****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is a very good storyline, set up by John Byrne in Iron Man: Armor Wars 2. I remember reading it when I was 15, and being completely thrilled. Story and art are terrific. Seller is great!!The book was worn in parts with creases but it wasn't overly damage.I just couldn't really get into it. The story is decent if dated, and the art is dynamic. However this is not the best Iron Man story to be told in trade paper backgreat readThis was a bit of a weird Marvel compilation because it only included five issues. The story seems rather basic. Iron Man faces one of his oldest foes once again the Mandarin.There are some changes thrown in however. First, the Mandarin is allied with a dragon however Fin Fang Foom. Second, Tony Stark is crippled from the last major story with his nervous system having been destroyed, so Jim Rhodes steps in as Iron Man. There’s a twist at the end, which actually gets hinted at rather early on.The story was by John Byrne, of X-Men fame, who’d joined the Iron Man series a year beforehand. The art was by Paul Ryan.I can’t really knock Marvel because they have put out some mediocre collections trying to cover its back catalog, and this is a good story, just not great. Plus, again, it’s only 5 comics.Collecting the five issue Iron Man arc from Volume 1 #270-275, the Dragon Seed Saga chronicles one of the many battles between Iron Man and his long time nemesis The Mandarin. Written by John Byrne, he displays a firm grasp of all the characters involved in the story. Art is drawn primarily by Paul Ryan whom does an admiral job.His body failing from a virus destroying his central nervous system primarily inflicted during the Armor Wars II saga, Tony Stark along with best friend Jim Rhodes heads to China to seek the help of specialist Su Yin, top in here field as a last ditch effort to cure his ailment. The Chinese government however will only let Stark receive her help if Iron Man does a favor for them: defeat the Mandarin. And so begins the Dragon Seed saga.Explored is more of the Mandarin's past, focusing on the origins of his rings of power along with the origin of Fin Fang Foom. There is more to it but I do not want to give away too much of the plot. While Stark is dealing with issues in both his secret and public identities, the Mandarin has his own problems as his plans begin to unfold as ancient dragons attempt to seize his rings of power.There is a good amount of action involved, thrown in with some drama, romance and politics giving the saga a decent mix and keeping it diverse. It does not do a grand job on any of these aspects, but it hardly fails either. The saga starts a bit slow but picks up, especially in the latter issues.Is this one of the best Iron Man sagas out there? Not really. It is definitely not essential like the classic Armor Wars or War Machine arcs. It is a fairly entertaining if not unspectacular saga. There is nothing about the plot that will particularly wow you, and there are only a few memorable parts of the books. If you are looking to expand your Iron Man collection, it is a decent pick up and has a reasonable price tag attached.Collecting IRON MAN issue 270-275, THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN: DRAGON SEED SAGA is hardly a shining story arc in Iron Man's long and checkered history. The John Byrne penned collection is illustrated in journeyman fashion by Paul Ryan (With a fill-in issue penciled in equally uninspired fashion by M.D. Bright), and inked by Bob Wiacek, and follows the dying Tony Stark (Who seems to have a strange Nervous System issue that is never fully explained...) as he is recruited/blackmailed by the Chinese Government into helping them dispose of The Mandarin, who has awakened the ancient Dragon, Fin Fang Foom, and is planning on using his ten rings of power and the Dragon to conquer China, and from there, the World. (Mwaaaa-Haaa-Haaa!!! Sorry, couldn't resist....) The book has a nicely re-colored cover, which is pretty much all I can say is good about it. (Well, that's not entirely true....I'm a sucker for Fin Fang Foom appearances, even if he isn't wearing his tiny purple pants, which he isn't, and the final shot of The Mandarin is an awesome example of a villain getting his just desserts....) The book is just waaaay too wordy, with Byrne gassing on and on about things that we are perfectly capable of seeing with our own eyes. Let the artwork speak for itself, John! There's also a weird, sloppy mistake that drove me nuts: We're clearly shown a ship with ten aliens crashing, and the endless exposition also TELLS us that there are 10 aliens. One is killed. That makes 9. Later, Byrne tells us that there were 16, with six killed at various points since the crash, and Bright draws 10 dragons. But there's supposed to be NINE!!!!Ugggh!Sloppy, but the book was so bland that it really didn't make the reading experience any worse.Skip this and go buy the IRON MAN DVD, instead.
