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Ironheart #1 Has Something to Rival 'With Great Power…' Speech (SPOILERS)

Published Tue, 27 Nov 2018 02:00:46 -0600

Last updated Fri, 30 Nov 2018 10:55:09 -0600

Two weeks ago, Stan Lee died. The man who wrote 'with great power there must also come great responsibility' in Amazing Fantasy #15, one of the most quoted comic book lines of all time, from the mouths of everyone from Presidents to your parents…

But Stan was always one for wanting the new. Not settling on laurels. Trying to come up with the next thing.

This Wednesday sees the launch of Ironheart #1 from Marvel Comics, the first titular series starring Riri Williams, written by Eve L Ewing, drawn by Kevin Libranda, Luciano Vecchio, Geoffo and coloured by Matt Milla, letters by Clayton Cowles. And what strikes me most, from a writer new to comics, is how much it reads like the past. This is a comic that rejects the modern preference for decompression, packs the panels in per page and the words in per panel. But for all that, not afraid to break out the big silent and splash panels when they warrant it. Which they do.

It's an unexpectedly mature approach to this genre and this medium, one that embraces the tropes, the fight scenes, the ridiculousness, without shame or embarrassment, just the acknowledgement that this is what you do. And possibly just the kind of book that people who profess to hate just this kind of book, a comic with a woman spinoff character written by someone new to the medium, could love.

This is not just about the writer. This is a comic book that finds its beautiful visual moments, such as this one…

Albeit it, still surrounded by speech balloons. But the moment that grabbed me most was Riri Williams talking about her father and the words she inherited from him.

'Those who move with courage make the path for those who live in fear'

Iambic, just over a pentameter. Not a quote I can find elsewhere. A companion piece to 'with great power' and a defence of courage, a defense of the idea of the superhero, the idea that if you can help those who need it… you should.

It could go on T-shirts. Posters. Movies. Just saying.

Ironheart #1 is published on Wednesday by Marvel Comics.

IRONHEART #1
(W) Eve Ewing (A) Kevin Libranda, Luciano Vecchio (CA) Amy Reeder
THE FORMER STAR OF INVINCIBLE IRON MAN HEADLINES HER OWN SOLO SERIES!
When a group of world leaders is taken hostage by one of Spider-Man's old foes, Riri Williams will have to step up her game. And she'll be stunned when someone from back in Sweet Home Chicago enters her life… CHAMPIONS artist Kevin Libranda joins award-winning poet Eve Ewing, as Ironheart steps boldly out of Tony Stark's shadow to forge her own future!
Rated TIn Shops: Nov 28, 2018
SRP: $4.99

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