Iron Man's New Armor

One thing you're sure to like about the new Invincible Iron Man series is how Tony Stark's armor changes. Linked via cybernetics to his brain, and aided via Artificial Intelligence in the (virtual) person of his girl Friday, Tony's new armor changes shape instinctively, reacting to the needs of the moment. For example, when presented with Madam Masque's ability to hurl massive bolts of energy, the armor reshapes itself to divert maximum shielding to ward off her attack.

On the other hand, when he takes on the Marvel Universe's premier villain, Doctor Doom, Tony Stark's armor switches over to Hulkbuster mode. This form may prove no more effective than it did against the Hulk in World War Hulk, but then, Doctor Doom is the Marvel Universe's premier villain.

I don't even know where to go in discussing Justin's coloring work here. Each of these panels leaps off the page for different reasons. Of course, some credit for the artwork must go to penciler David Marquez, and even more must go to writer Brian Michael Bendis, whose story concepts the artists have brought to life. Amid Justin's eye-grabbing, jaw-dropping color, one must stand in dumbfounded awe. But then, that's why Justin is the Marvel Universe's premier colorist.

Dragon Dave

Greg Land: Sojourn's Movie Poster Cover

For Sojourn's first trade paperback edition, penciler Greg Land drew up a thumbnail sketch, then worked out a layout with a montage of the characters from the series. 

When he completed his work, he turned to Justin Ponsor to do the coloring. Here's Greg Land on Justin's contribution to Sojourn Volume 1: From the Ashes:

The trade cover was built around a fully rendered pencil drawing from me, as opposed to the hard-line work that I submit to an inker. So this was about using tonal values to create shape and form. Justin Ponsor then added computer painting techniques to enhance the tonal drawing. We talked a lot about overall color scheme and atmospheric effects, and then he went to town. 

We were going more for an image you might see with a movie poster, with dramatic lighting, and I feel that Justin did a very good job of achieving that goal. Lighting creates a drama in itself, and Justin nailed it.

A villain with a skull for a head, two beautiful heroines, a troll with horns (As opposed to a horny troll), and an army heading into battle. Who wouldn't want to watch an epic fantasy movie like that?

Dragon Dave

The Wizards, Trolls, & Heroes of Sojourn

In the fantasy series Sojourn, we meet the warlord Mordath. With his troll army (and his axe), he has nearly conquered the five lands of Quin. But in prequel issue 0, a rebellion occurs. Its leader, a man named Ayden (the figure in red in the upper right corner), shoots a fiery arrow that incinerates Mordath heart. Overjoyed, the people wish to make Ayden their leader. Instead, he declines this honor, and announces his intention to depart the five lands. But Ayden would not leave them without hope. So he pulls the magical arrow from Mordath's body, separates it into five pieces, and disperses it across the land. "If you ever need me again," he tells them, "locate the five pieces of this arrow, and I will come to your aid." 

Many years later, Mordath resurfaces. Without a heart, he can no longer feel pain. Nor can he feel love, or take joy in any sensory pleasure. (He's even lost his hair!) So he does the only thing he can that will bring him satisfaction. He raises another troll army, and sets out to retake the five lands.

He looks quite different now: no longer dead, but not quite alive either. 

When his armies destroy her town, and kill her husband and child, a woman named Arwyn vows to kill Mordath again. Accompanied by Kreeg, her loyal dog, she invades his castle. But using his magic, Mordath evades her attack, and casts her into the dungeon. There, she meets Gareth, a one-eyed swordsman with no ambitions beyond fleeing the castle. When Mordath visits their cell to announce that he will stage a public execution to make an example of her, Gareth picks a fight with his jailers. In the process, he steals a key from one of the troll guards. After unlocking their manacles, the Arwyn, Gareth, and Kreeg escape their cell.

Unfortunately for Gareth, Arwyn has no intention of fleeing. Driven by anguish, she has no desire to live beyond killing Mordath. But the trolls attack them, chasing them through the castle, until they reach the top of a tower. They are far too high up in the sky: what can they do but leap to their deaths?

A mysterious cloaked figure in blue (upper left) will come to their aid. She will convince Arwyn to see the bigger picture, and entrust her with the ancient bow of Ayden, preserved these many years. She will convince Gareth to see beyond his desire for a quiet life, and come to the aid of the land as well. She will tell them how Mordath was resurrected. Strangely, she doesn't need to convince Kreeg to join their quest: the loyal canine always knows the right action to take. 

As for what happens after that, I don't know yet. That's where writer Ron Marz left me, with the trolls chasing after Arwyn, Gareth, Kreeg, and the mysterious cloaked woman. But already I'm hooked, and want to know more about the series. Thankfully, two more issues remain in From The Ashes, the first trade paperback volume in Sojourn, a series produced by CrossGen Comics between 2001 and 2004. 

Already in his young career, Justin Ponsor was entrusted with coloring the covers for these issues. As you can see, there's a richness and depth to Greg Land's penciling, which Justin enhances with his coloring. They definitely say "Pick up this issue and check out this terrific high fantasy series!" But then, what else would you expect, from a colorist like Justin Ponsor?

Dragon Dave

Dr Amara Perera: Tony Stark's New Love Interest

Tony Stark's holographic Girl Friday, and Whitney Frost, or Madame Masque, make big entrances in Invincible Iron Man Issue 1. But Amara Perera, a brilliant biophysicist from Sri Lanka, really captures your heart. Right away, you can tell how hard Tony Stark is working to impress her, when he buys out the entire rooftop restaurant for their first date.

Yet she's not impressed by his extravagance, as this profile shot readily demonstrates.

While guarded, she's clearly intrigued by his interest. As the evening winds on, she softens toward him.

