"Ultimate Iron Man" by Orson Scott Card, Andy Kubert, and Mark Bagley

This is a great comic book, and one of the best in the Ultimates series.

I'm not that familiar with Orson Scott Card. I know he writes science fiction from time to time. I think I heard somewhere that he was also a practicing Mormon. Besides these two "facts", all I can say is that his talent as a writer is obvious, and in "Ultimate Iron Man" he has written a near-flawless origin story.

The art here is OK. More on the journeyman level, and this book could have benefited from a penciller with more flash. Then again, this seems to be a recurring problem with Iron Man. He rarely attracts the flashier artists, perhaps because most artists tend to be fascinated by mutants, aliens, and other non-technologically based superheroes.

Overlooking the lackluster art, this is a TPB that is well worth reading. It is a gripping read, and I plan to read more of Orson Scott Card's comic book work in the future. If they ever decide to reboot the Iron Man movie franchise, they could do worse than use this as a template.