Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 16

Book Review: Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury Of Iron Fist

Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury Of Iron Fist by Chris Claremont

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects the pre-Powerman and Iron Fist adventures of Danny Rand, including the character's first appearance in Marvel Premier, his 15 issue solo series run. and then the conclusion of that story in the pages of Marvel Team-Up.

The first few issues are really fun as you get a super-serialized look at Iron First's origin, his decision to seek vengeance for the murder of his parents and everything to come out of that. That loses a bit of steam and then when Iron Fist gets his own book, it becomes mostly standard superhero fare with mostly unmemorable villains.

What saves the rest of the book are two things. First of all, the book introduces Misty Knight, a black female private eye who is quite different from a lot of the Marvel supporting female characters of the 1970s. In addition, the art of John Byrne is superb. Comics are still images and the concept of Iron Fist's power is all about movement and it's fun just to see all the great ways that Byrne manages to portray movement in this book. It's some of my favorite artwork.


Overall, if you love 1970s comics with some great martial arts art, this is worth checking out.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury Of Iron Fist

Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury Of Iron Fist by Chris Claremont

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects the pre-Powerman and Iron Fist adventures of Danny Rand, including the character's first appearance in Marvel Premier, his 15 issue solo series run. and then the conclusion of that story in the pages of Marvel Team-Up.

The first few issues are really fun as you get a super-serialized look at Iron First's origin, his decision to seek vengeance for the murder of his parents and everything to come out of that. That loses a bit of steam and then when Iron Fist gets his own book, it becomes mostly standard superhero fare with mostly unmemorable villains.

What saves the rest of the book are two things. First of all, the book introduces Misty Knight, a black female private eye who is quite different from a lot of the Marvel supporting female characters of the 1970s. In addition, the art of John Byrne is superb. Comics are still images and the concept of Iron Fist's power is all about movement and it's fun just to see all the great ways that Byrne manages to portray movement in this book. It's some of my favorite artwork.


Overall, if you love 1970s comics with some great martial arts art, this is worth checking out.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Firefly: The Unification War

Firefly: The Unification War Vol. 1 by Greg Pak

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Set during the TV show, this features bounty hunters from the Alliance coming to capture Zoe and Mal and to have them answer for their actions during the Unification War. This one wasn't bad, and it had some decent charm. However, the story lacked a certain Firefly charm as that was corrected with the final issue. I'll probably give the next volume a chance.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The centerpiece of the book is the two issue, "Whatever Happened to the Cape Crusader" story during one of the Batman death/reboots. It's not terrible, but it misses the quality of "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" by a country mile. DC has published tons of pieces paying tribute to Batman and this one doesn't stand out.

The book also reprints a wide variety of Batman-related works Gaiman has done for DC. Most of it is unremarkable. The one exception is the Secret Origins book for the Riddler which, to me, is the highlight of the book. It does a superb job of capturing the essence of the character and is an entertaining way to go about a Secret Origins book. Other than that, this book is eminently skippable.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Spider-Gwen, Vol. 2: Weapon of Choice

Spider-Gwen, Vol. 2: Weapon of Choice by Jason Latour

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Spider-gwen first book after the Spider-women event and it becomes apparent how bad an idea it was to give her a crossover event that altered her status quo this early.

The story isn't bad, but its far weaker than in the first two volumes and has the character taking a dark turn in a way that's just doesn't work for me this early in the series.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Essential Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 4

Essential Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 4 by Bill Mantlo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issue 75-96 and Annual #4 from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-man.

The key defining relationship in the book is Peter's relationship with the Black Cat. She returns in force with Issue 75 in a special double issue which ultimately sets in a series of epic fights with Doc Ock who makes several appearances in the beginning of the book.

