An exciting original Iron Man novel written by hugely popular Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer! An all new adventure book for children with the invincible Marvel superhero.
Tony Stark is known as many things: billionaire, inventor, Avenger, but mainly for being the invincible Iron Man! People expect strength and pizzazz from him at all times and he’s not about to let them down. But when he heads to an international eco summit, he detects an anomaly off the coast of Ireland. Stark decides to investigate and that’s when the party really starts. Find out how he tackles both inner and outer demons in this all-action adventure from Eoin Colfer, the best-selling author of Artemis Fowl.
’I’m a smart aleck, and the character is a smart aleck. Also, we’re both in great physical shape.’ Eoin Colfer on Tony Stark
The Gauntlet is sure to capture the imagination of young Marvel readers everywhere. It's a compelling adventure for ages 8 years and up.
Eoin Colfer is an Irish author of children's books. He was a primary school teacher before becoming a full-time writer. His Artemis Fowl books for children have sold over 21 million copies. Now he's one of the critically-acclaimed authors working on a range of Marvel fiction adventures.
Q&A with Eoin Colfer
In what ways do you identify with Iron Man?
Iron Man is kind of a wish fulfilment character. Tony Stark gets to do all the kinds of things I wish I could do. Fly around saving the world, blasting the bad guys, being all cool and stuff while the rest of us just read about it in comic books. So when I wrote the book I was dreamily imagining myself in the suit, but unfortunately it was just a dream and I am nothing like Tony. I do occasionally come up with a good one liner but it takes me a lot longer than Stark.
When you were younger, were you a reader or a writer (and did you read comic books)?
I have written stories for as long as I can remember. My ambition as a boy was to produce my own super hero comics, which I did on an amateur level with my brother. We had one character called the Karate Kid that we drew up every week, stapled together and sold on the street making a huge loss. I don’t think Hollywood based their movies on our characters. The movie is much better. I realised when I was about 20 years old that my drawing wasn’t quite good enough for publication so I have kept to the writing side ever since.
What made you want to write an Iron Man story?
I have been a big Iron Man fan from way back in the clunky suit days, his clunky suits not mine, so when I decided to write The Gauntlet it was like stepping into a time machine and reliving all those teenage days, and remembering how excited I used to be on Fridays when the new Iron Man comic would arrive at the newsagents.
Do you think books about popular characters from films and TV are helpful to get reluctant readers reading?
I think books like these will give tremendous confidence to reluctant readers diving into the book. They already know the characters. They have read the comics and seen the movies and now they can tackle an entire novel without apprehension. Sometimes the idea of reading an entire novel can be daunting for reluctant readers but if they already feel like the characters are friends, then it becomes an extension of the movie or TV show. Once the reader has one novel under his or her belt they realise: that wasn’t so tough and reach for the next one.
What MARVEL character would you most like to be and why?
I have always thought that if I could be a Marvel character I would prefer to be in one of the supporting roles as I would definitely crack under the pressure of being a fully-fledged Avenger. Perhaps I could be someone who was cool and now is wise and respected but doesn’t have to actually defeat aliens or anything. Hank Pym would suit me nicely. I could keep my grey goatee and have everyone respect me for my achievements in the past, and I could still go to bed nice and early and not have to spend six hours a day in the gym.
What super power would you have if you could?
I would love to be super-perceptive so I would know when to talk and when to shut up.
Would you rather have a super power or be a genius?
I would rather be a genius than have super powers because then I could genetically modify myself and choose my super power.
Would you rather have a super power or an Iron Man suit?
I think that because I am a worrier by nature that I would spend more time worrying about having a super power than enjoying it so I would choose an Iron Man suit instead.
What change would you make to the Iron Man suit?
I would have to take a good look at the bathroom facilities for those trans-Atlantic flights.
Author: Eoin Colfer
ISBN: 9781405285414
Age Range: From 8 years old.