Introduction
Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark, is many things a billionaire, inventor, CEO, playboy, friend, alcoholic, and enemy. He is best known for his role as the mighty Marvel hero, Iron Man. Iron Man first debuted in issue #39 of Tales of Suspense in 1963, and has since been a Marvel Comics mainstay and icon. Iron Man is the alter ego created by Tony Stark, inside an almost invincible suit of armor with enough weapons to make him a one man army. As a member of the Avengers, Iron Man is a proven leader. Iron Man’s character is currently right on top of the Marvel Universe due to his role in Marvel’s year long story arc “Civil War.” Iron Man has also been featured in two recent animated features “Ultimate Avengers” and “Ultimate Avengers 2,” there is also a full featured, live action film in production from Marvel Studios. Iron Man’s armor is typically associated with a gold and red clad suit, however there are have been silver and red suits, black stealth suits, all silver, all gold, you name it, and Tony has built it. Sideshow Collectibles has produced a statue, or what they have coined, “a comiquette,” based on Marvel’s knight in shining armor. The Iron Man comiquette design was inspired by artist Adi Granov’s cover of issue #76 of The Invincible Iron Man (part of the restarted series in 1997). Sculpted by Pablo Viggiano, the Iron Man comiquette cashes in at a retail price of $250. Two versions of the comiquette have been made, the Sideshow exclusive, which features interchangeable Tony Stark and Iron Man heads and a regular Iron Man headed version. The exclusive is long sold out and has an edition size of 500 and the regular has an edition size of 750. Today’s review covers the exclusive version, and I must say looking at the monumental history Iron Man has in comics, I think Sideshow has done a great job giving collectors a great rendition of this mighty hero but there are some things that may present some issues with hard core Iron Man fans and collectors alike.
Design
As I stated before, the design of the statue is based off of Adi Granov’s The Invincible Iron Man issue #76. This particular issue was part of the new Iron Man series which radically redesigned the suit Marvel fan’s had grown accustom to seeing in the comic books. The suit grants Tony Stark numerous abilities which include super strength and percussion blasts. However more recently Stark has underwent certain changes that allow him a more intimate connection to his suit and all the powers he has are currently unknown. Not to stray from the design to much, but the powers Iron Man has reflect in this design as he is seen punching the ground with his suit powering it. Choosing this particular position does have it draw backs in displaying the piece. There is a tremendous amount of detail on this comiquette and like any piece the collector wants to show off as much as possible. I have found an angled positioning on the shelf is going to get the most visual appeal. Since this is the exclusive version the alternate heads come into the design, and one of the areas where this piece really shines. Sideshow received some flak with their Wolverine VS. Sabretooth Diorama Exclusive, because you could see the neck seam of the alternate heads, well with the design of Iron Man, there is not seam. Each head sits deep into the armored collar via a metal peg, which fits very snug, and a seam line is no where to be seen.
Sculpture
Anytime you have a technological design like Iron Man, scale is a huge issue. Not in terms of scale of the overall piece, but scale of the tech aspects. Sure this is even more of an issue if you are working with a piece such as a ¼ Scale Darth Vader, where measurements in life must be taken into account, but Iron Man was only 2-D. Pablo Viggiano has done a tremendous job of creating Granov’s and giving the statue a true sense of scale. From the detail on the spines of the back to the boots, all aspects of the piece show the tremendous effort that went into this piece. I recall seeing Sideshow’s production blog on this piece and it showed how each piece of the armor was individually sculpted which was a testament to how well the thinking behind the sculpture was. The piece has received a bit of online criticism for looking a little thin in the waist area and in the shoulder joints, and I think that can be attributed more to the design and the art reference. Not having differing angles of the art, let the sculptor be creative and I feel like Pablo did what was best to get the piece to work. The alternate head sculpt is presented very well. Tony Stark is an early 30’s CEO and billionaire, playboy and the likeness is as he is drawn in the comics. One thing to note on the jaw line of the Tony Stark head, a collar so to speak was added, which shows off more detail that Viggiano went into with this piece.
Overal/Wrap-Up
Iron Man is Sideshow’s first comiquette to ship, and with any line you have got to hit the first piece out of the park in order to get fans to buy in. In my opinion Sideshow has done that and more. This is a modern rendition of the modern Iron Man. It fits the character as he has been seen in the pages of Marvel for almost the last 7 years. The design is amazing. Anytime a sculptor can bring an illustrator’s art into the 3-D world, it is great. The sculpture definitely shows the hard work that went into the piece. There is some issue with the bulkiness of the armor, however given the advancements Stark continues to make to the suit, it may be more consistent then we know. The paint used makes this the Iron Man statue that really shines above all others. Sporting a shine that would make some car owners jealous, Sideshow has set a new standard in paint application. This is a great piece and the addition of the alternate heads makes the exclusive a great piece to own, I recommend it to any Marvel or Sideshow collector. As I said earlier, both versions are long sold out, but I suggest putting your self on Sideshow's waitlist, good chance as this are shipping now, some folks may cancel.
