The Immortal Iron Fist Annual #1

Posted by Jeb on October 5, 2007

(Marvel Comics)

I almost skipped reviewing this book, having already covered two Annuals in the past week (didn“t these things used to come out in the summer?), but since this one sports my absolute favorite comic cover of the year, I had to give it a mention. The Annuals I“ve read so far this year cover the range from standalone story from a new creative team (Punisher) to belated attempt to finish an abandoned story before it“s retconned out of all relevance (Wonder Woman, the upcoming Action Comics). This one falls somewhere in between: it“s an “interlude” that takes place between the events of The Immortal Iron Fist #9 and #10, but which also works as a standalone story.

Marvel“s revival of Iron Fist was one of the surprise success stories of the past year, selling decently and greeted with raves from fans and critics alike. There“s some good reasons for that, of course—Ed Brubaker“s storytelling gifts, Matt Fraction“s sense for the exotic and Oriental, David Aja“s dark and fluid pencils. The book“s real secret weapon, though, is one Orson Randall, the most entertaining new character Marvel“s given us in many a year.

In Brubaker and Fraction“s re-imagining of the character, you see, the Iron Fist is not simply a superpower, but a legacy passed from generation to generation. However, Danny Rand (the present Iron Fist), stands alone, as his predecessor rejected the legacy and broke the chain. Thus, the series began with Danny finally meeting, and fighting beside, that man who refused to bear the mantle—his grandfather, Orson Randall, a glorious, hard-bitten, hard-drinking amalgam of all the great two-fisted heroes of the pulp magazines. This Annual is given over to Danny learning more of his grandfather“s exploits, each one retold as a period adventure with painted illustrations by Dan Brereton and Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic.

All the elements that made the pulps so magically entertaining are here: the fantastic inventions, the colorful sidekicks, the beautiful, deadly dames. The various sections aren“t really complete stories—each is more like the climactic chapter of a great pulp story—but Brereton“s glorious painted illustrations fill in everything we need to know. He has captured that feel of adventure in the pre-digital age so well that you could lay this comic down next to a collection of classic pulp covers, and you“d scarcely know the difference. Djurdjevic’s section is an adventure set in the 60’s, and it has the deep, menacing tones of the best of James Bama’s famous Doc Savage paperback covers.

The only problem with the book is that there“s not nearly enough of those vintage exploits, or of the fantastic art by Brereton and Djurdjevic. The framing section (Danny visiting one of his grandfather“s old allies for information that will aid him in the epic battle he faces in the regular series) is illustrated by Howard Chaykin, and while it“s not in any way bad (and has some astonishingly detailed background work), its relatively placid nature seems rather a waste of the talents of a guy with such a great storytelling eye (though he does toss in a dandy fight scene near the end). And there“s either too much of it, or not enough: while the story stands well enough on its own, it“s too slight to be very impactful out of context, but too long to serve well as an integrated chapter of the ongoing book.

That“s really a quibble, though. I judge a comic by the amount of enjoyment it brings me, and thanks to Brubaker, Fraction, and most especially Brereton, this one had me grinning from cover to cover.