Graphic Books Best Sellers: Tony Stark’s Struggles

With “Iron Man 3,” starring Robert Downey Jr., out on May 3, the arrival of the “Iron Man Omnibus” to our hardcover graphic books best-seller list couldn’t be better timed. The book, at No. 3 on the list, offers 944 pages of intrigue following the hero and the man under the armor, Tony Stark. These stories include Stark’s fight against alcoholism as well as a time-travel clash with Doctor Doom, a throwdown with the Incredible Hulk and a cadre of supervillains (Madame Masque, Whiplash, the Titanium Man and more).

This edition reprints issues Nos. 115 through 157 of the “Iron Man” series. The “Demon in a Bottle” storyline ran in issues Nos. 120 through 128 in 1979. By the end of the story, Stark puts his binge drinking behind him, but his pat struggle has come up in more recent stories. Back in 2011, Shane Black, the director of “Iron Man 3,” said he opted not to explore the famous storyline. “It’s part of Tony’s character, but I think the ‘Demon in a Bottle’ aspect, if you go there, you really have to go there,” Mr. Black told Comic Book Resources. “The film then becomes about that, because the journey that involves recovering from alcoholism is an entire movie.”

As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.