Nano a Mano!

Wowie!! My eyeballs nearly popped out of my sockets when I saw this submission in my mailbox. In case you can't guess, this drawing is by multi-award-winning cartoonist, fellow canadian and all around nice-guy Jay Stephens and features a very handsome and interesting re-design of the Iron Man armour.

Now, I met up with Jay recently at the Toronto Comic Con, and one night over some drinks he explained to me, and fellow Iron Man enthusiast Steve Manale, just what HE would do if given the chance to re-design Iron Man. Being a thinking man, Jay reasoned that Tony Stark's armour would have gotten sleeker over the years as technology advanced, and not clunkier as most redesigns had made him. Instead of all the shoulder-cannons, pseudo-anime-tech and general "chunkiness" of the last 15 years of designs, Jay envisioned an armoured suit that would have eventually become refined to resemble the silver-surfer's form-fitting covering. Especially if it was all tricked out with the latest in nano-technology!

I agreed with Jay then, and when he sent along this sketch a few days later, I was TWICE as agreed! I still can't get over how cool everything about this drawing is! Jay's redesign is sleek and friendly -- I love how he's redesigned the repulsors to not need the opening in the hands and how he got rid of the "iron shorts". The pose and linework evokes the best of the classic silver-age Iron Man, while the design and colouring are completely 21st century. And that streamlined brush-style of his -- man, he's gooooood!!

Thanks for sending this in, Jay! A Twin Repulsor Salute to you!

The Invincible Iron Lad!

Here's a great drawing submitted by the talented Chi-Yun Lau. If you're a fan of Iron Man comics from the 80's, you might get the reference right away, but for those of you scratching your heads, I'll let Chi-Yun explain it himself. As he wrote in his email:

" Do you remember an issue of Iron Man (around the time Tony kicked the sauce habit) with a short backup story about a bunch of kids who dressed up as the Avengers? Well, I always loved the Iron Man kid's helmet, which was a tin pot with holes cut in it for eyes. I thought it was awesome and seriously considered ruining one of my mom's pots for the same reason."

Now, I only vaguely remember that story, but that doesn't stop me from really digging the charm of this drawing. Chi-Yun has great lines and expression in his figure and the way he's drawn this shows a lot of confidence. Plus, that costume design is dynamite! I wish I had an homemade Iron Man costume like that when I was a kid.