush Bug....not so much anymore. It was a trainwreck IMO.

[jds1911a1]

Giffen and DeMatteis on Booster Gold BLOWS! I dropped the book...I couldn't make heads or tails outta what was going on...TOO MANY words balloons...Ugh, talk about dialogue overkill. And I wasn't too impressed by what I gather was the plot....Their Justice League stuff was good at first but it got crappy real quick with the Manga Khan, L-Ron stuff and it looks like their turn at Booster solo is suffering the same fate....Bwah Ha Ha BLAH!

I actually LOVED all that foolishness but I think this is an example of "you can't go home again" it worked then becuase it was fresh. now it feels like a re-run and why should you be happy to buy the story you already bought 18 years ago (was it really that long ago....I guess I need to start saying it's not the mileage it's the years)

[samurainoir]

Not that I didn't have a sense of humor ("One Punch", Hawkman lamenting how this wasn't "his" Justice League, and other stuff) about their run on JLA but I just thing it got ridiculous and ruined some characters for a long time (Beetle and Booster specifically).

With all respect, I beg to differ. That run is what made them fan-favourites! The Charlton BB issues that introduced Kord, though acclaimed, were hardly a blip, and no one really remembers their original solo eighties run in the same way they do when they were paired up in JLI.

I actually pinpoint their subsequent inability to sustain through the nineties and most of the new millennium with the subsequent creative teams... and unfortunately that puts the crosshairs on Jurgans... particularly via the Death of Superman/Doomsday stunt. Plus all the unnamed creators that followed... (I want to say Gerard Jones and Dan Vado?) that so half-heartedly put them through their uninspired "Bwahaha paces" without the fondness to the characters themselves. When that didn't work, the ridiculous Image style artwork, gritted teach, armoured costuming and "Extreme Justice".


The less I say about L.A.W. Living Assault Weapons, the better.


Just like Iron Fist and Power Man couldn't support their own solo series, pair them up with the right creative team and some kind of odd alchemy happens.

Maybe it's because it doesn't seem like their bringing anything new to the table with this latest run on Booster Gold (AND it's such a juxtaposition from what Dan Jurgens was doing on the book). I also had similar problems with Giffen's last attempt on Ambush Bug. Used to be a BIG fan of Ambush Bug....not so much anymore. It was a trainwreck IMO.

But that is the point isn't it? I certainly don't go looking at a Giffen/Dematties project for anything new. I want my jolt of nostalgia. However, I think they really have refined the concept of a Superhero sitcom into a well oiled machine and you can see an advancement in their craft through their return to JLI in the "Formerly" and "I can't believe" minis, Marvel's Defenders, Hero Squared, Metal Men and now Booster Gold. No other comic book out there is the equivalent of "Friends" or "Seinfeld", that is what makes them a standout, and I get why fans aren't on board when they think they are supposed to be laughing AT the characters they love.

Wordiness aside, I think Dematties does some of the best and snappiest dialogue in comics... which is perfect for Giffen's bombastic plotting. There is a real conversational quality and rythm to it. Kind of like Sorkin or Mamet (of which there are as many haters as fans as well). I really see the lack of it in the pages of JL Generation Lost.

Not largely into Jurgans as a writer, but I get it. There is a certain degree of old-school superhero action that he really delivers well to his fans. That illusion of change without any real change. And my point being, it's not like they have shown Jurgans the door... he's still writing Booster Gold in Time Masters.

The great thing is, there seems to be something for everyone at DC. So Anthony gets to read Legacies and Time Masters, and Ed gets to read Booster Gold again on his rocking chair for a while between spraying kids with the hose for trespassing on my lawn.

[samurainoir]

As for Giffen, I'm really starting to get into his Doom Patrol. You might appreciate the most recent appearances of AB there. Like his Action Comics stuff, he has inexplicable shown up without any kind of explanation. He quickly steals a scene for a quick laugh and leaves without any of the unnecessary mugging that typifies is minis.



I nearly laughed myself onto the floor when he did the recap page on the last issue to the tune of "Beverly Hillbillies" in that old fashioned Mad Magazine style.