Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle

By the time these issues were originally published, Iron Man had been around for nearly 15 years, but for all his popularity-- sharing a book with Captain America in the 1960s, moving to his own title, and playing a major role in the Marvel title The Avengers-- he'd never quite made a mark as a character the way other heroes of the Marvel-verse had. Simply put, he felt more like a concept-- take a James Bond-like playboy named Tony Stark and merge him with the idea of the Knight in Shining Armor-- than a fully-fleshed out idea. It's a neat concept, but one that a long string of very talented writers and artists failed to develop. Even literally giving Iron Man a new heart-- to replace the shrapnel-damaged ticker that had spurred the invention of his life-giving armor in the first place-- failed to pump new blood into the character. He seemed destined to remain a second-tier figure, fun and visually striking, but lacking the pathos of such landmark heroes as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. In 1978, that all changed. Writer/co-plotter David Michelinie and Artist/co-plotter Bob Layton have stated in numerous interviews that they see themselves as craftsmen at the service of the characters, and that they want readers to become absorbed in the storylines, rather than thinking about the creators behind the scenes. Fine, but their own landmark work on this title belies that modesty. Simply put, what was needed was not a new heart, or new armor, or a big-time supervillain, but two artists alert to the possibilities buried within the title, and especially the title character. For all intents and purposes, they re-invented Tony Stark/Iron Man, and gave Marvel a whole new hero to play with. M&L's solution to the riddle that had bedeviled even Stan Lee was remarkably simple: what if we really took this guy seriously, and tried to tell some realistic stories about him? What if we made him a real character-- funny, fleshed-out, full of strengths and ego and very deep flaws-- and tested his grace under pressure? What if we surrounded him with a top-notch supporting cast? What if we gave him a real girlfriend, instead of the Harlequin robots that had populated the book in the past? What if we really explored what it meant to be a Cold Warrior, to think about the ethics and unforseen consequences of your actions and inventions? In other words, what if we emphasized the "man" in the title, rather than the "iron"? What resulted was a run of 40 issues (#116-156, although Layton left after #153) that offered a gripping and very human arc, respecting the genre conventions of the superhero tale (the costumes, the action sequences, the patented marvel hero crossovers) while also asking them to grow up. This wasn't new to Marvel, but it was new to Iron Man, and M&L's run on the title heralded a renaissance at a company that had been in a downward creative spiral for the previous half-decade: in the wake of M&L would come Frank Miller's Daredevil, John Byrne and Chris Claremont's X-Men (and Byrne's even-better five-year run on the Fantastic Four), Walt Simonson's mythic look at Thor, and the classic Hobgoblin arc in Spider-Man (it's not a coincidence that these books followed editorial and business-side shake-ups that would lead to better conditions for writers and artists, and draw some of the best talent to the company. After all, treating people like human beings shouldn't only apply to fictional characters). I emphasize that whole 40-issue arc because some people have complained that the storylines here are wrapped up too quickly and neatly. That's a fair complaint, but I think it's more an effect of the TPB form (which has to end *somewhere*, and gives a sometime-false impression of closure) than the stories themselves-- the issues and ideas raised here continue to be developed after the stories collected in the book. In fact, M&L do such a good job re-inventing the character that they haunt every creative team that followed them on the book, as new writers and artists either choose to emphasize the extremes of Stark's flaws (Denny O'Neill's often fascinating but misguided restaging of Stark's alcoholism in the early 80s is but one example, althoug it's so grippingly done that, for all its problems, it probably deserves its own TPB, too) or ignore M&L's innovations altogether choosing to revert Stark to his crass playboy persona of the 60s (the recent Civil War series is at least an attempt to do something unique with what M&L wrought). In the end, not even M&L could live up to their own legacy-- their much-anticipated return to the title in the mid-80s (partially collected as an "armor wars" TPB) started strong, but was eventually overwhelmed by its action sequences, which didn't flow in and out of their characters as gracefully as their first run had. Which is why it's great this first run is now collected and back in print. Is it perfect? No. Is it occasionally nostalgic? Sure (check out those disco-era fashions). But none of that eradicates M&L's achievement-- in a genre that sometimes emphasizes mindless mechanical action and macho cliche, they managed to create a brief, shining moment of humanism. And that, in the end, is what superheroes are all about.

