All-New Iron Manual in CGC 9.8
Anyone familiar with this site knows that I’m interested in getting CGC 9.8 copies of anything having to do with Axol (what I call Iron Man’s Model 23 Ablative Armor). So far I’ve done well, getting copies of all three appearances in-continuity:
Iron Man #416 (vol 3, #71) in CGC 9.8
Iron Man #417 (vol 3, #72) in CGC 9.8
Infinity: Heist #3 in CGC 9.8
With those taken care of, it was time to move on to comics that aren’t narrative. The first and most obvious to go after was the All-New Iron Manual, a 2008 history of Iron Man in the Handguide to Marvel Universe vein. This comic also featured the first appearance of dozens of Iron Man renditions by Carlo Pagulayan. (For a more thorough investigation of this book, see my reviews of all six Iron Manuals.) This included the Ablative.
The seemingly easy task of finding a 9.8 didn’t pan out, as none have appeared on eBay in the last couple of years. Finding them in comic shops isn’t easy either, as even the comic shop owners have a hard time telling you where to find one-shots like these. Plus they’ve been sitting in a comic shop for 14 years. So I purchased about four raw copies from eBay over the course of six months before I found a worthy candidate, which I had pressed and graded.
I’m happy to say that I can check yet another CGC off my list with the copy below.
All-New Iron Manual in CGC 9.8
One of the interesting aspects of this issue is that it’s the only cover — front or back — that the Ablative Armor ever appears on. Axol is in the fourth row on the right.
All-New Iron Manual in CGC 9.8 (back cover)
There are no other comic books in which Axol Appears, and the only two other things to chase would be the Iron Manual TPB (November 2008) and Infinity: Heist/The Hunt TPB. While I believe they are thin enough to be graded by CGC, finding ones in 9.8 would be a major challenge that I will only casually take on.
