Marvel celebrates Tony Stark’s sixtieth anniversary with I Am Iron Man #1, and it’s time for him to face the music — literally.

Six decades after his debut in Tales of Suspense #39 (cover dated March 1963 but actually released in December 1962, shh!) and a few billion dollars at the box office later, Iron Man’s rise to A-List status was a slow but gradual one. He essentially became the unofficial mascot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Robert Downey Jr.’s star (re)making performance in the titular role and put the company on its current course towards cultural ubiquity. (Some even argue his absence from the franchise after Avengers: Endgame has led to diminishing returns for their projects since, but that’s a whole other discussion I’m not interested in.) The fact of the matter is that Iron Man remains one of Marvel’s marquee attractions, even if his live-action counterpart is no longer with us. Such is the benefit of comics! No actors to negotiate contracts with means characters can live on infinitely forever, so long as there’s enough interest in them and creators with a take on the character that they’d like to explore.

I Am Iron Man #1 is one such take by writer Murewa Ayodele and artist Dotun Akande, who’ve already played with the character in the Marvel Unlimited exclusive digital comic Avengers Unlimited, as well as a backup story in last December’s landmark Iron Man #650. With an entire limited series of their own to work with now, however, the two have an opportunity to leave their imprint on this long-running and influential icon. No pressure or anything.

Something I will say about I Am Iron Man #1 is that it definitely stands out from several other Iron Man comics I’ve read before. Leaning more on “vibes” than a clearly defined narrative one might expect from a comic book with “Iron Man” in the name, this introductory issue doesn’t hold the reader’s hand and explain the entire thing straight away. There’s some sort of time travel plot involved —which tracks, since this is a milestone celebration of the character— and a rocker chick wielding a guitar that may or may not be capable of maneuvering such temporal shifts. That’s the extent of how I can explain what’s happening here. The abstractness of the story presented in this issue may turn some people off, but you know what? That’s fine. Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri’s ongoing Invincible Iron Man is also publishing monthly issues. If this doesn’t work for you, then that one might.

Even if I don’t totally understand what’s happening here, it certainly looks great, with Akande’s art doing a lot of the work to keep the reader visually hooked and wanting to keep reading. His lines are soft and expressionistic, even when depicting the man sometimes referred to as “Shellhead” in his aforementioned shell, and his lighting is gorgeous, giving a photorealistic feel to what are increasingly out-there and surreal images. It’s really quite an impressive overall package for two relatively new names in the industry, and they’re definitely worth keeping tabs on moving forward.