Immortal Iron Fist Omnibus

Title: Immortal Iron Fist Omnibus
Writers: Matt Fraction & Ed Brubaker
Artists: David Aja with guest artists Travel Foreman, Sal Buscema, Russ Heath, John Severin, Howard Chaykin, Dan Brereton, Tonci Zonjic, Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic, Kano, Khari Evans, Leandro Fernandez, Nick Dragotta, Mike And Laura Allred, Mitch Breitweiser & Lewis Larosa
Publisher: Marvel
Format: Omnibus Hardcover
Page Count: 560 pages
Dimensions: Over-sized, if I can find the exact dimensions, I'll update later.
Price: $74.99, but you can pre order it for $47.25 from Amazon with similar discounts available from many online comic retail outlets (G-Mart $48.75, DCB Service $44.95, Westfield Comics $61.90, TFAW $59.99) all prices given are at the time of writing this and subject to change without notice.

The Immortal Iron Fist has been one of a few favorite titles of mine recently. It may actually be my favorite. Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction launched their run from the idea that there have been many Iron Fists (66 in fact) and how that legacy lead to Danny Rand taking up the mantle. Also, when rethinking the series, they realized that Danny Rand has the coolest job on Earth. He's a kung fu billionaire. And the story only improves from there.

David Aja brings action to the page like no one else can and redesigned his costume with a bit of urban practicality (getting rid of the fin collar thing and his booties) while keeping the iconic parts of his costume (the color scheme and the dragon tattoo, now a logo on his costume when his shirt does stay undamaged).

Since most modern comic book artists really can't draw 12 issues a year, the creative team and editorial planned ahead and established a tradition of having guest artists draw the flash back sequences introducing us to the Iron Fists that have come before. Yes, I said guest artists as there isn't a fill in artist in the bunch. Each artist was chosen for specific strengths applying to the storyline being proposed and together as an art team bring more to the story than any one artist could.

Enough about the series though.

This is THE Omnibus I've been waiting for. It contains the entire run of Immortal Iron Fist by Matt Fraction (Casanova, Last of the Independents, Uncanny X-Men), Ed Brubaker (Criminal, Incognito, Sleeper, Captain America), David Aja, and many guest artists and includes Immortal Iron Fist 1-16, Civil War: Choosing Sides (I assume just the Iron Fist/Daredevil parts), Annual #1, Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death, and The Origin of Danny Rand.

Robert's Two Cents:

Points in Favor:

• All that beautiful artwork in all its over-sized goodness.
• Seriously the only way this book could have been any better is if it were drawn by John Cassaday (sorry thinking about my Absolute Planetary hardcover at the moment).
• Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker (and even their successor on the title Duane Swierczynski) found a way to bring the concept of Iron Fist and Power Man into the 21st century without being a joke.
• Great writing and great art by a team who were really enjoying what they were doing. How can you go wrong?
  

Points Against:

• You need a really big bookshelf if you are going to buy very many of the Omnibus Editions and/or Absolute Editions.
• Price. $74.99 is a big price, especially when you can buy all of the trades for about half that and the single issues on eBay for even less. But none of those are over-sized and the artwork is beautiful.
• I'm not a big fan of that dust cover, so I'm hoping the hard cover underneath has the Iron Fist dragon logo embossed in gold underneath. I'm not holding my breath though.
  

Recommendation: Hot, Hot Buy. Seriously, you need to see this in all its over-sized glory.



Additonal Recommendations: If you like this book you may also be interested in Daredevil by Ed Brubaker & Michael Lark Omnibus 1 or any of the many trades available of their run on Daredevil, found here. It's been the best Daredevil run in years, possibly even since the original Frank Miller run.

Marvel Universe: Series 2

Action Figures: Case of 12
Release Date: Late March 2009
Size: 3 3/4" Tall
Set inlcludes: Wolverine, Silver Surfer, Human Torch, Captain America, Classic Spider-Man, Green Goblin, The Hulk, Ronin, Iron Fist, and more.
Retail Price: $149.99


Robert's Two Cents:

Points in Favor:

• It's pretty exciting to have a 3 3/4 inch series of Marvel figures.
• Iron Fist is a cool character.
• I like the Iron Fist and if I had to get a second one, I would select the bright green Hulk.
  
• Green Goblin is in there as a close third place.
  
• Odds are favorable to getting more obscure characters. I know Kenner's doing this with their similarly scaled DC line.
  

Points Against:

• Paint Jobs look imperfect. They seem to put too much color in the crevices and not enough on the exposed areas. Pretty typical these days.
  
• I wish Hasbro would look at the early Spider-Man Classics figures from Toy Biz from the early 2000's. The ones with around 30 points of articulation.
• Like anything else, some characters will translate to this size better than others.
• Price? $150 for a case of 12? These are 3 3/4 inches. Then again, that's the Wizard Universe price.
  

Summary:
When I was a kid, most of my action figures were in the 3 3/4 size, from Star Wars to GI Joe & The Corps, so I'm a little biased on the size thing. Nothing like a line where you could take two or three with you without your mom knowing. GI Joes under the pews at church without mom knowing (or so I thought). Plus, since Hasbro is making these, you can use the different characters with the other series' accessories and vehicles. Spider-Man can join GI Joe.

As an alleged grown up, I like the larger scale of the DC Direct and Marvel Legends lines, mostly because I can display them on a shelf or hang them on the wall.

I would grab: Iron Fist.

Zimm's Two Cents:

• I would rather spend my money on a statue.
• I do like the Green Goblin, Ronin, and Iron Fist.
• Once again - something is severely wrong with the Hulks. But the whole reason that I brought up this series is because the Hulk's eyes bother me. Is he constipated? or What?

I would grab: Iron Fist or the Green Goblin

What comics are your Hot Buys each month?

