The Immortal Iron Fist 23 (April 2009)

I think I’ll start with Foreman. He usually does an all right job, but he ends this issue on a terrible full-page panel of the (supposedly) first Iron Fist. He’s got this old guy warped to fit in the panel, his body proportions and perspective a complete mess. It’s terrible finish to the issue because it’s supposed to be scary. Instead it’s weak.

The issue opens with the revelation Davos is untrustworthy. It’s not clear if it’s just him or if it’s the Thunderer too. Swierczynski has a very strange storytelling method for Iron Fist. He contracts things Brubaker and Fraction introduced. For the most part, he sucks the potential out of them. He’s not predictable, he’s simply unoriginal. His Immortal Iron Fist feels like a copy of a copy of a copy. It’s dulled.

Every time Swierczynski seems to be getting better, he drops even further than before.

CREDITS

Escape from the Eighth City, Chapter Two; writer, Duane Swierczynski; pencillers, Travel Foreman, Tonci Zonjic and Timothy Green; inkers, Tom Palmer, Mark Pennington, Zonjic and Green; colorist, Matt Milla; letterer, Nate Piekos; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 22 (March 2009)

This issue features the second time Swierczynski has taken some leftover Brubaker and Fraction thread and determined everyone knew about it except Danny.

The Eighth City? The Thunderer knew about it all the time–he could have told Danny about it, back when Danny told him what he was about to do.

This issue Davos shows up to send Danny and the Immortal Weapons to the Eighth City on a mission from the Thunderer. As the Thunderer forgot as well he and Danny had already talked about this quest.

But there’s a bit of a problem with the Eighth City, even as it fits into Swierczynski’s continuity–people can only go in, not come out. Well, it seems like bad guys have been coming out. So that doesn’t make much sense.

It’s a padded issue. Swierczynski’s Danny narration isn’t bad, but the plot’s just nonsense so far.

This series frustrates.

CREDITS

Escape from the Eighth City, Chapter One; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artist, Travel Foreman; colorist, Matt Milla; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 21 (February 2009)

This issue might be Swierczynski’s best. It’s one of the done in one other Iron Fist issues and Swierczynski does something a little different. He does a future story. It really nicely fits the mythology Brubaker and Fraction established, while some descendant of Danny’s becoming the youngest Iron Fist.

But the Iron Fist of the future isn’t the protagonist, it’s a young girl growing up on a really lousy planet, apparently colonized by the Chinese (they know to call K’un-L’un for help). It’s an all action issue, with a lot of tension, and Swierczynski does a fantastic job with it all.

It doesn’t hurt he’s got Green on the art. Green’s able to mix future landscapes, Kung Fu and robots into something totally organic looking. It’s lovely to see.

Swierczynski’s also being subtle here. The ending is almost entirely given away early, if one does his or her math.

CREDITS

Wah Sing-Rand and the Mandate of Heaven; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artist, Timothy Green; colorist, Edward Bola; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 20 (January 2009)

Okay, Swierczynski is finally back on track. Forgetting the special, he’s now written more good issues of The Immortal Iron Fist than mediocre or bad.

This issue resolves—maybe a little too conveniently (it should have taken eight)—Danny’s possible death at thirty-three. It also gets the search for the Eighth City back underway and brings in the Immortal Weapons to a more central role.

Not sure how much of it is Swierczynski’s fault for not plotting the arc right or if Fraction just left him with too much to do.

Swierczynski puts a solid bow on the whole thing, but all the stuff with Misty seems like a misfire. Though Foreman’s hat for her for her big farewell scene with Danny is brilliant. Swierczynski just never establishes their relationship as anything significant. It doesn’t feel like their goodbye has any real weight.

Still, I’m enthusiastically reading once more.

CREDITS

The Mortal Iron Fist, Conclusion; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artists, Russ Heath and Travel Foreman; colorist, Matt Milla; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 19 (December 2008)

Oh, there are other Immortal Weapons? Wonder if their appearance has anything to do with the issue working.

Just as Swierczynski gets out of his writing rut—well, I’m not sure if that’s an accurate description—he returns to a decent approximation of Brubaker and Fraction’s run on the title, Foreman just plummets.

He goes through maybe four different styles here, but the unifying factor is his people look different from panel to panel. Not like he forgot a facial characteristic, more like in one panel he draws one as a toad and in the next as a butterfly. It’s awful looking.

While Swierczynski does underuse the other Immortal Weapons (just having them show up is nice), he does return some intelligence to Danny, some thoughtfulness. The opening scene works great, even with Foreman confounding the whole thing.

Not sure the series is back on track, but it’s much improved.

