Someone put me on to some dope Iron Fist comics. Either solo or with Luke Cage. I wanna make sure I'm prepared for when this show finally comes out.
Comics You Should Own - The Immortal Iron Fist #1-16 - Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources
Comics You Should Own – The Immortal Iron Fist #1-16
by
Greg Burgas | October 28, 2009 @ 2:11 PM |
28 Comments |
It’s another comic from this decade – I’m Nu Skool!!!!!
The Immortal Iron Fist by
Matt Fraction (writer),
Ed Brubaker (writer, issues #1-14,
Annual #1,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death),
David Aja (artist, issues #1-6, 8-13, 16),
Travel Foreman (penciler, issues #1-5),
Russ Heath (artist, issues #3, 6,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death), John Severin (artist, issue #2), Sal Buscema (penciler, issue #4),
Leandro Fernandez (penciler, issue #7), Khari Evans (penciler, issues #7, 15),
Roy Allan Martinez (artist, issue #8-9),
Scott Koblish (artist, issue #9), Kano (artist, issue #10-14), Javier Pulido (artist, issue #12),
Tonci Zonjic (artist, issue #13-14), Clay Mann (penciler, issue #14), Howard Chaykin (artist,
Annual #1),
Dan Brereton (artist,
Annual #1), Nick Dragotta (penciler,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death), Lewis LaRosa (penciler,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death),
Mitch Breitweiser (artist,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death),
Derek Fridolfs (inker, issues #1-5), Tom Palmer (inker, issue #4), Francisco Paronzini (inker, issue #7), Leo Fernandez (inker, issue #7), Victor Olazaba (inker, issues #7, 15),
Raul Allen (inker, issue #9),
Mike Allred (inker,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death), Stefano Gaudiano (inker, issue #14,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death),
Matt Hollingsworth (colorist, issues #1-6, 8-14, 16,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death), Dean White (colorist, issue #2), Laura Martin (colorist, issue #6), Dan Brown (colorist, issue #7), June Chung (colorist, issue #8-9),
Edgar Delgado (colorist,
Annual #1),
Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic (colorist, issue #15,
Annual #1), Paul Mounts (colorist, issue #15), Laura Allred (colorist,
Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death), and
Dave Lanphear (letterer).
Marvel, 18 issues (#1-16, plus
The Immortal Iron Fist Annual #1, which comes after issue #9 and
The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death one-shot, which comes after issue #12), cover dated January 2007-August 2008.
Minor SPOILERS below. I try to keep it vague!
One of the important reasons
The Immortal Iron Fist is such an excellent comic is that it was published by Marvel. What I mean by this is that DC has a more sense of “history,” as there are legacy heroes, elderly heroes, a history of different “earths” where the heroes grew old and had children, a strong history of war comics and westerns that stretch the days of the DCU further back in time to the nineteenth century, and a legacy of printing comics that don’t “fit” into an official “continuity.” Marvel, while they have published such books, doesn’t have as much of a legacy in this area as DC does, with most of their comics fitting into a very rigid “continuity” that began with
Fantastic Four #1 but has been extended back to include the early Marvel superheroes of the 1940s. Even with their “quirkiest” titles (until recently, that is), at some point someone fits it into regular Marvel continuity. For years, there wasn’t much room at Marvel for comics like this, and even though Fraction and Brubaker place this firmly in Marvel continuity, they also create a strange world that isn’t necessarily in sync with the Marvel Universe we’ve come to know. That’s not to say it wouldn’t be a great comic if DC had published it (difficult to do, as the book is full of Marvel characters), but the fact that it takes place in the Marvel U. but also expands that universe makes it a bit more interesting.
Of course, it’s a great comic on its own, too, and Brubaker and Fraction make sure that the comic doesn’t become too much of a regular Marvel Universe book. They acknowledge the post-
Civil War reality, use Hydra as one of the evil forces, and … well, that’s it, really. Other than the fact that Iron Fist and his cronies are owned by Marvel, this is simply a pulp story with a veneer of superheroing on top of it. Brubaker, presumably, adds in the noir-ish elements, while things like The Empire of Hypothetical Science screams Fraction. The two writers blend their strengths to give us a giddy examination of a strange world full of possibilities. So we get crazy mechanical spiders, women who turn into cranes, pirate queens, airplanes with angel figureheads, hauntingly beautiful subway stations with pneumatic trains, floating trains packed with explosives, steampunk interdimensional tunnels, Lightning Lords of Nepal, gun-toting courtesans in Harlem, the Green Mist of Death, scantily-clad and buxom cowgirls, Frankenstein’s monster, poet emperors, bloodthirsty folk legends, and all sorts of cool martial arts action. All of these elements could easily show up in a regular superhero book, of course, but the way Brubaker and Fraction blend it into one delightfully pulpy stew makes this comic a world-building exercise that’s breathtaking to read. That it exists side-by-side with the rest of the Marvel Universe is just a nice cherry on top.