Douglas Ernst Blog

Scott Weiland exits life’s stage too soon, but leaves musical blessings behind

December 5, 2015December 5, 2015by Douglas Ernst9 Comments

STP concert 2009

In 1992 there was a kid with a chip on his shoulder from Illinois who listened to “Core” by the Stone Temple Pilots for the first time. The attitude and the energy and the raw power exuded from singer Scott Weiland blew the teenager away. There was something truly special about Mr. Weiland, a gift from God wielded with grace and authority that began a life-long love of his work. That kid was me, which is why the news of his death on Friday cast an heavy pall over my mind; it could only be removed by sharing the sincere sorrow.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

Scott Weiland, the charismatic rock vocalist who first gained fame with 1990s rock band Stone Temple Pilots, has died, according to his wife.

The Grammy-winning singer, 48, who struggled with addiction, earned post-Pilots success with the platinum-selling supergroup Velvet Revolver. His cause of death was not immediately available.

His wife, Jamie Weiland, a photographer, confirmed his death to The Times in a brief conversation.

“I can’t deal with this right now,” she said, sobbing. “It’s true.”

Scott Weiland rose to stardom in the 90s, but he wasn’t “of” the 90s. At his best he rivaled David Bowie in terms of his ability to seamlessly experiment with musical styles. He was in a rock band, but he fit in right along Sinatra during the holidays with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” He could do punk, but he often soared with ballads — and no matter what genre he was swimming in from song to song, you always felt as though he was trying to give you a glimpse into the depths of his soul.

Scott Weiland

Life is a lot of things, but part of it involves the slow realization (put beautifully by The Flaming Lips) that everyone you know will one day die. That actually isn’t as pessimistic as it seems — especially if you believe in God — but it can be painful when someone who has touched your life in profound ways passes over to the other side.

I never met Scott Weiland. I never broke bread with him or had a chance to help him wrestle his demons into submission — but he still affected my life in ways most people cannot fathom.

Doug STP concert

If nothing else, this post is a thank you that perhaps Scott can read from the “Great Beyond.”

Thank you for blessing me with your music. Thank you for the memories you helped me create with my sister in our youth and my friends as an adult. And thank you for helping everyone else out there whose problems were temporarily kept at bay by your talent.

We achieve greatness when we grab hold of the potential God has granted within us and manifest it in the physical world. We see the beauty of all souls when we witness those rare individuals who can give us a high-definition musical photograph of their own.

Scott Weiland exited this earth way too soon, but his life’s work left indelible marks in the minds of millions.

Instead of being selfish and cursing God for allowing Scott to leave us early, we should take comfort — the singer’s questions, “What does God look like? And angels’ wings?” have been answered.

Dan Slott uses terror attack to mock Christians, play partisan politics

December 3, 2015December 3, 2015by Douglas Ernst29 Comments

The terror attack in San Bernardino, California, on Wednesday killed at least 14 and wounded 17. As Syed Rizwan Farook and his accomplices attempted to evade police, Marvel writer Dan Slott thought it would be the ideal moment to mock Christians who turn to God in times of tragedy. For good measure he told jokes to foreign citizens at America’s expense.

Dan Slott California shooting

Here is a closer look at the re-tweet.

Daily News California shooting

Ask yourself what kind of sick person would use requests for prayers during a terror attack and cops’ pursuit of the suspects to take political pot-shots? What kind of man would retweet satirical “God” Twitter accounts as terror victims riddled with bullet holes were bleeding out?

Objective observers know Mr. Slott was playing politics during a terror attack because his earlier tweets indeed asked for “thoughts and prayers.”

Dan Slott San Bernardino

Dan Slott can tweet “thoughts and prayers” for terror victims, but if someone he politically disagrees with does the same thing — again, as people are dying — they are Christian “cowards” issuing “empty platitudes.”

Dan Slott bashes America

To add insult to injury, The Amazing Spider-Man scribe decided to honor the recently-deceased and injured by telling jokes at America’s expense.

“Non-Americans, you’re all looking at us and shaking your head in disbelief, aren’t you?” he wrote. No one thought to ask him which “non-Americans” he was addressing.

