5 ways I’ve gone too far with this Ablative Suit nonsense

There’s no phrase you’ll hear on this site more often than, “yeah, I know it’s silly,” or some iteration of that. Yeah, I know it’s silly that I’ve put all this time and effort into an obscure Iron Man armor and that I’ve named the Ablative suit Axol. But, as I’ve said before, I’m having fun.

So, what are the biggest ways that I’ve gone a little overboard talking about the Model 23 Ablative Armor? Let’s take a look.

Business Cards

Yeah, I got business cards, but let me explain! I figure they’re the easiest way to hand over this site’s URL to artists at conventions when I want some custom art. Also, if I want to give somebody some quick contact info, I’ll have one on me. Plus, you gotta admit they look pretty cool.

Collecting Every Iron Manual

If you check this page, you’ll see that there are six items that call themselves Iron Manual in some way or another, released between 1993 and 2020. Some of these re-use material from other sources, some were given away for free, and one is a hardcover book.

Only two of these, the All-New Iron Manual and the Iron Manual TBP, have Axol inside. (Why did the Intel musical stinger just go through my head?) And both of those are using the same piece of Carlo Pagulayan’s art.

So what did I go and do? I bought a copy of every other Iron Manual out there just to make sure that the Ablative Armor Iron Man didn’t show up in there. I even wrote a blog reviewing all of them. That’s unnecessary dedication, folks!

**Came out a decade before the Ablative Armor. Still had to have it.**

Slabbing the Comics

If you’re not familiar with slabbing, it’s where a comic book is professionally graded and encased in a tamper-resistant clear plastic case. This ensures that a comic is in the condition you say it is when you sell it, and that there aren’t any hidden defects or restoration. (It also allows people to brag about their 9.8 over anyone who “only” has a 9.6 or lower.) Certified Guarantee Company (CGC) is the most popular service for comic “slabbing.”

While it’s possible to get a 9.9 or a 10, a 9.8 is really the highest grade you can hope for. I found a high-grade Iron Man #416 and #417 and slabbed them. While they both came back 9.8, I doubt I could get much more than the slabbing fee out of them. I did it on a lark. Still, I am waiting to see the grade my Infinity: Heist #3 gets!

Ablative Armor Statue

Nothing in my collection would surprise anyone more than the statue. It’s the one and only Ablative Suit statue in existence, and I always intended it to be the center of my collection. Getting a custom of an action figure is pretty common. A full-blown 12” statue? Not so much.

**I…am…Iron Man(‘s most obscure armor brought to three dimensions for some reason and destined to confuse the executors of my estate when they stumble across it someday)**

Sure, I’ve had other custom art done (which is also maybe the only custom art commissioned of Axol), but a statue is kind of a way to say, “no, I’m really interested in this.” Of course, one other thing says obsession…

Creating This Site

Let’s just come full circle to the opening paragraph and mention this site as a way in which I’ve gone overboard, shall we? It’s too much. It’s 10 pages and more than a dozen blogs, with two more blogs coming every week. It’s telling people stuff they never knew they wanted to hear (well, the few who are reading it, anyway. Thanks for reading, by the way.) It’s something I work on while trying to avoid real work. So yea, I know it’s silly, but…