David Michelinie is one of the greatest Marvel writers period. His work rivals that of Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and even Ed Brubaker. But how many people honestly know who he is? If I mention his stories, you know who he would be. ‘Demon in a Bottle, ‘Spider-Man: Carnage’, ‘Emperor Doom’, and many others from the 1980’s to early 1990’s. He is the epitome of those decades and it’s a shame he isnt mentioned as much as he should. Yes I know the Itrinity did a peice on Emperor Doom, but he deserves more mention then that; like a whole tribute to him or something.

One of my favorite stories from him is his ‘Doom Quest’ arc. Basically he puts Iron Man and Dr. Doom time travel to the King Arthur days and duke it out. He’s done it twice (now a third time) and both are really a fun read and I definitely recommend that trade as well. But now he is here for a third outing in this plot device and for the most part, it is as fun as ever.

Basically it’s almost the same plot; Iron Man goes to Dr. Doom to help him out with a problem. Stark gets fooled into making Doom powerful, then both duke it out until a greater threat occurs and they need to team up. Although this is the third outing for these two, it’s amazing how we have not seen much storylines with this rivalry. I mean it’s a perfect idea, two people with powers coming from mech suits, what’s not to love? Michelinie knows how great this team up is and he knows how to write these two together. His Dr. Doom here is always brooding and impatient, perfect characterization there. This plot for the most part is a little hokey, I mean you can clearly tell Michelinie is writing in a 80’s type of vibe. But it works cause the pace is so fast you dont see much of the bizarre writing. It feels nostalgic in a way more then anything else.

Ron Lim takes the art this time around and it looks really good. His Iron Man and Dr. Doom take is just gorgeous to look at. Especially once we get into the medievil armor, that’s when the costumes get silly but fantastic. The colors are bright and the colorist sets the tone for the book. My only gripe is that sometimes the art isnt as fluid as it should be, that whole fight scene at the end of the book gets a bit old to look at. Still, from the early fight scenes to the characters; the art is great here.

This and the other two time travel stories Michelinie has wrote can clearly be adaptated for an animated film. It’s fast paced and full of action packed fights, so this is a great choice for a kid if he/she is getting into comics. What else can I say? I love Michelinie and even though his Iron Man: The End wasnt the best thing to come out…he is still one of the greatest writers ever to be put into Marvel. Please go check this and many, many other titles he has wrote, more often then not you will be pleased on what your reading.