Perhaps Dan was talking to Saudi Arabian Spider-Man fans (the nation Farook travelled to shortly before his massacre), but only the men because women aren’t allowed to leave the home without related escorts. And not Saudi Arabian Christians, because they officially don’t exist — it isn’t allowed.
Perhaps Dan was talking to French Spider-Man fans, but not those who died in its recent terror attack perpetrated by the Islamic State group, because dead people can’t enjoy Peter Parker’s adventures.
Perhaps Dan was talking to Syrian Spider-Man fans, but not in ISIS-controlled areas because reading Marvel (i.e., infidel) Comics would literally be grounds for chopping one’s head off.
Perhaps Dan was talking about Qatar, where San Bernardino terror suspect Bin Ardogan was from.

Puruse Mr. Slott’s twitter feed from Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, and you will see many tweets about gun control. What you will not see after it was announced that Syed Rizwan Farook was responsible for a day of terror is anything about radical Islam.

In Dan Slott’s world, a correlation between access to guns and gun-crime is worthy of loud denunciations of the NRA and Republican politicians who pray during terror attacks — but a correlation between Islam and Islamic terrorism is an opportunity to listen to crickets.

Congratulations Dan Slott: You’re the type of guy who uses an unfolding tragedy as an opportunity to mock men praying to God. One day you’ll get to stand before your Creator and explain yourself. Until then, I will pray for you.

Exit Question: How pathetic is it that Nick Spencer equates a recluse who lived in a shack all by himself somewhere in Colorado — a man estranged from his friends and family and described by them as “weird” and “unpredictable” — to countless radical Islamic terror networks with tens-of-millions of sympathizers around the globe?

Nick Spencer shooting tweet

Invincible Iron Man #4: Mary Jane fans should pass

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015by Douglas Ernst14 Comments

Invincible Iron Man Mary Jane

Customers do not like it when businesses pull a bait-and-switch, which is why Marvel fans should be wary of purchasing Invincible Iron Man #4. The cover features Mary Jane posing with an Iron Man faceplate and a “Stark” employee ID badge. Sounds interesting, right? Wrong.

Bendis’ fourth issue of IIM continues Stark’s hunt for Madam Masque and his investigation into why she is collecting mystical artifacts. Mary Jane does make an appearance in the book — she’s opening a new night club in Chicago — but anyone hoping for banter between she and Stark will be sorely disappointed.

IIM #4 moves the story’s progression forward at a snail’s pace, although it does introduce “biotech ninjas” working for a new terrorist organization. Bendis’ incorporation of bio-hacking and trans-humanism into the book is a welcome surprise, and another example why his tales are a cut above other titles.

As was mentioned in my review of The Amazing Spider-Man #3, Dan Slott’s schizophrenic handling of The Zodiac (Are readers supposed to take this threat seriously, or are these guys a big joke?), blunts readers’ excitement in terms of wanting to unravel the mystery. Bendis treats his terror network seriously — ipso facto, so does the reader.

Iron Man biotech ninja

In short, if you’ve been reading Invincible Iron Man since the beginning, then the fourth installment is worth your time. If you are a Mary Jane fan who thought she would be featured prominently this month, then you should save yourself $4.00.

Mary Jane may have a substantive role to play in Tony’s life going forward, but at this time Bendis is simply laying the creative groundwork for that to happen.

Dan Slott slimes ‘gun owners’; Marvel would fire writer for similar tweet about ‘Muslims’

November 18, 2015November 19, 2015by Douglas Ernst16 Comments

Dan Slott gun

It was only days ago that Marvel writer Dan Slott talked to Newsarama about internet “dicks.” The comic book “news” site saw nothing ironic about asking the guy who regularly acts like an unprofessional clown on social media to espouse on his critics. That is probably part of the reason he has started up again with political attacks that would get him fired if he switched out subjects like “gun owners” with “Muslims.”

Take the following Dan Slott tweet: “Ever notice how every gun owner who tweets is a responsible gun owner? My theory: All irresponsible ones have shot up their keyboards.”

What would Dan Slott think of someone if he came across a tweet like: “Ever notice how every Muslim is a responsible Muslim? My theory: All irresponsible Muslims have prematurely detonated their suicide vests.”

That would be incredibly mean and uncalled for since the vast majority of American Muslims break no laws — just as millions of American gun owners break no laws. A tweet like that would be a low blow and the hallmark of a very immature man.

