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0|0|0|||1||Today%27s random old comic|Gryphon||18:24:44|01/11/2006|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jan-11-06 AT 09:47 PM (EST)]I was digging around in my comic TPBs and whatnot looking for %5Bi%5DEssential Iron Man%5B%2Fi%5D Vol. 1 %28which I seem to have misplaced%3B fortunately%2C the Essentials are cheap%2C so it%27s not like I managed to lose%2C say%2C %5Bi%5DDC Archive Editions%3A The Adam Strange Archives%5B%2Fi%5D%29.  Didn%27t find it%2C but I did come across a ten-year-old oddball one-shot that%27s one of my favorite comics.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt%27s a strange little not-quite-a-GN%2C not-quite-a-special-issue thing from the Marvel Select line wearing the old %5Bi%5DTales from Suspense%5B%2Fi%5D title%3B in it is a Captain America-Iron Man team-up story.  %28The title%27s a nice touch%2C given that back in the old days%2C %5Bi%5DTales from Suspense%5B%2Fi%5D was an anthology series that%2C at its height%2C had an Iron Man feature and a Captain America feature back-to-back in each issue.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AThe art%27s kind of iffy - it%27s painted rather than drawn traditionally%2C which can work but more often just ends up feeling weird to me - but the writing %28by James Robinson%2C later of %5Bi%5DStarman%5B%2Fi%5D fame%2C though I had never heard of him at the time%29 makes up for it.  Cap and Shellhead team up to help SHIELD deal with a terrorist group led by one of Cap%27s old enemies and employing cheap knockoffs of Iron Man%27s armor.  They weren%27t getting along all that well in the comics at the time%2C but being professionals %28and old friends%2C recent strains notwithstanding%29 they keep things cordial.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe fun part is the way the book looks at each character through the other%27s eyes.  Steve Rogers spends much of the book silently envying Tony Stark his technical sophistication%2C his firepower%2C his brilliance - seeing in Iron Man an ultimate weapon beside which he%27s just a relic of a byegone age.  Tony spends the same time silently envying Cap for his lack of dependence on technological crutches%2C his clarity of purpose%2C his bravery and goodheartedness - seeing in Captain America a symbol of what true heroism is%2C beside which he%27s just a rich boy tucked safely away in an armored suit.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe end is predictable enough%2C I suppose - Iron Man has to save the day without his weapons and gadgets%2C using only his wits and courage%2C while Cap first adopts technology to take on a foe more powerful than he thinks he can beat without it%2C then learns painfully that what he%27s always succeeded with is all he really needs.  But for all that it%27s predictable - and even a little trite by today%27s moody post-modern standards - it%27s fun and%2C yeah%2C even a little heart-warming.  Shellhead and Cap have always been an interesting team-up - the man of tomorrow and the living symbol of WWII victory%2C and all that - and at their best they%27re a very compelling pair of characters to have sharing a stage.%0D%0A%0D%0AOh%2C and I almost forgot - the book also has an old-school anime reference in it%2C which was pretty esoteric for an American comic in 1994. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Admin%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0A
1|1|0|||||RE%3A Today%27s random old comic|BZArcher||20:56:36|01/11/2006|Did they give it an actual issue %23%2C or should I just start hitting up comic shops looking for the Marvel Selects%3F I%27d like to read that book.
2|2|1|||1||RE%3A Today%27s random old comic|Gryphon||21:36:39|01/11/2006|%3EDid they give it an actual issue %23%2C or should I just start hitting up %0D%0A%3Ecomic shops looking for the Marvel Selects%3F I%27d like to read that %0D%0A%3Ebook. %0D%0A%0D%0AIt doesn%27t appear to have an issue number on the outside.  The inside fine print calls it %22Tales of Suspense Vol. 2 No. 1%2C January%2C 1995%22.  It%27s pretty distinctive - the cardstock covers only have artwork on them%2C and the logos%2Flettering%2FUPC and whatnot are printed on transparent plastic covers outside %27em.  I have no other comics like it.%0D%0A%0D%0AActually%2C %5Blink%3Awww.milehighcomics.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbackissue.cgi%3Faction%3Dfullsize%26issue%3D85558663332%25201%7Chere.%5D  That%27ll make things easier.  Even if you decide not to buy it from MHC%2C you%27ll at least know what it looks like.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Admin%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0A
3|3|2|||||RE%3A Today%27s random old comic|BZArcher||22:08:17|01/11/2006|%2Ayoink%21%2A%0D%0A%0D%0AThankya.