For the most part, each volume in Marvel’s Epic Collection can be easily read on its own without the hassle of searching for the previous volume (even if that volume is still on sale). The editors of this project have taken great pains to find a natural starting and ending point for each volume. So throughout the 20 or so issues, there are dangling plot threads and unexplained context, but the central story stands on its own.
Iron Man Epic Collection: Age of Innocence fails in that simple attempt due to the clunkiness of Marvel Comics in the mid-1990s. The first third of The Age of Innocence, which includes the final stages of the Avengers/Force Works/Iron Man/War Machine crossover, is such a rambling mess that it’s a one-volume I couldn’t fit it in.
Oh good, Century is here.
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Its crossovers, starting with The Crossing and including Time Slide, occurred at the peak of Marvel’s financial woes during the decade. The Age of Innocence comics were published in 1996, the same year Marvel declared bankruptcy. This is an event that signals not only economic despair but also creative collapse.
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The Avengers titles have been untested, as most of the highest paid talent has been shuffled into more sedate books, namely the X-Men series and, to a lesser extent, the Spider-Man titles. They were relegated to big, inconsistent artists, and less flashy but reliable older artists. Writers like Bob Harras and Terry Kavanaugh steered the ship. These were creators who didn’t draw readers by name, at a time when creators were cultivating personal fame and fandom.
The tragedy is that the Iron Man issues between The Crossing and Heroes Reborn were promising. A young Jim Chan took over the penciling, making the book more visually appealing than it had been in years. While the story has gotten more convoluted throughout The Crossing, with Tony Stark being manipulated by evil and replaced by his teenage self, the revamp of the story has given it somewhat of a clean slate. Although the setup was rocky, the ground was story-wise fertile. For about six issues, Iron Man seemed able to right the ship without the help of crossover sales.
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While the supporting cast of Old Tony provides a great overview of all of Tony’s properties, the book introduces new cast members, each with their own interesting complexities. Tony finds himself an outcast student of an older ex-girlfriend, and his college has several new love interests. The Fratto brothers’ team showcases the dangers of Tony’s alcoholic tendencies as he walks the tightrope of underage drinking and binge drinking.
However, it wasn’t meant to last long, with supporting cast members only having to stretch out for six issues. Eventually, the franchise was taken over by the famously flashy Image Comic creators of Heroes Reborn, who rebooted the line. The Age of Innocence ends with a massive universe-altering Onslaught: The Marvel Universe. The Marvel Universe depicts brave (non-mutant, non-spider) heroes sacrificing themselves to save the world.
Iron Man Epic Collection: Age of Innocence starts chaotic and excruciating, then self-destructs after a brief moment of promise. So this is the perfect illustration to represent the mid-’90s collapse that was going on at the heart of Marvel Comics at the time.
Iron Man Epic Collection: Age of Innocence depicts the creative collapse of Marvel Comics in the mid-’90s
Iron Man Epic Collection: Age of Innocence
Although largely sloppy and barely contained, Age of Innocence does contain brief moments of ingenuity before collapsing into Heroes Reborn.
It’s not as self-contained as most epic collections.
Disparate styles, disparate plotlines, and complex conflicts swirl around.
Rushing the only promising story to its conclusion in order to restart the line.
Early Jim Chan artwork foreshadows superstardom.