Ask yourself this question: Why is Dan Slott a “gregarious” guy when he slimes patriotic Americans who have broken no laws, when in your heart-of-hearts you know The Amazing Spider-Man writer would go off on an epic rant if you took his own tweets about “gun owners” and tweaked them to target “Muslims”?

Who said Mr. Slott was “gregarious,” you ask?

Answer: Newsarama (Jim McLauchlin wouldn’t want to risk losing his access to the writer, now would he?)

When it comes to the Internet and comic books, people can be d**ks. Obsessive d**ks. …

We slap labels on all things Internet. It’s a “virtual” world. But virtual can crash into real in a hurry when he Internet Rage Machine gets cranking. But what is the Machine? Is the Rage misplaced? And what fiefdom do you live in? …

Dan Slott, Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man writer, muses that “I could write whole books on this,” but gets very itchy, declining to cite specific examples.

“You never want to let that guy know he got under your skin, and you never want to show people examples of bad behavior to emulate,” he says.

Slott is a gregarious, friendly guy who’s always willing to interact with fans on Twitter and the like. It’s where he’s from.

On the whole, Slott tries to measure his online interactions. He recently called the aggregate a “heightened reality,” where the bright spots get brighter, but the dark areas show up so much darker.

Again, Newsarama found nothing ironic at all about the guy who can flip like a switch between opining on social media “dark spaces” and attacking Marvel readers who exercise rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Dan Slott Second Amendment

The reason why Dan Slott got “itchy” about citing examples of critics who get under his skin is because he knows this blog is one of the few places calling him out on his mean-spirited Twitter feed (it’s okay if he attacks the “right” targets — emphasis on “right”).

And remember: Dan Slott is done “wasting time on hate” — even though it’s obvious to any objective observer that he spends plenty of time dishing it out.

Perhaps it doesn’t count if you don’t agree with him politically. Once you dehumanize a person it’s okay to mock and ridicule them, right Mr. Slott?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to catch up on the latest Newsarama piece. It’s the one that is quick to call out internet “dicks” without ever asking unprofessional writers to explain their own troubling behavior.

Exit Question:

Consider the following from Newsarama:

The world is full of problems: Ebola, ISIS, potholes, global warming, and more. So you’d think people would spend their time doing something more productive than railing on about Spider-Man.

Newsarama — a site that depends on traffic generated by people who are interested in comic books — will immediately criticize Spider-Man fans who enjoy discussing Spider-Man, but it has nothing to say about Spider-Man’s actual writer for his unprovoked political attacks on entire groups of law-abiding Americans. At what point does Newsarama just admit its role as Marvel’s shameless handmaiden?

Nick Spencer lectures world on refugees; Marvel writer silent on how many he’ll accept into his home

November 14, 2015November 14, 2015by Douglas Ernst19 Comments

Marvel’s Nick Spencer used the Paris terror attacks on Friday as an opportunity to remind the world of its duty to accept millions of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.

His conclusion: Refusing to force towns like Sumte, Germany (population: 100), to accept 750 people from Syria, Iraq, and Libya is a win for the Islamic State group. Strangely, he refused to say how many he would take into his own home. How about five? Does five work? If Smute,Germany, can be outnumbered 7-to-1 overnight, then Marvel’s Captain America scribe should be able to handle a Syrian family of five.

We don’t know exactly where the thousands of refugees that make it to the U.S. will wind up, but Business Insider assures us they will be able to eventually make contact with Nick Spencer — if he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Business Insider reported Sept. 12:

Those who have relatives in the United States will sometimes be assigned to live near them, and most go to cities like Atlanta, San Diego or Dallas where rents are more affordable than in New York or San Francisco.

Others end up in smaller cities like Boise, Idaho or Erie, Pennsylvania, but regardless of where they are taken they are free to move once they find their footing.

Sure, Mr. Spencer will have to buy less tweed jackets from J-Crew or Banana Republic, but he’ll finally be able to rest easy. He’ll know in his heart that he’s finally doing more than self-righteously pontificating on his social media moral pedestal.

Mr. Spencer, an activist masquerading as a comic book writer, says the “goal of ISIS” is to get countries (what about Captain America writers?) to stop accepting migrants. The odd thing about liberal activists like Mr. Spencer is that they only take Islamic radicals at their word when it suits the liberal-activist agenda.

