10 Iron Man Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die
Iron Man has a lot of comics to read, but these are the best of the best!
Ever since Marvel Studios launched with Iron Man in 2008, the character has been one of the publisher's most popular. It wasn't always like that though, and for years, Iron Man was something of a lower-level superhero to anyone not familiar with the comics.
For those fans who never read an Iron Man comic book in their lives, there was suddenly an interest in doing so. Of course, with a library spanning more than 50 years, finding the right books to read can be something of a challenge.
Fans eager to break into the character's rich backstory have a lot to choose from, but fear not - this list is here to help! Of the thousands of comics featuring Tony Stark, there are some that outshine the rest. These graphic novels collect some of the hero's greatest storylines and are where any new reader needs to begin to get a great understanding of who this character is and why he's one of Marvel's best and brightest.
If you're a longtime fan returning to the character and looking to read some good books, start with these. If you're brand new, you can't go wrong reading these amazing Iron Man stories you absolutely must read before you die!
10. Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Volume 1
Every hero has an origin story and that is certainly true for Iron Man. Granted, his story has been tweaked a bit over the years, but the events that played out in the first Iron Man film generally follow what went down in Tales of Suspense #39 back in 1963. That issue, along with issues 40 - 50 of Tales of Suspense featuring Iron Man are collected in this volume.
If you're new to the character, this is definitely the book to start with. The story of how Tony Stark became Iron Man is important in understanding who the man is, why he became a superhero, and why he was a significant addition to the Marvel library. Iron Man rose from Stan Lee's concept of a superhero coming from the background of what he called a "quintessential capitalist."
Lee's inspiration for the character came from the Cold War itself. He pictured a superhero that would bridge the gap between the young and old readers by creating a character who stood for everything each believed in.
The young readership hated the growing threat of war, which is why Tony Stark was a weapons manufacturer who sold his wares to the Army. This was someone nobody would like, but Lee flipped him around to become the superhero Iron Man. When Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby introduced Stark to the world, he became popular almost overnight. Here was a man who turned his back on war to become an avenging superhero everyone could relate to.