Iron Man: Beneath the Armor
By Andy Mangels
ISBN-10: 0345506154
ISBN-13: 978-0345506153
Published by DEL Rey
Review by Budd
Iron Man stormed into theaters in 2008 introducing him to a world that may have never known him otherwise. This history into Iron Man fills in the gaps and lets you know how the original story went down. This book is filled with interviews with a plethora of people who worked on Iron Man over the years.
The chapters are broken down into the different eras of Iron Man comics. There is a section leading into the movie with some neat trivia. Character bios take up the last third of the book and cover pretty much anyone you can think of or have read about to that point. The last section has a break down of the different armors, what they did, and when Stark wore them.
The really great thing about this book is the illustrations. They have covers and snippets from issues going all the way back. Mingled in are pictures of promotional items and toys. These illustrations give you a grasp on how the character and comic art have changed over the years. There are even some original illustrations that are beautifully done in there.
This book is great for comic fans or those who have just recently been attracted to the Iron Man Character. Not only that, but this book goes in depth on the state of the industry that caused the comic and all comics to go certain directions. This a very educational book and is very well put together. Highly recommeded.