TRANS-SCRIBE: Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Iron Man: The Art of the Movie

'The 1st of the 24 Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga film titles being published as a complete set. Packed with exclusive content, this fully illustrated tome treats fans to a comprehensive, unique and privileged behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind the state-of-the-art technology used in the blockbuster motion picture. Follow the film’s complete artistic evolution, from initial concept through armour design and on to the final rendering seen on screen.

'Here is everything you need to know about the making of the movie from all the key players – including director Jon Favreau; the special-effects gurus at Stan Winston Studios; and the award-winning concept illustrators, visual-effects designers and storyboard artists who worked on the set and behind the scenes to create the art of Iron Man .'

Art is hugely important when it comes to comics. Not only would the medium just not exist without artwork, but projects can be made or wrecked with art. Pair the wrong artist and writer together and a story can fail to grab people, and the wrong colourist can change an artists work in huge ways. Art is super important for comics, and for bringing comics to the big screen. In the first of a new 24 volume set, which will chronicle each of the movies in the three phase Infinity Saga, we dive deep into the art and the creation of the very first Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Iron Man.

Iron Man: The Art of the Movie is a big book, one that at first might feel a bit daunting when you pick it up (I was surprised at the size of the package that arrived at my door the day it appeared), but once you take a small peek inside you find that this huge book is actually super accessible, split into several chapters that focus on various aspects on the design stage of the movie.

After a brief introduction that goes into the comic origins of the character, complete with some great classic artwork, we get to the part that I imagine is going to be the biggest draw for the book, Iron Man's suit designs. One of the best things about Iron Man is that his look can change at any time, and the character has probably been through the most number of changes across his comic career. From new full time suits, to one off designs made for specific purposes, he's a character who goes through a lot of evolutions, and as such coming to just a few designs for the film appears to have been a far from easy task.

This segment of the book features some fantastic concept art, with several different versions of the Mark I armour that show off various different ideas for how Tony Stark would create it out of scrap. I loved looking through these designs, seeing how some were a lot less recognisably Iron Man and clearly made from old machines and vehicles, whilst others would be sleeker, and more like his second set of armour. The book talks about the different stages of bringing it to life too, including model work, and some behind the scenes shots of the practical suit used in the filming.

From here we dive deep into designs for the other suits that would appear in the movie, and these contain perhaps some of the most surprising variations. All of them are clearly going towards the same end goal, but there are several designs in the book that are very different in style and tone, and you can't help but wonder the direction in visual style the entire MCU could have taken if some of these other designs were used. Would the chunkier, more mecha looking suit have changed the tone of the film too much, and whilst I absolutely love the comic inspired 'sleeveless turtleneck' design I just don't think that would look anything but a bit goofy on the big screen.

Even when coming to the final design the book still has a lot to go into, as we get detailed looks at things such as the design and creation of the inside of the Iron Man mask, a feature that's not even a huge focus on the screen but still requires a lot of work. This gets rounded out by a few designs for alternate armours such as the stealth armour and under water armour that never made it into the film, and a War Machine armour (a great tease for things to come in the second film).

But it's not just Iron Man who gets to wear armour in the movie, and as such the armour design segment of the book is far from over. It was through reading this book that I learned that the films villain, Iron Monger, was not the originally intended final battle of the movie, and that another villain would be the main focus. A villain that would be a combination of two. The Mandarin wearing a Crimson Dynamo armour. The couple of designs for this that are included in the book are interesting, and it does get you thinking about how different things could have been if the film went down this route. The designs for Iron Monger are, in contrast to what we see for Iron Man, a lot more on point here, and follow a much stricter design philosophy, with most of them being quite close to what appeared in the final film.

The third chapter is Technical Support, and focuses on all of the small things that help to shape the world of the movie, and showcase the kind of tech and design that Tony Stark has access to. Most of this is stuff that tends to be background features in the movie, objects that are present but never the focus, yet their inclusion helps to separate this world from our own. There are things like holographic keyboards, Jarvis' AI computer, Tony's robotic service arms, and how the heads up display inside the suit would look. This section is interesting to look through to see how much work goes into the parts of the movie that you tend not to notice or think about, and showcases how important even small design elements are.

This is reflected in the fourth chapter, Setting The Stage, which is all about location design. This includes things like the design and set building for the caves where Tony is held hostage, the creation of his mansion home, and his company headquarters. This is the biggest chapter in the book, and considering how each and every location has to be thought through and is used to help craft how this world works it's no surprise. There are a number of pages dedicated just to Tony's house, a location that sounds simple on paper, but needs to have considerable thought due to it not only being a main location in the movie with a lot of screen time spent there, but because Tony's house has to tell a story in itself, revealing insights into the character and his personality.

The book also comes with a lot of storyboards, showcasing the breakdown and planning that goes into a number of the films key sequences, such as the attack on the army convoy that opens the movie, and Iron Man's first test flight. This chapter really highlights how the design and art of the film isn't just limited to creating costumes and sets, but plays an important part in the entire filming process, and can help to shape how the film is shot.

Iron Man: The Art of the Movie is a hugely impressive book. It goes deeper into the design and art side of the film that you get with the special features on the films physical release, offering more insight into the making of the movie than anywhere else. The information collected here, along with the quality of the art and the story that it tells, makes for a hugely enjoyable read. With this being the first of 24 volumes I really can't wait to see what the others contain, and really hope that I'm continued to be allowed to review the series as this first entry is simply superb.