It is not hard to find Islamic radicals who say they plan to achieve their long-term strategic objectives through various means (e.g., migration coupled with high birth rates). One needs to only look at London and Paris — and soon Berlin — to see Islamic radicals are masters at playing long-ball.

If you get a chance, let Mr. Spencer know that you can’t wait until he starts taking single men off Germany’s hands. It’s always nice to see comic book writers practice what they preach.

Exit Question: Nick Spencer is the type of guy who likes to take shots at Christians with comments like, “42 percent of Americans believe the world was created in six days.” Sure, time to God is not like time to man — and it is understandable that smarmy writers will not get that humans use imperfect language to describe the actions of a perfect being beyond our comprehension — but I digress.

What are the chances Nick Spencer would ever tweet something along the lines of, “78 percent of all incoming refugees believe the death penalty is appropriate for those who reject Islam“?

In Mr. Spencer’s world, taking weird pot-shots at Christians is totally acceptable, but voicing concerns about mass Islamic-migration on the day of a giant terrorist attack in downtown Paris is out of line. Telling.

Invincible Iron Man #3: Stark shows growth, but so does mystery around Madame Masque, Doom

November 6, 2015November 7, 2015by Douglas Ernst13 Comments

Regular readers of this blog know that I have been following the relaunches of Invincible Iron Man and The Amazing Spider-Man. Since one features Tony Stark and the other features “Tony Stark light,” it is interesting to see how each writer handles his respective superhero. One thing readers will get from writer Brian Michael Bendis’ Tony Stark that they will not from Dan Slott’s Peter Parker is a clear understanding of the character’s inner being.

Take Stark’s conversation with his new love interest, Amara Perera, for instance:

Perera: Don’t you have superhero friends that you can commiserate with when things like this happen?

Stark: In my line of work…there’s always somebody with a much worse story. ‘Oh, man. I almost died tonight.’ ‘Yeah? I was almost eaten by Galactus.’ ‘Oh Yeah? I died and was resurrected as my own child.”

Perera: And you found yourself thinking about me?

Stark: I might not actually have a lot of friends.

Perera: You do.

Stark: I know a lot of people. But…people don’t want to hear me talk about any of my problems because, well —

Perera: You’re rich.

Stark: I can see their eyes glaze over. I can hear the ‘Aw, poor baby.’ Like my problems aren’t problems.

Perera: Money can’t buy happiness? That is disappointing to hear.

Stark: Sorry to be the one to break it to you.

Perera: Maybe you don’t know a lot of people that challenge you intellectually.

Stark: A few. But they are very, I want to say…

Perera: Cocky?

Stark: Insane.

Bendis’ Stark is a character who has psychological meat on him. Slott’s Peter Parker literally died and was resurrected, yet he treats the experience like a bad trip to the dentist.

Bendis’ Stark is surrounded people, but lonely. He is rich, but not happy. He wants to become a better person (as demonstrated in another conversation later in the book), but he never can find the right mentor to help him begin the journey.

Anyone can fill a comic book with fights and gadgets and zingy one-liners, but none of that matters if the characters are one dimensional. Bendis’ heroes and villains have depth and breadth. They have gravitas, which makes the magic and the mystery and the fight scenes exponentially more satisfying than anything you will find in The Amazing Spider-Man #3.

For those who are not up to speed, the story breaks down as follows:

Madam Masque is on a mission to collect rare magical artifacts that have essentially slipped through “dimensional cracks” and found their way to earth. Tony does not know why she is doing this, since it does not fit her psychological profile.
Doctor Doom wants to help Tony on his mission, but won’t explain why.
Tony wants to become the kind of man who “deserves” to be with famous biochemical engineer Amara Perera.

It is comforting to read a mystery where the writer methodically lays out a bread trail for readers to follow. Each crumb Bendis places before his audience is there for a specific reason. Whereas Dan Slott lets his imagination toss him around like young bull rider, Bendis controls his imagination like a seasoned rancher overseeing the herd.

If you get a chance, then check out Invincible Iron Man. It’s shaping up to be one of the few books worth a $4.00 cover price.

