June 20, 2015 by jerrymcmullen - 1 Comment

Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 2

First Published: April 2009

Contents: Power Man and Iron Fist #76 (December 1981) to #100 (December 1983); and Daredevil #178 (January 1982)

Key Creator Credits: Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill, Dennis Cowan, Denny O’Neil, Kurt Busiek, Ernie Chan, and others

Key First Appearances: Eel, Chemistro

Story Continues From: Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1

Overview: With apologies to Tony Kornheiser, the Heroes for Hire are back for more cash. The bills don’t pay themselves, so Luke Cage and Danny Rand make their services available to clients of all types. Unfortunately, a lot of the times, they end up doing pro bono work, as is the nature of most superheroes.

One client that can afford to pay the Heroes for Hire is the law firm of Nelson & Murdock. This collection kicks off with a crossover with Daredevil during the Frank Miller era. Matt Murdock has a client with papers connecting a mayoral candidate with the Kingpin. So Murdock arranges to have Daredevil protect the client. But Matt’s partner, Foggy Nelson, is worried about Matt’s safety. So Foggy retains the Heroes for Hire to protect his law partner. You can probably imagine what happens next? A lot of confusion, the heroes fight, and the Kingpin gets away.

The rest of the book remains a self-contained storyline. The issues are generally one-and-done tales, but there is an underlying story that slowly builds up to a climax with issue #100. While some references are made to other events in the Marvel Universe, the world of Luke Cage and Danny Rand does not cross over with a lot of other heroes. Fortunately, the cast of supporting characters help round out the stories, so you don’t need a lot of other heroes to keep the story moving.

What makes this Essential?: Is this truly essential? Probably not. But it is a solid read focusing on a core group of characters. With the exception of the Daredevil crossover at the start of the book, this collection does not cross over with other titles in the Marvel Universe. You don’t need to read a dozen other titles to understand what is going on with the characters.

One highlight to take away from this book is that it features the Marvel debut of Kurt Busiek as a writer. Busiek has become one of the best comic book storytellers of our generation. With titles like Marvels, Kingdom Come, and Astro City on his resume, he is a master of the superhero story. And it all started in the pages of Power Man & Iron Fist. Let’s be honest, it’s not his best work. But to his credit, Busiek did his research and knew these heroes. He brought back characters from Power Man and Iron Fist’s past when they were solo features in their own books.

Footnotes: Sadly, Marvel canceled the Essential line before a third volume could be released for this line. Power Man and Iron Fist finished with issue #125, which means that volume 3 could have contained the final 25 issues, plus any crossovers.

If you like this volume, try: the Thunderbolts from Marvel Comics. Launched following the events of Onslaught, which saw the Fantastic Four and the Avengers disappear from Earth, there was a need for a new superhero team to protect the people. Enter the Thunderbolts, a new team of heroes led by Citizen V. But the Thunderbolts have a secret – they are actually the Masters of Evil posing as heroes: Citizen V is Baron Zemo, Meteorite is Moonstone, Atlas is Goliath, Mach-1 is Beetle, Techno is Fixer, and Songbird is Screaming Mimi. Their secret was revealed at the end of issue #1, and it came as a complete shock to everyone at the time. The series was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, and the two worked on the title for the first three years of its run. The early issues have been collected in three Thunderbolts Classic trade paperbacks, which were released in 2011 and 2012.

December 24, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 4 Comments

Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 1

First Published: January 2008

Contents: Power Man and Iron Fist #50 (April 1978) to #72 (August 1981), #74 (October 1981), and #75 (November 1981)

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, Ed Hannigan, Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill, Trevor von Eeden, and others

Key First Appearances: Harmony Young, Jennie Royce, El Aguila,

Story Continues From: Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2 and Essential Iron Fist Vol. 1

Story Continues In: Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 2

Overview: There are a lot of things in life that just seem to go together naturally. Like peanut butter and jelly, or Scooby Doo and Shaggy. In the world of Marvel Comics, we get the super-hero pairing of Power Man and Iron Fist, as the two street-level heroes come together with their business partnership, Heroes for Hire.

