REVIEW: The Immortal Iron Fists #1-2

Issue #1 Review: Marvel and comiXology teams up to bring this exclusive series featuring The Immortal Iron Fists. We’re introduced to Pei who has been marked by the dragon and is training under the guidance Daniel Rand, The Immortal Iron Fist. Thankfully, he does not say “I’m the Immortal Iron Fist” like he does in the Netflix series and in The Defenders which was nice. However, that’s about the only nice thing about the book.

While the hope and goal to bring new readers to the world of the Iron Fist is there, and it was a decent attempt, this book however does not hold well for K’un-luns champion. For starters the artwork in itself looks like a mix between Archie comics and 1950s editions of The New Yorker. There was just something about it that didn’t sit right the way it should of been. It may be the fact that the artist, Afu Chan has the same art style across everything that he has done.

Now I don’t know if this is just a me thing, but I have noticed that in a lot of books lately there is this trend within comic books that not every panel is given the detail that it deserves. It almost appears that the focus is more on the splash pages rather than ensuring that the overall product, across all panels and pages maintain the high level of artwork. It’s sloppy if you ask me, and the sad truth is these characters suffer the most from this approach.

Kaare Andrews, who wrote the book did an ok job. Bringing in new characters into any series is always going to be a challenge to ensure that enough information is given to set the scene while not dragging it on. There’sÂ a fine line of when dragging it on is too much and this flirts with that line oh so well. To be honest it surprises me considering Andrews has written as much as he has. Maybe we chalk this up as a fluke and it gets better moving forward, but I’m not gonna hold my breath.

I would like to think that there’s hope for this series, especially now that Iron Fist has been getting more attention with his solo Netflix show and The Defenders it would be a shame to see this story tank faster than the Fantastic Four reboot. Lets hope for the sake of the Iron Fist that it gets better.

We move on to Issue #2. I must say, this was a far better improvement from the first book. While the artwork still was lacking, it wasn’t as bad as the first. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that. There was still some panels that were obviously quickly put together or the detail was lacking but that ratio was nowhere near what it was in issue #1.

Some of the panels had the feel that this comic was geared more towards kids or teenagers as there was a balance of both that kid feel in the style while adding some ofÂ more of the violence that would come from Iron Fist.Â The story and writing also improved a lot. The aspect that really helped improve this was the fact that the plot is really focused on the themes of acceptance and the challenges that our youth faces. The focus is not on Daniel Rand, rather it focuses on Pei. It was a nice change, especially as the story progressed. It’s amazing the difference one issue can make. While there’s still a lot of room to improve within the story and the writing, I am hopeful that it will get better.

I wish I could say that you could skip to issue #2 to start this series, but the first book does set the stage and you will be confused just jumping into #2. So sit down, cuddle up with a comfy pillow and know that you’ll be rewarded with issue #2 for getting through #1. At least that’s how I felt.

Writing – 3
Artwork – 2
Colors – 2

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Kaare Andrew
Art by; Afu Chan
Colors by; Shelly Chen
Published by, Marvel Comics

Author Profile

The Random Dude Josh Einfalt

Growing up, I'm a stereotypical nerd. I love comics, superheroes, video games, you name it I love it. Except tofu, that stuff is just different. Fast forward a few years, Now I'm living my dream where being a "nerd" is cool, and I have the wonderful opportunity to do exactly what I want to do; Read comics, play video games, and show off my passion for geek culture for the world to see and not care what critics may think. Aside from reviewing games, comics, being a member of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network and Geekery Magazine, I love sports of all kinds, and especially following all of my teams from the great state of Colorado. Being random is what I love doing because it why not be random, it makes life interesting. Make sure to also follow me on Twitter for updates on live gaming streams on other shenanigans at @TheRandomeDud3.