Dan Slott eviscerated after cyber-stalking Philly charity runner; industry ‘journalists’ M.I.A.

November 5, 2015January 26, 2016by Douglas Ernst26 Comments

What does it mean to be a comics industry “journalist”? Does it mean finding and reporting good stories that readers would be interested in, or does it mean reporting only the happy-happy-joy-joy “Ren and Stimpy” versions preferred by publishers? Consider the dead silence over Marvel’s Dan Slott, who cyber-stalked a Philadelphia YouTuber and then exploited the man’s charity event for digital butterfly kisses.

Two years ago the Spider-Man scribe was verbally lashed by “The Main Event” after stalking him. Then there was a lull — again, for two years.

The Main Event asked fans on Tuesday to vote on the shirt he would wear for a 3-day Marvel/Disney-sponsored charity run (5K, 10K, and half-marathon), which set in motion one of the most bizarre chain of events comic fans will see from a creator in recent memory.

Dan Slott pounced. He exploited a charity event to receive pats on the back and plaudits from his Twitter followers.

Did a close friend request The Main Event use a Superior Spider-Man shirt? Did he even know it was the new costume used by Doc Ock, or did he just think of it as one of 1,000 Spider-Man costume variants created in recent memory?

It’s a trick question — none of it matters, because the guy was running for charity and hasn’t said peep about Dan Slott in years.

What followed was a YouTube video that comic book “journalists” would swarm like bees on honey if The Main Event were a Lena Dunham lookalike who openly shared LGBT struggles on Twitter. Masculine pro-GamerGate YouTube guy who can eat cyber-stalkers for lunch? Nah. “Journalists” don’t want to jeopardize their access to Marvel writers.

The Main Event delivered a rant for the ages on Wednesday. There is a mushroom cloud where Mr. Slott’s head once rested.

Here is just a snippet of his righteous indignation:

Piece of s–t, Dan f–king Slott. I see we meet again. … So let me get this straight: You’re going to sit here … and tell your fans half-truths, because that’s what you’re doing right now. You’re sitting her saying I’ve bagged on Superior Spider-Man for years. I haven’t even talked about the f–king thing in years! After those videos, that was it. … This man just exploited a charity — a charity — because he wants to fish for compliments! That’s the kind of piece of s–t he is. … There is no excuse for this.

The entire response is worth watching, especially since there is an embargo at Comic Book Resources on legitimate news stories that make Marvel editors uncomfortable.

Remember: Media bias can present itself in print, but it also is part and parcel of the power to ignore. These are not the droids you are looking for. Move along. Move along.

Enjoy.

Amazing Spider-Man #3: Dan Slott can’t decide if title should be serious or campy

November 4, 2015November 5, 2015by Douglas Ernst15 Comments

Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man and Invincible Iron Man now have three issues in circulation. Dan Slott and Brian Michael Bendis each offer a glimpse into the life of tech moguls, corporate espionage, terrorist organizations, and — most importantly — the heroic men who must navigate the playing field. Just as Peter is out of his element as the CEO of a major corporation, Mr. Slott seems uncomfortable with the kind of story he is writing.

Before getting to some getting into details as to why, exactly, this story seems primed to disappoint, we must first ask the question: Why does Peter Parker keeping responding to blatant insubordination with an impotent line or two about needing to “talk”?

Sajani actively tried to destroy Peter’s vision for the company and got a five-second “talk.” Clayton Cole (aka former criminal Clash) disobeyed him and the response was “It’s okay. … But we will talk about this.”

The situation’s strangeness is compounded because, on some level, Mr. Cole has a point — Spider-Man and The Human Torch were seemingly destroying Parker Industries just to blow off frustration. The “fight” is stopped at one point so Peter can take a call from S.H.E.I.L.D., and then resumed like Rocky Balboa entertaining Apollo Creed’s “favor” fight at the end of Rocky III.

Does The Amazing Spider-Man want to take itself seriously, or does it want to treat its subject matter as something a bit more farcical? Dan Slott doesn’t seem to know, and the result is a disjointed tone.

Consider yet again the difference between Invincible Iron Man and ASM. Everything that is revealed in Bendis’ book appears to be there for a very specific reason. With ASM, it seems as though Mr. Slott just keeps giving Peter more widgets and gadgets and technology for nothing more than a “Wouldn’t it be cool if Peter had Batman’s toys?!” mentality.