What makes this book stand out is the supporting cast surrounding the heroes. Characters were brought in from the two solo books, plus new characters such as receptionist Jennie Royce and Power Man’s love interest Harmony Young. The large cast made for all kinds of storylines and interactions between the characters, to a fault. So much of each story was spent developing the characters that it left little time (or pages) for super hero fighting!

We get some interesting appearances in this book, such as a meeting with the X-Men to battle the Living Monolith. Sabretooth makes his second-ever appearance in comics in issue #66. (Hard to believe that he was an Iron Fist villain for nine years before he first crossed paths with Wolverine.) Sadly, there is one crossover missing, when Power Man and Iron Fist meet ROM (See Footnotes below). The book concluded with our heroes traveling to K’un-Lun, the magical city where Danny Rand received his training to become Iron Fist.

What makes this Essential?: This is an interesting collaboration. Previous Marvel titles that added a character to the title (Captain America and the Falcon, Daredevil and the Black Widow) still were at the core a book with a title character and a supporting character. With Power Man & Iron Fist, both characters come into the book as equals, having been the stars of their own books. This combination makes for one of the first ongoing true team-up titles. In the grand scheme of things, this is not one of the most Essential Marvel titles of all time. But it’s still a solid read with a unique approach to the title characters as business partners.

Footnotes: Power Man and Iron Fist #73 is not included in this collection. The story features our heroes teaming up with ROM, a licensed property from the late 1970s. Marvel no longer has the rights to ROM to reprint his appearances.

Power Man and Iron Fist #50 is also reprinted in Essential Iron Fist Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: the C.O.W.L. series from Image Comics. Launched earlier this year, C.O.W.L. stands for the Chicago Organized Workers League, the world’s first super-hero union. Set in the 1960s, C.O.W.L. has a contract with the city of Chicago, but they are in negotiations. The heroes are ready to go on strike, but the city refuses to give into their demands. At the same time, there is political infighting within their organization, as some heroes refuse to retire quietly. This is a very intriquing and complex book set in a fully developed world – think Watchmen meets Mad Men set in Astro City. The book is a long-time-in-development project from Kyle Higgins, with an assist by co-writer Alec Siegel and art by Rod Reis. The first trade paperback collecting the initial five issues was released at the end of October, so this is a perfect way to jump onboard.

August 20, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 4 Comments

Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2

First Published: August 2006

Contents: Power Man #28 (December 1975) to #49 (February 1978); and Power Man Annual #1 (1976)

Key Creator Credits: Don McGregor, Marv Wolfman, Chris Claremont, George Tuska, Sal Buscema, Lee Elias, Frank Robbins, Marie Severin, John Byrne, and others

Key First Appearances: Cockroach Hamilton, Goldbug

Story Continues From: Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 1

Story Continues In: Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1

Overview: The Hero for Hire, Luke Cage, is back for more cash in the newest Essential volume. Let’s be honest here, being a super-hero is expensive work. Not all heroes get a stipend from the Stark Foundation or live off of the royalties from the patent for unstable molecules to be used to make uniforms. Paying rent, buying food, and replacing those yellow silk shirts torn up in battle adds up quick for a struggling hero. Of course, you have to charge a fee for your services.

Luke Cage remains a hero of the people, working out of his office above a Times Square movie theater. He fights a lot of run of the mill one-and-done villains created specifically for this title. Outside of a fight against Moses Magnum in Power Man Annual #1, his villains do not make many, if any, appearances in any other books.

As the book comes to an end, Cage finds a lot of familiar faces from his past coming back to confront him. Crossing paths with the kung-fu hero, Iron Fist, Luke Cage is finally able to clear his name, making him a free man for the first time in many years. The two agree that working together benefits both of them, and a new super-hero duo is formed. But like any other story, that is a tale to be continued….

What makes this Essential?: This book is a step up from the first volume, but not nearly as good as it will become with Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1, The second half of the book, under the direction of first Marv Wolfman and then Chris Claremont, starts to finally find it’s place focusing on an urban hero and not just an urban black hero. The art is serviceable, but not memorable by any means. If you are a fan of Luke Cage, this is worth the read. But I would not consider it essential to have in your collection.

