I wonder if the lack of any real, definitive Iron Man stories is a factor in the lack of pre-movie sales from the curious public and speculators. Although it's probably more likely that he just isn't a character the general public is aware of. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if many people planning on going to the film aren't aware he's a comic book character.
Dorian | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 12:16 am | #

And before someone points out all the great pop culture cachet the character has, they should stop a moment to reflect that the 60s Iron Man cartoon was an event not in the our modern teens' parents lives, but more like their grandparents' lives.

However: chances are at least a few modern-day peeps (or at least twenty-somethings) know Tony Stark from his other alter-ego, Ghostface Killah.
Tim O'Neil | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 12:36 am | #

Judging from the response at the jam-packed preview screening I attended last night, Marvel is going to have a hit on their hands with Iron Man. The film got a standing ovation.
Luke | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 4:33 am | #

Marvel should have free comic books at all there movies. Would have made Daredevil better.
Scott | Email | 04.30.08 - 6:53 am | #

What does it say about me that I clicked on the "greatest issue ever" link expecting to find the GCD page for Spores?
H | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 7:12 am | #

The only "definitive" Iron Man story I can think of is "Demon In A Bottle." Which is, y'know, kind of a downer.

I bought the first two "Essential Iron Man" books a month or so ago, and I have to say I'm disappointed. Stan's strident anti-Communism is just no fun to read. And also, though this is a problem with the whole Essentials concept, I feel like too much is lost when the art is printed in black-and-white. It was meant to be seen in color!
Josef K | Email | 04.30.08 - 8:08 am | #

Scott has an excellent idea. Why do the comic companies not arrange to have pocket-sized promotional comics (like they used to have sometimes in the 1980s) available in the lobbies of movie theatres?
Thelonious_Nick | Email | 04.30.08 - 8:26 am | #

Well, if anyone can cite doofus, it's you Mike. I've worked in your store.
Cullly | Email | 04.30.08 - 8:32 am | #

Actually, with the exception of a dip in the mid-90s, I think Iron Man has been one of Marvel's more consistently interesting titles the last 20 years (since Michelinie and Layton took over). Tony Stark's technical brilliance, his addictions, his friendships and the strain that his arrogance puts on them, his corporate and government dealings-- in the hands of talented writers like Michelinie, Denny O'Neil, Warren Ellis, Len Kaminski and the Knaufs, this kind of material generates pretty cool stories (although the art goes up and down depending on the art team).

Maybe the problem isn't the quality, but the fact that all of the above isn't necessarily as gripping to fans looking for the single-entendre social criticism of the X-Men. Someone on some comics blog last year said, "Iron Man is a story about an adult, written for adults." That last part might not always be true, but it certainly makes IM different than the adolescent characters that often dominate the superhero genre.

I also agree with Josef K., though-- the "essential" Iron Man doesn't really start until the mid-1970s, a place those Essential volumes won't get to for quite some time, which might hinder their marketing effectiveness.
Brian | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 9:51 am | #

If the previews are anything to go on (and here's hoping they are), I actually want to see Iron Man. I haven't wanted to see a Marvel movie since ... ever, but what I've seen so far has made me revise my opinion of this one. Does it make me want to buy the comics? Nope. Iron Man has just never grabbed me. Not even when I was in junior high and my friend suggested that if Iron Man were real he could shoot a 20-mile wide repulsor blast across the middle of the Soviet Union (this was 1980, yes. Why?) and solve all our problems.

And about ASM 252, there actually seems to be interest in that book on eBay. Not sure if they are all from the same seller but a few people are bidding on copies. For whatever that's worth.
philip | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 10:06 am | #

I have a question, Mike. Were there noticeable jumps in back issue sales when hit movies based on lesser-known comics were released? I'm talking about stuff like Blade, Men In Black, and The Mask.
Frank S. Kim | 04.30.08 - 10:21 am | #

Well that didn't take long for a Wikiphile to undo that. "Removed blog citation" or something.

Personally I've always liked Iron Man. Though Heroes Reborn was the first IM I ever read. Damned impressive armour, I felt.
Andy Duncan | Email | 04.30.08 - 1:00 pm | #

Question: Is Swamp Thing only in the preview, or also in the actual issue itself?

Your mention of that Wonder Woman issue last time made no sense.
I didn't see anything about Swamp Thing at all before I handed back the store copy.

I'm going to need a lot more convincing that this, to hunt down that first House of Mystery issue, and it isn't even out yet! I wish I hadn't even bothered with The Un-Men.
Anonymous | 04.30.08 - 1:16 pm | #

The PDF file didn't work.
How about a .jpg of the relevant Swamp Thing panel, Mikester?
Anonymous | 04.30.08 - 2:28 pm | #

How about a .jpg of the relevant Swamp Thing panel, Mikester?

How about you make me a sandwich when you're done with that, Mikester?
Kevin Church | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 3:17 pm | #

Iron man simply never will have the same main-stream appeal that the
X-men and Spiderman have. which I don't mind at all. (in regard to sales w/ movie)
poseer, the | 04.30.08 - 4:27 pm | #

Did someone say sandwiches?
CW | 04.30.08 - 4:30 pm | #

No Spores? Spores is the greatest issue ever. What is wrong with you, man?
Mag | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 6:36 pm | #

Too early for flapjacks?
Phil Connors | 04.30.08 - 6:39 pm | #

You can find a JPG of Swamp Thing's appearance, as well as another by John Constantine, at my website, linked below.
Rich Handley | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 9:35 pm | #

I'd be interested to know if you see movies increasing sales of the comics they're based on. Because the conventional wisdom within the industry is that while a movie can boost the sales of a specific graphic novel a movie is based on (i.e., 300, Sin City, Persepolis), it's never really shown any ability to increase the sales of periodical comics for more than a month or two.
Tom McLean | Email | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 9:49 pm | #

Tom McLean - I've noted many times in the past on this site that comic sales, if they receive a bump in sales at all, it's prior to the film's release. Almost the very moment the film is out, the sales bump is over. That's been my experience throughout my 20 years of comic book retailing. (The first Burton Batman movie being the exception, but that was during comics' last big "faddish" moment, and Batman comic sales were likely just riding that fad wave.)

Dark Horse movies are a special case, since DH invariably is unable to provide significant quantities of their books to comic shops when related films are approaching and demand is highest. Presumably, sales would be higher, but the stock only frees up after the film's run is pretty much over, and the demand has diminished.
Mikester | Homepage | 04.30.08 - 11:27 pm | #

Iron Man was practically flawless as a super hero flick; it drops pretty obvious hints that would indicate a sequel as well... i'm thinking the next one should be equally great
patrick | Email | Homepage | 05.06.08 - 10:13 pm | #