Bill Janzen/David Wallace Comic Reviews

The closing sequence sees Land hand the art chores back to the Dodsons, who create a suitably sinister sense of foreboding that helps to stop the issue's conclusion from feeling too neat and tidy. I look forward to seeing what happens in the next issue, as it looks as though Fraction is going to switch his focus to the attempts of Beast and his "X-Club" team of scientists to research the original catalyst for mutation. That sounds like a storyline with a lot more promise than this one, so I'll stick around to see whether the writer can put this book back on track after the lacklustre diversion of the last few issues.

Invincible Iron Man's second arc is shaping up to be just as compelling as the first, with a real energy and fast-moving plot that evokes cat-and-mouse chase/espionage movies like Enemy of the State or The Fugitive. The only weakness is the slightly disjointed feel that comes from juggling three completely separate plot strands, but I fully expect these to converge in the near future. This issue ends on a cliffhanger that makes me slightly concerned that next issue's fight isn't going to feel quite as natural as the one we see this issue, but after 11 issues in which Fraction has demonstrated his strong grasp of Iron Man and his place in the Marvel Universe, I trust him to pull it off. The writer hasn't dropped the ball yet, and the result is a series that could challenge Daredevil for the title of consistently best Marvel superhero book.