Mike Perkins

Marvel has a brand new Iron Fist #1 out, hot on the heels of Netflix’s major dud of a white savior trope in the form of a TV show.

Yes, Iron Fist has been savaged by critics over the course of the last week for everything from its central trope to its lackluster script and boring fight choreography. It’s a shame to see Danny Rand’s good name tainted by the show’s performance (and by actor Finn Jones), as in comic form he’s always been a compelling character who has long since moved past his white savior beginnings to something more complex.

Forty years of comics continuity will do that to you!

Since his debut in 1974, Iron Fist has been a partner to Luke Cage, a Hero for Hire, an Avenger, and a Defender. However, his best story to date is definitely in the 2006 to 2009 series The Immortal Iron Fist. The series fleshed out the Iron Fist legend with a brand new cast of interesting (and mostly Asian) characters, and established the Fist as just one of a group of several Immortal Weapons – each with their own deadly martial arts superpowers.

Since then Iron Fist hasn’t been great on his own, with a Kaare Andrews series that undid almost all of the interesting work of Immortal. While he’s been fun to read in David Walker’s Power Man and Iron Fist, we’re now approaching a decade without another definitive Iron Fist solo story!

Will a new written by Ed Brisson with art from Mike Perkins change that? Letterer-turned-author Brisson has a slim Marvel track record, but Perkins has the perfect kind grounded style to go with a strong Iron Fist story.

Is their first issue on the road to being as memorable Immortal Iron Fist or will it be a series I’d rather forget, like The Living Weapon?

Iron Fist #1 (digital)

Written by Ed Brisson with line art by Mike Perkins, color art by Andy Troy, and letters by Travis Lanham. Cover art by Jeff Dekal.

Iron Fist #1 is a quick read that feels more like a prologue than an exiting first issue. Luckily, artist Mike Perkins might have been born ready to draw this title. (Or, at least, he’s wanted to draw it since he was 10 years old, per his note at the back of the book). [Read more…] about Comic Book Review: Iron Fist #1 by Brisson, Perkins, Troy, & Lanham – Strong artwork saves this slow start from being a total snooze