What’s that smell? Oh, it’s Fraction inserting the Ghost into this narrative and messing it up.
This issue features Pepper and Maria finding out Tony slept with both of them. It features little Tony’s adventures in slumberland finally paying off narratively–oh, I think Howard is supposed to be Howard Stark, not Howard Hughes. It was a lot more interesting my way.
Anyway, then the Ghost shows up and it’s bad. It’s almost indescribable how pedestrian the whole issue becomes.
Because before, it was also Pepper dealing with no longer being amped up on the repulsor technology, which was a really good scene.
Then she gets punched out by the Ghost or something. Not a good scene.
And Larroca’s doing his inconsistent face thing again here. Dr. Strange starts changing features between panels.
I think the problem’s the pacing. Fraction’s dragging this story out, it should have been three issues.
