Monday, July 30, 2007

Marianne: Not Exactly Maya Angelou

im41thatroombehindus

Wait, he told her Iron Man was on the plane with him? Was that even necessary? And he's in a "room" on the plane? That's not even a good lie! (Is this when we were all supposed to figure out he's a Skrull?)

Or is Marianne just really bad at crafting poetic imagery? Her previous attempts:
  1. "Why did you store Iron Man in the overhead bin?"
  2. "Why did you have your personal chef bake Iron Man inside my Chicken Cordon Bleu?"
  3. "Why is the in-flight movie a triple feature of 'Iron Man of a Mad Housewife', 'I Never Sang For My Iron Man' and 'Little Big Iron Man?'
  4. "When is the captain going to turn on the 'No Iron Man' sign?"
  5. "Why did the stewardess offer me a tiny bag of dry roasted Iron Man?"
If only Tony could tear his eyes away from that filthy connect-the-dots he's working on, maybe he'd notice she's upset!

7 comments:

Bill S. said...

Noticing that she's upset would interfere Tony's time spent brooding about how lonely he is. Has she forgotten how to talk, that she keeps addressing Tony in thought bubbles?

Anonymous said...

Is he doing his filthy connect-the-dots with a pair of sunglasses!? Yeah, it looks like it might be the line of his suit matching the cushion crease, but look how he's holding his fingers.

I'd wonder what the thought balloons smell like, too, but I'm in a tiny room and wouldn't want to crowd it like Marianne is doing. Who says you can't learn from comics?

MaGnUs said...

"... now, if I add some crushed ice, that'd be even better for the Iron Man drink..."

Dave said...

It's that "glossy shell of charisma", a/k/a "having his head up his ass", that keeps Tony from noticing her nervous looks around the cabin.

Ah, text! Isn't it cool how they take turns with their reverie? The author has SIX FRIGGING PANELS to work with here, which seems like EASILY enough space for some dialogue. Maybe something like this:

Panel1:
T: Nervous, Marianne?
M: Yes, a little. I don't fly very often.

Panel 2:
T: Don't be scared. James Rhodes is one of the best pilots I know, I checked the jet personally before take-off, and if anything does go wrong, Iron Man's here to protect us.

Panel 3:
T (thinks): Tony, baby -- take it easy with her. It looks like she's not the only one who hides her real feelings behind an inpenetrable shell. Your heart is already injured, you don't need it to be broken.

Panel 4:
T: Are you having another premonition?* Should I go tell Iron Man?
M: No! No, Tony, stay with me.
(* As seen last issue -- Ed.)

Panel 5:
M: Please don't get Iron Man...

Panel 6:
M: ...he frightens me.

--

See? It may not be fine literature, but it hits most of the same notes, adds a name check to an important member of the supporting cast, shows that Tony cares about and is interested in her feelings, shows that Marianne has premonitions and also that she is afraid of Iron Man, gets rid of the rather icky enumeration of Tony's harem, and kinda-sorta works with the existing art.

Of course, the OTHER option would be to just DROP IT ENTIRELY AND TALK ABOUT SOMETHING INTERESTING, but I suspect that wasn't really a viable choice back in the day.

Jeremy Rizza said...

Bill S.: My theory is that Marianne actually is talking, but Tony's mammoth self-absorption is so strong it sucks in certain forms of energy, like sound vibrations. And all that's left floating in that small, sparse cabin are Marianne's thoughts.

Anonymous: They're sunglasses and they're a writing instrument. It's very James Bond.

MaGnUs: Haw! I wouldn't put it past him!

Dave: Excellent work, except it doesn't come off like an exaggerated version of Stan Lee... and so you never would have been hired by 1971 Marvel Comics.

Anonymous said...

'Little Big Iron Man, starring Giant Size Man Thing!' Because someone had to say it.

Jeremy Rizza said...

I appreciate that you were willing to get your hands dirty.