Before David Micheline begins his legendary run on "The Amazing Spider-Man" in the 80s & 90s, he was writing Iron Man stories in the late 70s & the early 80s. "Demon in the Bottle" was one of his best Iron Man stories that pits Iron Man against his drinking problems. It opens with #120-121 where Iron Man tangles with the Sub-Mariner until his armor starts to malfunction. Then in #122, the origin of Iron Man was retold. Then in #123-124, Tony Stark took his girlfriend & bodyguard Bethany Cabe to Atlantic City in the casino where they tangles with the Melter, Blizzard & Whiplash. In #125, Iron Man was framed for murder and Tony Stark is taking lessons from fellow Avenger Captain America. Oh yeah, and Ant-Man makes a guest appearance as well. In #126, Tony Stark was held captive by his archrival Justin Hammer & his supervillains. In #127, Iron Man plays one-man army as he single-handedly takes down Justin Hammer's supervillains. But all these events took a terrible toll on Stark as he starts drinking even more and he snapped at his faithful butler Jarvis which leds to him to resign as Tony Stark's butler. In #128, Stark's drinking problem causes him to lose control of the Iron Man armor. Although he was confronts by Bethany and she told him about how she lost her husband to drugs. The story concludes when a sober Tony Stark decides to win back Stark International from S.H.I.E.L.D."Demon in the Bottle" is the best Iron Man story ever and Tony Stark's drinking problems will come back to haunt him in the later storyline "Alcohol Relapse" where Stark was reduced to a homeless alcoholic.

This is a collection that really shouldn't be ignored if you're a fan of Iron Man as it tells the story that developed Tony Stark's character by adding alcoholism to his list of human frailties. Although this isn't the story where Stark hits rock bottom (and is temporarily replaced by Jim Rhodes as the Golden Avenger) it was at the time a bold move in an industry that was heavily censored by the Comics Code Authority.The book mostly centers around Justin Hammer's plot to ruin Stark which leads to a lot of classic, high action adventures. It's a lot different than super hero comics today which are designed to be sold in trade paperback format and for the most part does not deal at the issue of alcoholism until the end, though it does hint at it along the way. These issues are the highpoint of David Michelinie and and Bob Layton's first Iron Man run with superb pencils by John Romita Jr. Michelinie and Layton would team up a few years later to bring us the Armor Wars storyline which is in my opinion THE definitive Iron Man story.In any case, if there are any Iron Man stories deserving of a hardcover collectors edition, this one is it. New fans and old should check this one out, especially if they're only familiar with the post Civil War or movie version of Tony Stark.

David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita, Jr. tackled a very serious issue for comic books, substance abuse, and they did it in a sensitive, but often times painful, presentation. Iron Man may be invincible, Tony Stark may be the cool exec everyone wants to know, but he isn't quite as invincible.As a side note, years later, after Denny O'Neill had him relapse, writer Len Kaminski and artist Tom Morgan sort of revisited Tony's alcoholism when Tony's mind was thrown into the internet and an AI computer took over his body. Yes he drank, and Tony still took responsibility when he got back into his body (and fought both War Machine, made up, then joined forces with WM and Force Works to find an all-powerful Mandarin) and went to a meeting. The cover of issue 313 (vol. 1) is just fantastic: The "spirit" of Iron Man putting his hand on Tony, stopping him from drinking.

Arrived within two days and in great condition.Great story, must purchase the next story now!

Everyone comes to this because it's the ALCOHOLISM IRON MAN arc, also because it features in every best Iron Man Story list.I was actually very pleasantly surprised about how it tackles the issue, not only seeing it as a disease in and of itself, but as a symptom of a deeper cause such as depression and life turmoil joined by personal programming.I was an Iron Man fan before reading this story, and am an even bigger one now. Highly recommend and appreciate it

The comic it's great it's a classic. My complain it's about the delivery, The article was drop in the mailbox outside my working place instead of handle it inside as usual, the metal of the mailbox with the heat made the comic folding and the cover is wrinkled in one corner.

I've ordered books in the past where the pages have seemed to be bent and there were creases, but this came in a perfect condition

Un clásico de Iron Man. A mi pareja le ha encantado.