I’m not entirely confident which Iron Man armor is represented by this Steven Butler packaging art. Nor am I sure what product it went to (underwear? toys? sting cheese?) But Steve has done some cool stuff (a real journeyman artist, but some of those random credits are in the “oh yeah, that’s neat” realm) and these piece would be a nice addition to any Iron Man completist’s collection.

This is during Tony Stark’s kneepad period and should be remembered, if not commemorated.

The cover art from Mighty Avengers #8. A venomized Wasp. Great clean shots of Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, and the Sentry. Would love to have this piece, but $3000 is heavy. That said, this is a cover piece, and everyone knows that covers will demand the most value and attention. Do I see this piece retaining value? No. But do I think this will be a piece that changes hands often regardless? No.

This piece, an interior page from Ultimate Spider-Man, is the opposite as far as price tag. Another page that has a nice smattering of characters (Spidey, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Iron Fist) and while the “ultimate” version of Danny Rand leaves something to be desired, this is a really cool piece. Classic Bagley, and the price is right… no bids? Really?

Well, they throw up the American flag and start killing alien soldiers, der! A great Mike Zeck piece where you get to see a Romita influence in his pencils – I haven’t come across much of his work in an unfinished form and you can really see that style here, especially on the Kree soldiers in the foreground. If I was the type to have $900 to throw around, I would probably scoop this up. Has anyone seen a color version of this piece?

#15 – Iron Man 252

Somehow a washed up former Iron Fist villain showed up JUST enough for a great issue. I was at the height of my encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel universe… and I had never heard of this guy. A good isolation issue.

Past the arch enemy, the big name rival, the selection of enemies are thin, broadly speaking. Spider-Man is good, let’s mention that. He’s got depth. But what other Marvel characters have a rogues’ gallery that can compare to the Flash? Or Batman? Or Superman?

I could only come up with one.

#16 – Iron Man 220

Mid ’80s Iron Man. Somehow over the years they’ve fallen off the radar for the most part, but at one point Iron Man had a formidable selection of villains. The Ghost. Spymaster. Modok. The Controller. Madame Masque. Blizzard. Crimson Dynamo. Gray Gargoyle. AND those are just the b-rate villains. I didn’t even need to mention the Mandarin. Iron Man, led by the pencils of Bob Layton, was just on top from about issue 200 to 265 (mention to some great issues and runs from Byrne and JR Jr., respectively). Can’t miss.

And you also don’t see the phrase “Prepare for – set down!” pretty much ever, in fact I think that the first time I’ve seen it used was when I saw this auction and the second was when I typed this. The third will probably be at halftime of this NFL preseason game, when I come back to the couch and say it to my girlfriend.

Regardless, there’s been a lack of total nonsensical ’70s paraphernalia on the site lately, so here you go.  Psychedelic, sexual, and confusing all at once. Oh and Iron Man is on one of them? “Right on!”

Not the best hero, but isn’t that what the most intriguing always are?

Ever wonder what the IRON MAN movie was based on, loosely? Well, this particular issue will probably ring true for you. Actually loved this issue when I picked it up in a back issue bin many, many years ago. A classic era for Iron Man and this is just a piece of the larger picture that was a great run, but a perfect jumping on point.

#54 – Iron Man 200

Everyone shoulda just gone with him. Instead a grip went with the reformed alkie and movie darling, Iron Man.

Bah. Here’s to CAP smacking Iron Man around.

#55 – Captain America 341

I was almost in a Romita Jr. state of mind, again.

He had a pretty impressive run on IRON MAN, but what came to my mind when I thought of Tony Stark, only one artist comes to my mind. Bob Layton.

He’s not the first. Probably not the best. But he defined the character with his uniquely smooth style for a long time.

#95 – Iron Man 250

A redeux of the Iron Man / Dr. Doom story from issue #150, the story is a fun time warp romp. Imagine the future. But now imagine the future, with MAGIC.

As you might imagine, the story isn’t winning a pulitzer, but it’s the kind of story that does just enough to keep you moving the pages. A nice homage to a relatively well done story. Oh and how did I not mention the Arno Stark appearance? If you don’t know, well… you might have to google that one. It’s a doozie.