Footnotes: Power Man #36 is a reprint of a story originally featured in Hero for Hire #12. The new cover for #36 is included in this Essential.

Giant-Size Power Man #1 (1975) is a reprint collection of stories originally featured in Hero for Hire #14 to #16. The cover is included in this Essential.

Power Man #48 and #49 are also reprinted in Essential Iron Fist Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: the New Avengers books from the last decade. When Brian Michael Bendis relaunched the Avengers in the mid-2000s, he brought in a new line-up (Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and others) to fill the spots around Captain America and Iron Man. At that time, Luke Cage had become a peripheral character in the Marvel Universe, brought to an event to help fill out the background of a large super-hero crowd scene. Over the run of the New Avengers title, Luke Cage became one of the core members of this line-up, to a point where he became the team leader. New Avengers ruffled the feathers of a lot of long-time Avengers readers, but the non-traditional line-up allowed for some interesting storylines. This has been collected multiple times in trade paperbacks, hardcovers, and omnibus editions, so it should be easy to find these stories.

March 22, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 4 Comments

Essential Iron Fist Vol. 1

First Published: October 2004

Contents: Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974) to #25 (October 1975); Iron Fist #1 (November 1975) to #15 (September 1977); Marvel Team-Up #63 (November 1977) and #64 (December 1977); Power Man #48 (December 1977) and #49 (February 1978); Power Man & Iron Fist #50 (April 1978)

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Doug Moench, Larry Hama, Tony Isabella, Arvell Jones

Key First Appearances: Danny Rand/Iron Fist, Yu-Ti, K’un-Lun, Shou-Lao, Thunderer, Joy Meachum, Colleen Wing, Rafael Scarfe, Steel Serpent, Jeryn Hogarth, Victor Creed/Sabretooth

Story Continues In: Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1

Overview: After the death of his parents, young Danny Rand takes refuge in K’un-Lun, a hidden city that appears in our world once every 10 years. While there, he trains in the martial arts, making his body a living weapon. When he focuses his chi into his fist, letting it build until it becomes like unto a thing of iron, Danny Rand can unleash the Iron Fist.

Returning to the real world, Rand is a stranger in a strange land, having to relearn how to function in modern society. Rand finds out that he is the heir to half of the fortunes of the Rand-Meachum Corporation, which allows Rand to live the life he wants to, helping out people as best as he can. He often teams up with Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, the female private detectives from Knightwing Restorations.

Eventually, Iron Fist’s path crosses with that of Luke Cage, the hero for hire known as Power Man. The two form a tight friendship and join together as partners in a Heroes for Hire business.

What makes this Essential?: I believe you have two reasons for wanting to pick up this Essential. The first, and most obvious, is that you are a fan of the Iron Fist character. This is a great way to read about the early years of the character. Iron Fist was clearly a product of the 1970s, fueling the interest in martial arts via a comic book. But he has managed to survive (despite his death in Power Man & Iron Fist #125) for forty years.

The other reason is for the run of issues by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Primarily remembered for their run on Uncanny X-Men, their 15-issue run on the Iron Fist jumps off the page with energy. With cameos by Iron Man, the Avengers, and the X-Men, and with the key first appearance of Sabretooth, the Claremont-Byrne run on Iron Fist is a hidden gem of the Marvel Universe.

Footnotes: Marvel Team-Up #63 and #64 are also reprinted in Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3.

Power Man #48 and #49 are also reprinted in Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2.

Power Man & Iron Fist #50 is also reprinted in Essential Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: The Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, Travel Foreman, and Duane Swierczynski from 2007. This series helped bring Danny Rand back into the popular spotlight. Early stories focused on the Iron Fist prior to Danny Rand, as the title and role has been passed down multiple times before it reached our hero. Danny Rand would later buy back the Heroes for Hire headquarters and redirect his company into a non-profit organization, becoming a resource for the needy. The series ran for just over two years and is available in multiple editions.