The Immortal Iron Fist #21

“Wah Sing-Rand and the Mandate of Heaven” is a story about another Immortal Iron Fist. Wah is young, obviously related to Danny, and doesn’t live much as he’s in a stasis and then shortly killed after he escapes. While, Swierczynksi shows a different way that the Immortal Iron Fist means life. This time literally.

While the chi wins, Wah still dies. And the Rand line mostly likely ends there. It’s supposed to show that life is more than just living, but the tone isn’t quite right. Not exactly an uplifting story like it’s supposed to be.

Final Crisis: Revelations #4

I’m still reading this comic, thinking “what the heck is going on?” Or moreover, I know what’s going on, I just think Rucka is trying to be too cryptic. Perhaps he’s spent too much time around Chaos Magician Grant Morrison and the whole anti-life equation? I’m all for high literature and comics being more than just beefed up superheroes dressed in spandex, but sometimes, a writer can take it so far that the meaning becomes meaningless. (Read: My big issue with Morrison and my big worry about DC’s direction since Morrison’s been their lead writer these days.)

Deadpool #5

This was the zombie issue that I was waiting for. (Though Way slightly reused his Skrull plot, but at least he admitted it.)

Of course, feeding Deadpool to zombies forever would seem like a good idea to the super villain. But a really bad idea since everyone knows zombies don’t like to eat the dying.

It is funny to see the zombies spit out Deadpool and proclaim him to be foul meat. Reminds me of the scene in The Lord of the Rings where Gollum spits out the lembas bread.

It is interesting to see how Way makes Deadpool outsmart everyone by double-double crossing them. Sure, he doesn’t like to be betrayed. No one does. And he really isn’t happy when he doesn’t get paid. However, this is an interesting look into how Way sees Deadpool, especially compared to Nicieza’s Cable & Deadpool, where Cable can see the bigger picture, but Deadpool never can. In fact, over and over in that series, Cable “hires” Deadpool (largely to keep him out of trouble) without Deadpool figuring it out until the plot arch’s reveal.

Spoilers for Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse #1 by Laurell K. Hamilton, The Immortal Iron Fist #20 by Duane Swierczynski, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1 by Eric Shanower.

Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse #1

Despite being a big lover of the vampire-genre when I was younger — Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anne Rice’s novels — I never picked up the Anita Blake novels. However, the owner of Secret Fortress Comics in Seattle recommended giving this a try.

In this comic, Anita is asked to raise the dead (one her many talents) and she refuses. The person asking is rich and will probably find someone else. Anita refuses as a human sacrifice is required to raise the long-time dead. There’s also a funny later scene where she tries on a bridesmaid dress with every cliche of the bad dress. It’s pink, fluffy, ruffly, and doesn’t hide her scars/bite marks properly.

If you’re looking for a detective novel with a horror-twist, perhaps something light and fun, these comics are definitely for you. However, they aren’t quite my style.

The Immortal Iron Fist #20

This is the comic where Danny Rand finally dies. Or does he? We see his son with Misty Knight in the future, discussing a dead Danny. I’m interested in what Swierczynski actually does with the plot that Fraction and Brubaker handed him. While it’s cool to focus on the other Iron Fists, I’d also like to see more focus on the other champions and their lives. Maybe some miniseries in the future?

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1

I picked this up mostly because of Scottie Young’s art. I’ve both read Frank L. Baum’s Oz books and seen the famous movie, so the story is not unfamiliar. The art is both cute and visually interesting. I love the way the Cowardly Lion is draw when the same sort of curly q’s in his mane as in Dorothy’s hair. The story is as cute as ever.

The story’s hard to fit in the larger continuity of Marvel — hello, Civil War –, but considering how many titles feature Wolverine, I’m not too worried about continuity. But Brubaker and Fraction still get it in there and there’s luckily a mystical land where time’s all wonky. Yay.

It’s an original story of a hero who already knows how to fight, who’s already been a hero, who’s just figuring out why he’s the Iron Fist. It’s all about history comes back to bite Danny Rand’s ass, and it’s not even his own history; it’s the history of the Iron Fist, the Immortal Weapon. Specifically how Orson Randall, the pervious Iron Fist, tried to change the ending of the story and the consequences.

Danny Rand might be a rich, adventurous superhero, but he has a legacy he didn’t really know about and he has family and allies, he might’ve forgotten both on Earth and in K’un L’un. His story not only makes me love him, but it also makes me want to break the “traditions” and become the first female Immortal Iron Fist in a long time.

Together, Brubaker and Fraction are writing a hero’s journey, a mystery, an origin story, and a really awesome action-adventure tale. I’ll be on the edge of my seat as Danny helps out the revolution and save his old friends.