Groovy War Machine

In Invincible Iron Man 6, Mike Deodato and Frank Martin's art provides a vivid contrast with that of Dave Marquez and Justin Ponsor. Take this image of James Rhodes in his War Machine armor, for example. Colorist Frank Martin seems to adore orange and black: those colors suffuse nearly every page. By comparison, all other seem muted. As you may have noticed in the earlier posts, the comic nearly becomes black-and-white, with silhouettes, and blazing light, mostly in the orange spectrum, that washes out much of the detail. 

Justin Ponsor colors each frame like a realist, evoking everyday color without, for the most part, enhancing it for effect. Frank Martin's color super-saturation, and his love affair with orange, make me wonder if at heart, he's a child of the swinging 1960s. Justin's work is forever, and for everyone. Frank Martin's color style appeals to the wild child. As Austin Powers might say, he's groovy, baby!

Dragon Dave

Hero or Villain?

In Invincible Iron Man Issue 6, Tony Stark's relationship with Amara Perera has deepened. We find them in bed together. The two then go out to eat at a diner. Mike Deodato's sketching and Frank Martin's artwork, coupled with this phase of the relationship, make me look at Amara completely differently. She doesn't seem so innocent or classy anymore. 

But then, Tony Stark doesn't look so earnest, so willing to break down the barriers to be a man who's worthy of her either. To me, he looks more like a villain.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Mike Deodato and Frank Martin's artwork. Nonetheless, it makes me feel completely differently about the characters that penciler Dave Marquez and colorist Justin Ponsor got me to care about. Suddenly, I no longer love, or respect Tony Stark and Amara Perera as much as I once did.

Dragon Dave

Radioactive Amara Perera

In Invincible Iron Man Issues one through five, author Brian Michael Bendis introduced us to Dr Amara Perera. She's every bit as smart as Tony Stark, and classy enough to refuse a kiss on their first date. Later, she warms to him, but Dave Marquez's sketching and Justin Ponsor's coloring made her seem like an elegant yet innocent young princess. Her skin is chocolate brown, yet gentle and supple. Clearly, it's her natural skin color.

In Invincible Iron Man Issue 6, colorist Frank Martin depicts Amara as a surfer girl. Either she's just sat under a sun lamp for a few hours, or Tony Stark's Iron Man armor has developed a radiation leak. Amara, run, do not walk, to your nearest dermatologist. 

Hurry!

Dragon Dave

An Invincible Variant Cover

Imagine our surprise when we went to the comic book store to pick up Invincible Iron Man Issue 6, and discovered that Justin had left the book. While author Brian Michael Bendis remained, penciler Dave Marquez had also departed. Replacing the art team were penciler Mike Deodato and colorist Frank Martin. Although their artwork was cool, my wife and I were amazed by how much their unique style altered how we looked at the series. 

While we liked their cover featuring Tony Stark's friend James Rhodes as War Machine, we decided to purchase this copy, featuring a variant cover by artist Skottie Young instead. The scene not have anything to do with the story, and it doesn't feature the color art of Justin Ponsor, but every time I look at it, it really perks me up. I wonder why.

Dragon Dave