Comic-Book Movies: A Summer Reading List

Before you see Iron Man (out May 2), read Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle by David Michelinie and Bob Layton
True, Jon Favreau's movie is more of a cheeky origin story, but it merely sets the foundation for what he's reportedly said will lend itself to a warts-and-all sequel. Enter Demon in a Bottle. Fifteen years after Iron Man's invention, Michelinie and Layton created this definitive portrait of the alcoholic hero. Tony Stark, the playboy industrialist under the armor, goes head-to-head against whiskey sours and amaretto and scotches — it's probably the only time you'll hear the battle cry, ''I should never have had that fourth martini!'' Reminders that it's 1979 include disco fashions and Ed Koch. —Sean Howe