One gets the feeling that Bendis actually does legwork into corporate titans and terrorist networks. Mr. Slott seems to rely on preconceived notions about what those worlds might be like based on cursory knowledge obtained through network news.

ASM3 Spider Skimmer — In my last review I mentioned that it was only a matter of time before Dan Slott gave Peter Parker Elon Musk-like Spider-Rockets. We now have a “Spider-Skimmer.” How far down the campy hole will Dan Slott go? Only he knows.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to this story arc’s success is its main foil: The Zodiac. The characters look and act goofy, yet all indications point to revealing the terror network’s plans over many months. That is a lot of creative real estate. Will it be worth it? ASM has a track record of over-promising and under-delivering; The Zodiac does not inspire confidence anything is destined to change.

The issue ends with Peter, Johnny, and Harry ‘Lyman’ (Yes, a former Green Goblin employed by Parker Industries — but wasn’t he running a coffee shop not long ago?), talking about family, friends, and “fourth” chances. Readers can’t help but think of the repeated chances they have given Marvel with its ASM relaunches.

Editor’s note: I will be reviewing the third issue of “Invincible Iron Man” by Sunday.

Jessica Jones: Marvel, Netflix attempt to walk ‘dark’ tightrope

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015by Douglas Ernst4 Comments

Somewhere out in space and time there is an alternate dimension where Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” somehow wound up on network television in the 90s, and instead of Krysten Ritter in the lead role fans got Janeane Garofalo. That is one major obstacle dodged, but there is still a challenge — walking the tightrope between “dark” and “dark for the sake of being dark.”

I was first introduced to Jessica Jones in 2001 when I picked up Brian Michael Bendis’ “Alias.” The book was part of Marvel’s “Max” line (i.e., not for children). It was incredibly well-written for a long stretch. I always thought it would make for good television. However, the one major problem any producer of a “Jessica Jones” show will have is, “How dark should it be?”

There is a fine line between exploring evil that can lurk inside the human heart, and simply wallowing in filth just to get a reaction out of others.

Bendis, at his best, seems to be a skilled tightrope walker. Examples of failure in this regard may include Garth Ennis’ “The Boys” and the Mark Millar-Steve McNiven collaboration “Nemesis.”

Marvel and Netflix did a fabulous job with Daredevil, but it isn’t hard to imagine mindless producers saying, “Daredevil was dark and it was popular. Maybe we should go really dark with Jessica Jones!”

If Marvel and its creative partners avoided this trap, then it is likely “Jessica Jones” will be a show worth watching. At least for now, everyone can stand up and cheer for a.) the inclusion Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and b.) the absence of Janeane Garofalo from the finished product.

Invincible Iron Man: Bendis’ superb work lures back old Tony Stark fan

October 22, 2015October 23, 2015by Douglas Ernst12 Comments

Given that Dan Slott’s Peter Parker is Tony Stark-light these days, I thought I would check out the real deal with Marvel’s relaunch of Invincible Iron Man. I had not bothered with “shell head” in about ten years, but it looks like I will be sticking around thanks to Brian Michael Bendis’ quality work.

Technology: Check. Espionage: Check. Action: Check. Romance: Check. Magic: Check. Dialogue that says, “This writer takes his craft seriously”: Check.

I am in the dark as to much of what has happened to Mr. Stark since roughly 2005 — other than knowing that Marvel made many stupid moves messing with his history and tarnishing his reputation — but it appears as though they did the right thing by pairing artist David Marquez with Bendis.

The first two issues of Invincible Iron Man were exactly what I was looking for in a comic book. I found myself thinking, “What is Madame Masque up to? What the heck is going on with Victor Von Doom? Where the heck is this all going?” It’s a shame that such a well-oiled machine (no pun intended) doesn’t exist with another iconic character using holographic technology as CEO of Parker Industries.

The thing that I have always admired about Mr. Bendis’ work is that even when I don’t agree with some of his editorial decisions, I cannot deny that he delivers a tight, taut product.

If you are a fan of Iron Man, then let me know what you think in the comments section below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Marvel’s handling of Tony, Brian Michael Bendis’ work on the book, or anything else Iron Man-related.