CREDITS

The Mortal Iron Fist, Chapter Three; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artists, Travel Foreman and Russ Heath; colorist, Matt Milla; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California 1 (November 2008)

So Swierczynski’s take on Orson Randall is basically to take a big steamy crap all over the work Brubaker and Fraction did on the character. Either Swierczynski didn’t read their comics or he just didn’t understand them. I’m sort of leaning toward the latter, just because it’s a meaner sentiment and this comic put me in a foul mood.

Swierczynski is a crime writer, so I guess the lame, anachronism-filled “hard boiled” narration of Orson in late twenties Los Angeles (in a James Ellroy thriller, actually) is intentional. Again, Swierczynski doesn’t get the character or how to narrate his adventures but maybe there’s decent art, right?

No, it’s Camuncoli. I thought Camuncoli was only at DC since it was Jim Lee who “discovered” him and decided to subject the world to his “skills.”

Death Queen isn’t a terrible idea, but it needed a good editor and a better artist.

CREDITS

Writer, Duane Swierczynski; artist, Giuseppe Camuncoli; colorist, Paul Mounts; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 18 (October 2008)

Okay, either Swierczynski is covering for Foreman or Foreman is covering for Swierczynski here.

There simply is not enough story this issue. It’s not so much a pacing question, it’s just… almost no story. Luke, Colleen and Misty rescue Danny from the guy who’s out to get him (a demon, I think), Danny recuperates, cliffhanger at Danny’s kung fu school for kids. Some scenes in K’un-L’un, establishing everyone but Danny knows about the Iron Fist-killing demon. Oh, and that new hire at Rand, the one I said was a bad guy?

He’s a bad guy.

I’m not quite given up on Immortal Iron Fist, but Swierczynski is definitely showing some problems here. He just doesn’t have an approach to the series. He’s trying to continue the Brubaker and Fraction run, not bring anything new (having Danny be funny about dating Misty doesn’t count).

My optimism is falling fast.

CREDITS

The Mortal Iron Fist, Chapter Two; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artists, Travel Foreman and Russ Heath; colorist, Matt Milla; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 17 (September 2008)

Swierczynski’s approach to Iron Fist is to continue the Brubaker and Fraction format. We even get Heath doing the flashback art.

There’s one big difference. First is how Swierczynski structures the villain in the issue. He’s not mysterious. We get his story right away. And his motivation is pretty straightforward. He’s the guy who kills the Iron Fists at thirty-three–it’s kind of like Halloween: H20, but on a thirty-three year cycle.

Also strange is the way Swierczynski continues from the previous issue. He does a direct sequel (though a few pages are prologue to it). So the last issue has that amazing moment with Danny’s friends surprising him with a cake and this issue has it be a whole party.

I’m generally positive… except how Foreman keeps changing his style. Sometimes he’s finished, sometimes he’s rough. It’s too varied for a single issue.

Reading with guarded optimism….

CREDITS

The Mortal Iron Fist, Chapter One; writer, Duane Swierczynski; artists, Travel Foreman and Russ Heath; colorist, Matt Milla; letterer, Artmonkeys Studios; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 16 (August 2008)

So as Fraction departs–he leaves the next team with a lovely pickle. All the work he and Brubaker did leading up to this issue, the establishing of the Iron Fist history and all… it equals all Iron Fists dying at thirty-three?

Did I mention this issue is a birthday issue?

Aja’s back and he does a lovely job as we catch up with Danny in the weeks following the last issue. He’s rearranging his business, getting even more Jedi with his Iron Fist readings, giving Misty romantic ultimatums, setting up community outreach with Luke….

It’s a great epilogue issue (one with an amazing opening).

Fraction (with Brubaker) put in a lot of perfect issues to this series and this issue is another. It’s a great close and a great setup. Aja’s so on the ball, I’m not even peeved about him disappearing from the series for a while.

It’s excellent.

CREDITS

Happy Birthday Danny; writer, Matt Fraction; artist, David Aja; colorist, Matt Hollingsworth; letterer, Dave Lanphear; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist 15 (July 2008)

Fraction does another of those untold tales of a previous Iron Fist stories this issue and it works pretty well. He’s got a lot to get in here–he has to establish the Iron Fist (this one uses the power to expand his tactical thinking), set the ground situation (he’s fighting the British in China in the 1700s or thereabouts) and then come up with a plot.

The plot’s unexpected–it’s a lot more DC than Marvel, with an impotent Iron Fist teaming with a similarly afflicted Indian hero as they quest for freedom and glory. Well, maybe not glory, they’re off to rescue someone.

Along the way, they run into a third similarly powered individual.

Fraction does a great job expanding the mythology here. He even manages to avoid any of those Star Wars references he so loves.

Evans’s artwork is good (if a little glossy).

A fine issue.

CREDITS

The Story of Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen (1827-1860); writer, Matt Fraction; penciller, Khari Evans; inker, Victor Olazaba; colorists, Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic and Paul Mounts; letterer, Dave Lanphear; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.