After dinner, she even confesses that she has conceived of a cure for the mutant gene. This is something she's never told anyone else, or even written down, for fear that the government might requisition her invention, develop it, and force all mutants to take it.

Later, they repair to the top of Tony Stark's headquarters. Atop the high-rise, as she enjoys the catered dessert, she pretends not to see Lady Thor arrive for a coincidental visit. 

Instead, she warns him that should he have engineered such a chance meeting, she would leave immediately. She doesn't want him to impress her with his powerful resources and friends. She wants to see the real him.

I like how penciler Dave Marquez drew Dr. Amara Perera, and how the panels show the progress of her gradual softening toward Tony Stark. I also like how Justin Ponsor colored her, such as her luminous entrance, her shadowed face when she's pushing him back, and the highlights in her hair when she's confiding in him. I look forward to seeing how Tony Stark's relationship with Dr. Amara Perera develops in successive issues. I'm also interested in discovering how writer Brian Michael Bendis may make her conceptual cure into a reality all of Marvel's marvelous mutants must confront.

Most significant of all, perhaps, is how Bendis surrounds Tony Stark with three completely different women whose personalities pop off the pages of Invincible Iron Man Issue 1. They're all smart, beautiful, and powerful in their own way. Way to celebrate Girl Power, Brian Michael Bendis!

Dragon Dave

Whitney Frost: Tony Stark's Masked Villainess

In Invincible Iron Man Issue 1, we meet a woman engaged in industrial espionage. At least, that's what she appears to be doing, as a man hands her a suitcase. In doing so, he's betraying his employer, A.I.M. (or Advanced Idea Mechanics), in the hopes of substantially supplementing his income. But we never see what's in the suitcase, or why the woman wants it.

As it turns out, this mysterious woman is acquiring several things. We can only assume they are technological inventions she plans to put to some important use. The second item she collects is from a business division Tony Stark owns in Osaka, Japan.

In this panel, she's just leapt out the plate glass window of a skyscraper, and is pursued by several of Tony Stark's employees. Presumably, after she shoots them, she has a way of landing.

She's not just snatching inventions from A.I.M. and Stark Enterprises. Later, she emerges from Doctor Doom's castle in Latveria. She shoots off with her rocket pack, another briefcase clutched to her chest. 

Penciler Dave Marquez does some fine work, capturing the female form, the technology, the frantic action, and the intricate mask that covers her face. But the way the contents of the suitcase glow, the way her mask blends in with her skin, the flare of her burning rockets, the way the artificial day of the high-rise contrasts with the natural darkness of night in the second picture, and the way the castle and surrounding landscape fade into the distance in the early morning are all due to Justin's coloring.

I look forward to reading more issues of Invincible Iron Man, and seeing where Brian Michael Bendis takes the series. I'm also interested in learning about Whitney Frost, also known as Madame Masque. I gather she's a classic foil for Tony Stark, having appeared in stories shortly after Stan Lee created Iron Man. One thing's for sure. As Whitney Frost collects the items she needs, and assembles and uses them for her intended purposes, I know she'll look terrific doing so, thanks to the penciling efforts of Dave Marquez, and the coloring of Justin Ponsor.

Dragon Dave

Iron Man's Girl Friday

In the new Invincible Iron Man Issue 1, Tony Stark has a new assistant. Her name is Friday, and she is a Holo-A.I., or an artificial intelligence that manifests herself as a hologram. She's every bit as intelligent as the A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Iron Man movies, and as beautiful as the flesh-and-blood Pepper Potts. She helps him by reigning in his impetuous nature, and reminding him of practical matters. Her task is to help him accomplish his goals, and as Tony Stark can sometimes be his own worst enemy, she's got her work cut out for herself. Yet she seems to know just what to say to keep him in line.

I really like how Justin Ponsor colored Friday. He gives her a pink color scheme, yet she looks like a real lady. He gives her a degree of transparency, yet not enough to shout that she's unreal. 

Of course, you know she's not real when she shows up as a disembodied, floating head on the battlefield. But in that way she helps Tony Stark out too. After all, if you saw a talking, floating head next to a man in armor, that might just keep you off your A Game, don't you think?

Dragon Dave

One Invincible Cover

My friend Justin Ponsor is one of the premier colorists at Marvel Comics. So when I saw that he was helping launch the new series of Invincible Iron Man, I had to check it out.

The first issue I picked up had a pretty awesome cover. It made me want to look inside, so I did. Then I saw this bad boy. I quickly discovered that Justin had actually colored this cover, which instantly made it more special. Given the level of detail required, covers usually take much longer to color than interior pages. So if Marvel asked him to do the issue and the cover, the management is going all out to produce a spectacular first issue.

From what I can tell, there are actually eleven different variant covers floating around out there, so there are a lot of fans hungry to pick up this first issue of the new Iron Man series.

Here's another big surprise. Open the cover, and there's another whole cover for you to enjoy, this time without all the print to obscure the detailed drawing. Another plus: for this first issue, the outer cover is much thicker than usual. So it feels more like a real book, instead of a flimsy comic.

I don't have many wraparound comics in my collection, so when I noticed that the back continued the story begun on the front, I was even more impressed. That's twice as large a beautifully drawn and colored image as I was expecting. And just as the first page reproduces the cover without the titles, the last page reproduces the back cover on interior paper stock. So you not only get a full issue, but two wraparound covers! 

You know, If you were so inclined, you could separate one of the covers from the issue, and put it up on the wall. It's perfectly suitable for framing. But that might be going a bit too far. After all, what true comic lover would dare take apart a beautifully made comic like this, even if it was colored by Justin Ponsor?

Dragon Dave