It must be pretty gratifying to take a lame-@$$ character from the 80s and make him cool. Kudos to Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker (and David Aja whose cover art makes me wonder what Jae Lee is getting into these days). I breezed through "The Last Iron Fist Story" graphic novel and will probably get caught up with the current storyline when I get a chance. It's a good read (not better than Y, sorry) and might actually get me going to the comic book store on a regular basis again. Maybe I'll pick up some issues of Black Panther while I'm at it (the Christopher Priest issues anyway). So Daniel Rand is the current in a long line of Iron Fists whose sole purpose is to, uh, do wicked Kung-Fu on all would-be enemies of their mystical homeland, K'un L'un. Okay, I can work with that. The only thing I remember of the original Iron Fist comic is him punching through the hood of a car, because his fist was, you know, as tough as iron. Fraction and Brubaker expand extensively on what an Iron Fist can actually do. Now we've got hypnosis, chi-powered weaponry, invulnerability and who knows what else. Okay, I'm on board.
My only gripe is the whole billionaire/vigilante angle. I don't know if that was in the original, but don't we have enough of those? Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, Warren Worthington, Richie Rich...I guess it's about having all that free time.
Speaking of the Eighties, as I'm writing this, I'm watching Friday the 13th Part VI and the movie blows but has two highlights. First, there's a shot of a bunch of little campers in their bunks sleeping and one kid who looks about eight has Sartre's
You're with your baby
And you're parked alone
On a summer night
You're deep in love
But you're deeper in the woods
You think you're doin' alright
Did you hear that voice
Did you see that face
Or was it just a dream
This can't be real
That only happens, babe
On the movie screen
Oh, but he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he crawled out of his hole
You're swimmin' with your girl
Out on lovers' lake
And the wind blows cold
It chills your bones
But you're still on the lake
That's a bad mistake
But the moon was full
And you had a chance
To be all alone
But you're not alone
This is your last dance
And your last romance
Wow...much like our beloved hockey-masked walking abattoir, the Eighties will never die.
10 comments:
is VI the one where Jason takes Manhattan? And the black guy tries to box Jason but of course gets ripped up?
Nah, you're thinking of Friday the 13th Part VIII. The scene you're refering to happens in that. The kid runs to the top of some building and Jason somehow teleports to the top and then they box with Jason decapitating the guy with one punch.
Part VI is the one where Tommy (played previously by the greatest thespian of the 80s, Corey Feldman) digs up Jason in the cemetary and begins stabbing him with a steel spike. The spike gets struck by lightning and resurrects Jason. Hilarity ensues.
Part VII was the one with the psychic girl sort of like Jean Grey vs. Jason.
Bad movies every one, but I remember all ten in detail.
Y is good, but the reason why Iron Fist is better is that it makes you feel like a teenager when your reading it but your almost thirty years old.
How can you not get behind the idea of a Kung Fu billionaire?
Yes we have seen the idea before but really? Maybe I have read more than you. This is one of two titles I pick up up monthly (Buffy being the other I will buy Buffy for you if you send me your address you're work ass.)
At any rate I'm glad you read it, here's a sample of the 7 Capital Cities of Heaven;
I came though the door
I said it before
I hate myself
But I hate you more
It goes ch ch doom
when I step in the room
Master Atomic
My rhymes cosmic
Float on them like a surfboard
The idea of me is absurd
The sound of angels clashing
The Numbers out of control
I’m Michael and Sameal
Rolled into one
The Chosen Sun
The Devastator
Aka Reckoner
Me and Hawksmore
Danger on your dance floor
Code red on tour
It’s Pullo and Lucius
Produced by Octavius
Your Jason Todd
In the hands of the clown prince
Rhyme so hard I’m leaving
Blood on the mic
I circle above you
I’m the vulture
Swoop down and steal your
Protoculture
The master supervillan
Words strike out like eight tendons
I lose myself
In the frame of mind of that I live
Nothing to give
I’m the grinch
Warn your kids
No Christmas this year
Only blood and tears
On a stone throne
I observe and judge
Without love
Without fear
Emotionless Clark Kent
I put pen to paper everyday working on it.
And actually the fact that you compared Danny Rand to Tony Stark is... wow, you must not know how much I hate Tony Stark.
You can't hate on Tony! He did what he had to do for the sake of our country! Cap was an idealistic has-been! Heh...sorry.
There is a real joy in Iron Fist. You can tell the writers are having a lot of fun, but I think Vaughn's work on Y is exceptional. I might just go pick up Buffy, but I still haven't watched season 7 or much of Angel (I know, I know...).
I like the Jason Todd line BTW. I don't know about you, but I think it's way past time for us to put out some creative material. Even if you never go back to The Numbers, I think you could write in that genre successfully. I know you have tons of stuff. Where's the Madison Gray blog? Shouldn't that exist by now? Wasn't that what Al Gore created the internet for in the first place?
If you're as sick of your square job as I am, then I know you're with me!
dude are you willing to go to a writing class with me?
That would make us all good.
pick where you want to go.
then tell me at rkennedy@haieramerica.com
Let's make it happen, dun!
Couldn't a blingionaire crime fighter do more profound good with his billions than running around in tightie tights?
Just wondering. I was never much for allegory. Or fun.
E
A resounding no! A brief overview of the respective merits of Bill Gates and Bruce Wayne:
Bill Gates: $100Bn endowment creates largest philanthropic non-religious organization in history; potential cures for malaria and other diseases endemic to the third world likely
Bruce Wayne: his fortune allowed him to develop a battle-suit (plugged into Gotham's powergrid) that gave him the ability to defeat Superman in hand-to-hand combat(see: Dark Knight Returns, DK2)
'Nuff said.
Damn. Iron Fist - I missed my chance for a Motorhead reference.
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