Superior Iron Man #5

Writer – Tom Taylor
Artist – Laura Braga
Colours – Guru-eFX

This issue spotlights Teen Abomination and his tragic origin tale.  Of course Tony does not care one single iota about poor Teen until he finds out who Teen’s father is.  Once that little fact is made known, then things change for the better, or at least as good as it is going to get with a Tony whose nice side has been turned off.  Tom Taylor strikes a good balance between the tragedy of one story played against the actions and the humour that is Tony’s life at the moment and it makes for a very entertaining read.  We find out that Teen’s mom used to work for Tony and that an accident at the lab was both responsible for his current situation and the death of his mother.  And as we discover all of this, Taylor also introduces another mystery to keep us coming back for more, not to mention giving Tony something to confound him for a while.  It should be pretty intriguing, especially if it ties into the revelation of who Teen’s father is, though it could just be a happy coincidence.  With each and every issue, Taylor continues to impress upon us the unusual attitude that our hero has been exhibiting and it has been a fun ride thus far, but what we still need to see is Tony interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe at large, especially the Avengers.  It is understandable why that confrontation is being held off though, for once it does happen, it is going to be huge and it could possibly be the end of this particular plotline.  Laura Braga takes on the artistic duties this issue and her pencils look great, continuing the style that was already established by Yildiray Cinar previously.  On the whole, the book is highly enjoyable and it is fun seeing Tony acting more like an ass than he usually does.

4 out of 5

Gotham by Midnight #4

Writer – Ray Fawkes
Artist – Ben Templesmith

After four issues, we are finally treated to an appearance by the big guy himself, the Spectre!  We also finally learn just what it is that has been plaguing everyone in Gotham, just what the supernatural phenomena is and how it has become so out of control that it takes the wrath of God to put a stop to it.  First off, this book would not be what it is without the extremely haunting pencils of Ben Templesmith.  They give the book a very moody atmosphere, one that pervades it completely and gives you that sense of a horror just under the surface, waiting to bubble up if given half the chance.  Ray Fawkes has been teasing us with the Spectre from the beginning and it was nice to finally see him bust loose to take care of business.  He appears a little unassuming at first, but soon Templesmith has him towering over Gotham and it is clearly one of the best moments of the entire book, seeing the character so much larger than life.  The mystery of the supernatural plagues finally makes itself known and it is a very interesting premise, one that could end up being a great story should Fawkes investigate the background of it.  A mention is good, but it would be nice to see some more about it.  In the larger scheme of things, it has been fantastic seeing all of these different sides to the Batman universe as of late and the mystical facet of Gotham is well represented here in Gotham by Midnight.

4 out of 5