What comics are those you anxiously await each month? I mean the ones you're just sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for them to arrive each month.

Mine are:

Immortal Iron Fist - Especially the Matt Fraction/Ed Brubaker/David Aja period, but Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman are good too. The only thing I don't like in the current run is the billionaire guilt trip that Danny's going through. I think he could put his money to better use by helping people than giving it all away. I'm glad they're putting Danny & Luke Cage back together as a team. To me they're the Spenser & Hawk of comic books. But sorta in reverse. (One continuity question I have is how did he get his company back? I thought Namor had bought it as part of his Oracle, Inc.)

Umbrella Academy - See my write up from earlier this week. It's the Royal Tenenbaums, Amazing Screw-On Head, and Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol rolled up into one and is drawn by Gabrial Ba, one of the best artists currently in the business.

Hellboy & BPRD - Mike Mignola, Guy Davis, Duncan Fegredo, John Arcudi, and more. Guy Davis is another of the best talents out there right now. Duncan's art is amazing. I had my doubts about him on Hellboy, but he's awesome. The only thing I miss are the old style Hellboy stories. To me Mignola used to do like Grant Morrison and throw everything out there and see what worked and build on that. Now he is too busy cleaning up the mess he made earlier on and not just having fun throwing things out there that Hellboy is a Brand.

Criminal - Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips on a crime book that rivals some of the best crime movies ever made. Nuff Said!

Ex Machina - Tony Harris and Brian Vaughn have created a very interesting world of politics and super-heroics in one. Not a combination I would normally think of, but they've made it one of the best comics series around. Plus Mitchell Hundred has one of the few super powers I think I'd actually like, but they even show the reasons why I might not like it as much as I think I would.

Planetary - It's probably the longest running 27 issue series of all time. Warren Ellis and John Cassaday have created a commentary on pulp fiction of the 20th century from comics to pulp magazines to movies. I don't think I will live that long, but I could entertain another 12 issues. Hopefully we'll see the 27th issue (the final issue) early 2009. John Cassaday is about half way through issue 27 according to Warren Ellis' e-mail list, Bad Signal. Issue 27 is supposed to be the epilogue. There are few comics I'd like to see as a movie or really good TV series, but Planetary is at the top of the list. I'd probably whine a lot if they screwed it up. Have you seen the Global Frequency pilot they made? Sweet!

Lone Ranger - Sweet! And the John Cassaday covers are just the gravy on the cake...you know what I mean. It's one of those rare comics than my father-in-law and I agree on. He likes it for the nostalgic reasons. I like it because, in my opinion, they've successfully updated a classic and made it believable/likable for a modern aesthetic and haven't lost the integrity of the source material.

Astonishing X-Men - Warren Ellis has taken this title to new heights. I know it's only two issues in. I generally don't enjoy Warren's Marvel work as much as his Wildstorm work and a lot of his other work is pretty hit or miss with me. I actually amazes me what of his stuff I like (Scars anyone?). He's made the X-Men interesting again. For me Joss Whedon and Grant Morrison were trying to tell new stories while also telling stories that were at least partially tributes to prior X-Men stories. Warren Ellis, on the other hand, has taken them and made them work again on their own in new stories.

Trades I anxiously await when they come out:

Y the Last Man - To me, this series was much easier to read in trade form. As soon as I'd get one, I'd speed read it cover to cover. Then I'd read it again at normal speed to see what I missed. The whole idea of being the "Last Man on Earth" if he was a total geek. It's also interesting to see a theoretical world completely run and populated by women.

100 Bullets - I discovered that I liked this series way late in the game. I picked up the first 10 trades in two weeks two at a time. As soon as I'd pick up the second one to read each time, I'd be exciting I would have to jump onto Amazon.com and order the next two. Just like a junkie looking for his next fix. Now that I'm having to wait on its normal publishing schedule I have to reread all of the trades at least every six weeks. Eduardo Risso and Brian Azzarello doing another great crime book that is also one of the great conspiracy theory books of all time.

Queen & Country - The best darned spy story ever (In my opinion). Queen & Country is Greg Rucka's love letter to the UK TV Show the Sandbaggers from the 70s and is another series I discovered late. I wasn't a huge Greg Rucka fan until I discovered Queen & Country. Actually I discovered the first novel first, then 50 pages into the first novel, I set it aside and ordered all of the available trades at the time and read them cover-to-cover twice. Then I finished the novel and bought the next one when it came out. It's funny though, I don't really know what order to put the novels and the last trade on my shelf. The last TPB, Red Panda, and the last novel overlap. I even bought all three seasons of the Sandbaggers DVDs for $50 each and watched them twice. I wish they had made more. He's supposed to do another novel next year to fill the gap and then pick up act two the following year. The existing issues are being republished in novel sized omnibus style editions called Definitive Editions. If you like Q & C, you should also read the two Whiteout trades (soon to be a major motion picture starring Kate Beckinsale). Tara Chace, star of Q & C, also has a guest appearance (almost a cameo) in Whiteout.

Daredevil - Ed Brubaker on a crime book, Nuff Said! It's probably the most I've enjoyed Daredevil in a long time. There was no one better to follow up Bendis on DD.

Captain America - OK, I'm one of those who doesn't like that Bucky is alive still, but he did make it believable (in a Marvel Universe sort of way). I also am still trusting Ed Brubaker to not screw it up. Meanwhile he's telling interesting stories in the Marvel Universe in a book whose title character is dead.

Usagi Yojimbo - Stan Sakai's story that originally started out as a tribute to Miyomoto Musashi. It's an epic tale of a ronin living during the Edo period in Japan. Very cool! He's the quintessential good guy. Think David Carradine in Kung Fu, Zatoichi, most Kurosawa films, and/or Lone Wolf and Cub.