Iron Man Epic Collection: Return of the Ghost

This latest volume, volume 14, slots neatly between the already-released Stark Wars and Doom installments, plugging another big chunk of the long-running David Michelinie/Bob Layton tenure on the title. Before it gets into the ongoing, however, this book opens with Iron Man: Crash, "the world's first computer-generated graphic novel." While it certainly looks very basic now, and the story isn't much to write home about, it was considered cutting-edge in 1988, and is an interesting curio now.After that, though, we're back into the main title, with ol' Shell-Head dealing with the fallout of the Armor Wars by posing as a new man inside the red and gold armor. With faithful friend Rhodey at his side (and a couple of superheroic guest stars like Spider-Man and Ant-Man), he tackles villains like the Mandarin, Radioactive Man, Blacklash, Blizzard and Boomerang, as well as threats to his company and a slightly-too-stalkerish new flame. It's all good, solid stuff for fans of the Armored Avenger; if you enjoyed the previously-mentioned couple of Epics, you'll certainly enjoy this one.Wrapping things up is a fun trio of Marvel Fanfare stories by Ken Steacy, worth their inclusion for the painted art alone. Extras include four pinups, a parody ad from The Year in Review, art from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and a new afterword by editor Ralph Macchio. I won't lie and say these are the greatest Iron Man stories ever created, but they're mighty fine for all that.