From there, we're given a relationship that's different from all of Peter Parker's Other women. While most of Peter's girlfriends liked Peter but were indifferent to/couldn't stand Spider-man, The Black Cat is in love with Spider-man and finds the idea of an ordinary life or identity to be repugnant. In addition, while Peter has a strong set of values, Black Cat's morals are more gray and utilitarian which comes out in this volume but becomes even more clear in the next.

Beyond that, the book features some important stories for the development of Cloak and Dagger, it also features a guest shot from the Hobgoblin (although the appearance is mainly meant to highlight how rough spots in the Peter-Black Cat relationship can hamper their crimefight efforts) and also we meet the Answer and see Spider-man and the Kingpin headed towards confrontation with Spider-man, and we also get to see Spidey in the Alien costume.

These are some really fun, interesting, and underrated Spider-man books. Its worth reading for the Black Cat stuff alone.



View all my reviews

Book Review: The Flash, Volume 11: The Greatest Trick of All

The Flash Volume 11: The Greatest Trick of All by Joshua Williamson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Annual #2 along with four issues of the Flash comic.

The annual deals with the Heroes in Crisis crossover and I feel that writer Josh Williamson does as good job as he can with but he can't really rise above the quality of the story and the dictates of the editorial mandate which created Heroes in Crisis, which, in my opinion, is hot garbage. Williamson can only do so much and what we get is a tortured attempt to make Barry's actions fit within the context of his character.

The main story is really good. It focuses on the original Trickster, James Jesse, who really is ideal for Williamson to work with. Williamson gives a new take on the Trickster's origin that makes him feel like a dark indie comic villain, which is write up Williamson's alley. It's a great challenge for the Flash as he (of course) has to learn a lesson to survive. Overall, a really creepy and fun story that sets the stage for the Flash Year One.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Fantastic Four Epic Collection: The More Things Change

Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 18: The More Things Change... by Steve Englehart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A somewhat Bleh period in Fantastic Four from the late 1980s with Reed and Sue gone and the Thing leading the team. The villains are mostly forgettable, and the drama (such as it is) is overly soap operatic. The main thing I picked this up because of The Thing/Incredible Hulk graphic novel by Jim Starlin. It was disappointingly unremarkable and bland. There are a lot of issues in here and there are some decent battles, but overall, this doesn't come close to living up to the motto of, "World's Greatest Comic Magazine.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Masterworks Vol. 1

Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Masterworks Vol. 1 (Tales of Suspense by Jack Kirby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Tales of Suspense is known for being the magazine Iron Man debuted in and where Captain America landed a solo feature after his return from the ice. But before that, Tales of Suspense was a 1950s science fiction magazine in the style similar to the Twilight Zone. Each story is about 4-7 pages long and there are common themes about bigotry being wrong, a future where humans fear robots, and so much more.

If you like the 1950s stories, these are fine and you'll some very recognizable art styles from Jack Kirby and the other men who'd make the Marvel era shine, although there are a few daft ideas like ants with walky talkies being picked up by a boy. Still, there are some deft and thought provoking ones as well. Its definitely worth a read if you love that old 1950s/early 1960s Sci Fi.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Superman: The Golden Age Dailies-1942-1944

Superman: The Golden Age Dailies-1942-1944 by Jerry Siegel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Superman Daily comic strips from 1942-44. We get the classic story of how Clark Kent ended up not being drafted because of messing up the vision test with his X-Ray vision, and a few episodes with Superman fighting various spies and saboteurs. We also get the most unfortunate Superman stories in which the story defends the practice of Japanese Internment and uses a story with very stereotypical Japanese villains. Still, even there, they acknowledge that most Japanese citizens are loyal and good Americans. However, its still not a great moment.

The book begins to resemble post-War Superman stories towards the end of the book as wee meet a lying little girl named Susie, Mr. Mxyztplk appears for the first time in the strip, and Jimmy Olsen is kidnapped taken to a country where he's a double for a king.

Overall, these are good strips with pretty solid art. Be aware that its an artifact of its time, but even with that, there's some good art and fun stories to read.



View all my reviews