Is it just me or are there an awful lot of Iron Man comics being published now a days? What’s that all about?

Out of them all, the most heavily hyped has been the second ongoing Iron Man series, the Invincible Iron Man, written by comics superstar Matt Fraction. Any you know, overall it’s a really good read. The premise (which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the silly “open source vs proprietary software” pitch we had been teased with) is interesting, the villain seems to be a good match against such a powerful protagonist, Tony’s voice is smart and engaging. Plus, the art is pretty good.

Now, I haven’t been reading Iron Man comics very closely since, well, ever but I’ve gotten to know the shellhead pretty during Civil War, World War Hulk, Secret Invasion and everything in between. But has Tony really been this oversexed lately? I thought he was too busy running the Marvel Universe for gratuitous sex scenes (in a rated A book).

You know, it’s almost like the writer was told to portray Tony a certain way to appeal to a new audience who’s only familiar with the character from something like a big budget movie about Iron Man’s origins in which he is portrayed by a bad boy Hollywood actor. I dunno. And another thing I thought was a little strange was the tension between Tony and Pepper, particularly concerning wardrobe choices.

Wait, what?

Is Tony able to hear this, because I’m pretty sure he’s able to hear anything said on a SHIELD carrier or anything next to a computer for that matter. And if that’s the case, Pepper is looking at some serious sexual harassment charges. And if Tony can’t hear it, that means Pepper is kinda creepy. Or Tony is so damn hot he makes professional women with years of experience act like girls stripping for a trucker hat.

In closing, Matt Fraction is at the helm of a great, engaging and fun Iron Man comic. New readers, old fans, and panty fetishists will love it.