Maybe expectations are everything. When the new Iron Man series premiered a couple of years ago with Kurt Busiek handling the writing chores, I was elated. He has breathed new life into a number of dead comic characters, and few were deader than the armored avernger. Unfortunately, while his run on the book was competant, it never really took off. So along comes Joe Quesada, a writer that I have never been, quite frankly, all that impressed with (at least as a writer, that is. I've always felt his strong suit was in his art). I went in not particularly expecting much, and was really very suprised. Based on the first issue and 1/2 of Quesada's run (counting the Wizard 1/2 issue), I'd say that we're in for one of the best Iron Man runs in a very long while.

Qusada wisely doesn't change anything in the basic make up of the book, or in the cast. Iron Man has always had a very good suporting cast, and Qusada uses them well here. Most importantly, he begins to do something with the relationship between Tony Stark and Rumiko. She is the most interesting romantic foil that the book has seen since Bethany Cabe, and here we begin to see the sparks between them that Busiek hinted at but, unfortunately, never developed. Although the main thrust of the story is the developing relationship between the two, the highlight of the book is a fantastically drawn fight scene between Iron Man and villian-of-the-month Whiplash. It takes place high in the air during a fireworks display and is worth the price of the comic alone.

Sean Chen handles the art here, as he has for most of the issues since the title restarted. His art is clean and his layouts are terrific. He is easily the most complimentary artist for Iron Man since Bob Layton. As good as he is drawing spectacular battles, he really is at his best with character expressions. As this issue is really about people more than anything else, that is actually very important. The ending of the book is one of those shock endings that you will probably see coming, but it still works. These type of plot twist were standard fare in Marvels glory days, and if it seems particularly unoriginal, it at least has a nostalgic glow to it. All in all, I'm excited about Iron Man for the first time in a long while. It's quite a start to what we can only hope is a long run by Quesada and Chen.