By: Russ Burlingame on August 6, 2012
[Updated 4:14 p.m. EST to reflect quotes and new information from Marvel]
So it turns out we–and everyone else on the Internet–were right last week when we assumed that the “Invincible” teaser bandying around the names of Kieron Gillen and Greg Land was an ad for a newly-relaunched Iron Man title–this time just called Iron Man–being written and drawn by the pair for Marvel NOW!.
“Kieron and Greg are about to take Iron Man on a journey unlike anything he’s ever experienced,” said Marvel Editor In Chief Axel Alonso. “This creative team took the X-Men to the next level, and with Iron Man they’re taking everything you know and love about the character and putting a spin on it that will have readers buzzing. Wait until you see what the new suit — I mean, suits — of armor can do!”
The first issue, whcih will also be enhanced with “Augmented Reality” features viewable through Marvel’s AR app, has a very movie-inspired cover, with the wardrobe of armor seen in set photos and at Comic-Con in the background and the foreground filled with Tony Stark, his Iron Man armor being applied to him by little mechanical arms.
It will also ship with a free digital copy, as will all of the $3.99 Marvel NOW! titles, Marvel told ComicBook.com. But the move towards increasingly digital comics shouldn’t be interpreted as an abandonment of the direct market, according to Marvel.
“Not only does every book with the Marvel NOW! logo feature a new superstar creative team and blockbuster story, but they also come with all-new incentives for our retailer partners,” explained David Gabriel, Senior Vice-President of Sales, Marvel Entertainment.. “We want to make sure every comic shop nationwide is fully stocked to meet the high demand we’re already seeing for Marvel NOW! And want to make sure their voices are heard throughout this exciting time. Stay tuned for more news on how Marvel will be working directly with retailers to make sure our programs address their needs.”
As for the title itself, “The story will focus on him questioning things about himself and trying to find out exactly how the universe ticks, what’s this all about and why he does this anyway,” explained Kieron Gillen in an interview made available by Marvel. “There will be a lot of changes in the armor throughout the series; in the first five issues there will be a different armor every issue.”
Look for the issue to hit in November, and keep your eyes on ComicBook.com this week as we will presumably be playing the “how many did we get right?” game with last week’s teasers versus this week’s covers!
