Iron Patriot #1

Ales Kot - Writer

Garry Brown - Artist + Cover

Jim Charalampidis - Colorist

VC’s Clayton Cowles - Letterer

 

Ales Kot. Iron Patriot. BOOM! That’s what I originally thought when heading into this new chapter. For the most part, I was extremely happy when reading this new book. However, I still was waiting for that initial BOOM like a lightning rod that hit when I was reading Secret Avengers by Kot. The opening tease was a nice bit of revelation that definitely had me hoping for the second coming of great comics. It is also worth noting that there is no line of dialogue in this issue that is inherently bad. The personal life of James Rhodes is some of the best writing that I have seen since Matt Fraction’s tenure on Iron Man. There is an undeniable level of soul that will speak to you in a manner that has been missing from the backstory of Iron Patriot for a really long time.

 

When launching a book like this, usually Marvel will get a lackluster artist and an abysmal creative team. This is not the case with the new series, as Garry Brown brings a lot to define the visual language in the new chapter of the life of Rhodey. The scratchy pencil lines bring a modern master like Sean Murphy to mine, yet Brown definitely has a succinct style of his own when rendering talking heads. It is great to see such a clear difference in how the people in this comic are drawn, versus how the different robots are depicted. At times, there can be slightly too much shadow, and it also seems as if some moments in the issue are better drawn the others. Even the low points do not stand out too much though, and for the most Brown’s art is more than the sum of it’s parts. With great lines, lots of nice shadows, and multiple art styles blending into one, Garry Brown’s art is nothing short of impressive.

 

Even though there is never that earth shattering moment in which the world of the Iron Patriot breaks in half, this is still another really strong Marvel book. Kot has a lot of promise that could serve to elevate the series from good to great going forward. The beginning also could hold a secret to the missing link that was seemingly coming in the back half of the issue. The political intrigue is also a nice aspect of comics that is rarely explored, and sought after in a couple of oddball scenes in the title. Often writers stumble in trying to find exactly how to jumble these separate elements, but Kot and Brown may have the key to unlocking some of the untapped potential that is hiding in the Iron Patriot. If the interesting cliffhanger and cover leave any clues to what is happening next, it seems likely that something big is cooking for the War Machine.

While Brown and Kot don’t sweep out the rug underneath the reader’s feet, they do begin a solid new entry into the Iron Patriot’s legacy.