Superior Iron Man #7

Writer – Tom Taylor
Artist – Yildiray Cinar, Felipe Watanabe
Inker – Yildiray Cinar, Ruy Jose
Colours – Guru-eFX

Coming off the last issue, Tony finds himself a prisoner of his former self, specifically a suit of armour imprinted with his memories from an earlier time.  So now there is a Tony who has been inverted and a Tony that has not and if things go accordingly, new-Tony will disappear in favour of his past.  Of course, things do not always go according to plan.  This book has been firing on all cylinders as of late and that can be attributed to the sharp writing of Tom Taylor and Yildiray Cinar’s great pencils, though he gets a little help from Felipe Watanabe this particular issue.  The book is a lot of fun and this issue provides a lot of entertainment as the Mark II armour go up against Tony’s latest.  You would obviously think that the Mark II has no chance whatsoever as there have been many advancements since Tony designed it, but the fact of the matter is that the Mark II is also a Stark designed suit of armour and no matter how old, they are built to last and to go up against obstacles that might seem otherwise unstoppable.  When the Mark II eventually gets the upper hand, Tony of course always has something up his sleeve and it is no different in this instance.  While the action is great, the conversation the two have is equally interesting, especially as the current Tony tries to figure out what it is that his younger self wants and even more so when he remembers what he was like at that time and what designs he had on Pepper, who of course is listening in on said conversation until she is abruptly cut off.  The book ends on quite an ominous note and hopefully it does not lead to anything that Tony cannot take back, though even if it does, there is every chance that Secret Wars will wipe it out.  So far it has been great seeing Tony playing at hero, a self-serving one for sure and one who might think he has everyone’s best interests at heart, but we also know that there is a darker side to the man, one that we have only glimpsed as of yet.  Perhaps next issue that darker Tony will put in an appearance.

4 out of 5

The October Faction #6

Writer – Steve Niles
Artist – Damien Worm
Colours – Alyzia Zherno

Robot Face is holding Frederick’s son hostage and frankly, after everything they have been going through as a family of late, that is unacceptable, especially for Delores.  So taking matters into her own hands, she manages to get the villain away from her boy and instead of dealing with him in a permanent manner; they instead try something that most do not – kindness.  Revelations abound in the latest issue from Damien Worm and Steve Niles and it is a lot of fun to say the least.  Robot Face or Dante which is his real name, is soon welcomed into the family which is a little surprising as only earlier he was an adversary, but Dante is just a misunderstood kid who does not know any better and does not have all the facts in his possession which is why he did what he did.  There is also another little bombshell which involves Geoff and Vivian, but it lacks impact as they already knew the little secret that Frederick and Delores had been hiding from them.  The October Faction is a book about family more than anything else.  Sure, there is a lot of crazy usually going on and there always seems to be some kind of strange villain or creature or what have you but when it comes right down to it, it is a book about the bonds that are strongest and as such it tends to resonate with the reader as everyone has family, whether you like them or not.  With a little bit of a cliff-hanger to end the book on, readers are left eagerly awaiting the next issue.

4 out of 5