The Immortal Iron Fist

The Immortal Iron Fist (Marvel)

Written by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker

Artists, David Aja with several guest artists.

Like many boys, I began reading comics as kid with Spiderman. I don’t know what initially brought to that title but I was hooked immediately. Peter Parker is this perfect mix of what you dream is possible with super powers with some of the relatable real-life  aspects and the hilarious villain banter that energized the story. Other heroes were either too dark and dramatic (Batman), cheesy and campy(Captain America) or too convoluted and lame (X-Men). I have periodically left comics because of boredom with spandex stories or extreme frustration with lackluster art (I’ve always hoped to become a penciler).  For the past couple years now I have been steadily acquiring trade paperbacks of collected stories. At this point I have expanded my tastes to include a variety of genres outside of capes. As diverse as film, comics offer the reader such a glorious range of stories that I barely go to the theater any more.

Having created an extensive library of different titles, I continuously lend out books in an attempt to hook new readers. What I thought would compliment that process would be to feature some of these books. Since this medium is so strongly influenced by the art I figure that loosely ties it to the gallery.

Iron Fist is one of those pulpy campy characters that were created to cash in on some period pulp culture trend. In this case, Bruce Lee kung-fu action. Some sequences would look like they were traced from Enter the Dragon. As a result of this blatant commercialized story telling, Iron Fist was basically an empty pastiche of millionaire playboy who fights crime or ninja crime in this case. The character was generally an aimless and pointless B hero. However, like many B guys he had something intrinsically cool. Iron Fists! Hot damn, being a martial artist millionaire was a good start but this guy can destroy anything with a super-powered punch. Visually, he had a nice nod to Spiderman’s mask and a awesome dragon tattoo on his chest. Obviously, I need to say no more. In comics there are your sacred cows like Superman and Spiderman that are more or less the same as when they were created. For the most part they may play different music but they are doing the same dance. So for writers B level creations offer up an opportunity to mix it up. If a writer can manage to build a story about a hero that is isolated from his peers’ shared universe, then prepare for some potential awesomeness.

Enter Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker. Its not often that you see writer collaboration and not often do you see it last quite as long as it has in The Immortal Iron Fist. These 2 fellas took the intrinsically cool concept and went nuts. The Iron Fist immortality was turned in to a mantle and tradition that was mythologized. Now the character had a history of tragedy and triumph to carry. The supporting cast were given motivations beyond plot devices. An ensemble of interests vie for control of mystical forces that are in a state of tenuous equilibrium. The writers also chose to delve deeper in to the source and capability of the Iron Fist. Encompassing all these perspectives, the reader follows the main character as he is ripped from his campy pulp origins into a full fledged, adventure mystery.

A successful comic depends greatly on how well the writer and artist can meld together in service of the story. David Aja performs phenomenally. Modern comics are blessed with such a diverse variety of artistic talent that the “company style” has mostly vanished. A title’s identity is very clearly linked to the how well an artist can differentiate from their peers. With Aja, the major success lies in his ability to convey kung-fu, a totally live-action genre, in the static page of a comic. He has made a compromise but has not lost the flare and charm of the action. The only exception with this series is the sporadic inserts of other artists. What would normally be considered fill ins, artists have been incorporated into the story arcs to tell back ground tales. This helps the reader distinguish between the current tale and some mythologizing background tale. Most are quite successful but others make you cringe. It can and has made it quite difficult to get through some of the trades.

As far as books on the stand and in my collection this one rates up there. Generally, I recommend any series that I get more than two trades. With Iron Fist I’m on four.