One of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe is Iron Fist and I’ve been excited for Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon written by Larry Hama. Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 is pretty straightforward: A bunch of undead fighters are looking to kill off the dragons that Iron Fist is protecting and we have bad guys and gals such as Taskmaster and Lady Bullseye in the mix. Taskmaster gets the best of Iron Fist and the heroes are left with a lot of questions as an unexpected death shows up.

Hama mixes a lot of action with a bit of humor, which overall, makes for a pretty good story. It’s a given that Luke Cage is going to be around and his involvement makes for some of the biggest fun. And this is just my opinion but when Taskmaster is involved, I feel like he knows enough people’s fighting styles that he’s even going to beat Danny Rand. When the child Pei struck Lady Bullseye, I thought it was quite hilarious. I really like what I read of Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1.

David Wachter did the art on this issue. I’m not at all familiar with him but he’s got a great-looking style. An Iron Fist book should be filled with action and this book is wall-to-wall action so Wachter had a lot of action sequences to pencil. I love the look and feel of what is put to the page. Neeraj Menon’s colors compliment the pencils and have the proper color pallette for a penciller like Wachter.

This was a really enjoyable first issue that’s got me excited for the next issue. Iron Fist managed to stop the bad guys in this issue. I have been reading Hama’s work on G.I. Joe for years and I’m glad to see him working on a character like Iron Fist. I might not like this as much as his work on the Joes but add in a fantastic artist and this ends up being just what a fan of this half of the Heroes For Hire needs.

Story: Larry Hama Art: David Wachter
Color: Neeraj Menon Letterer: Travis Lanham
Story: 7.0 Art: 6.0 Overall: 6.5

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics

Writer Larry Hama brings his talents to Marvel’s Iron Fist. Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 kicks off a new adventure for the character which has him attempting to protect the Heavenly Cities as someone is hunting the dragons that power them.

The debut issue is an interesting one dropping readers mostly into the story and only slightly teasing details out. Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 feels much like Hama’s G.I. Joe work. There’s lots of focus on action sequences as the issue goes from one beat to another. It works in some ways but the packed in issue that has not one, but two major villains to battle, feels a bit too much like a video game. The first level has been cleared, so lets move on to the next.

In his journey, Iron Fist is joined by Fooh who feels more like a comedic extra and also the inventory screen in this video game like story.

Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 only slightly works as is. It might have been due to the high expectations from Hama writing but there’s something off overall. The comic is a bit choppy and doesn’t feature a natural flow as much as it does levels. First up is Taskmaster to battle and after is Lady Bullseye. There’s little explanation other than they have a mission to get a dragon’s heart, so it all comes off a bit as a thin plot mostly focused on the action. There’s a lot thrown in there but it’s all very thinly connected.

Dave Wachter‘s art is decent. With colors by Neeraj Menon and letterer Travis Lanham, the art captures the action and the packed in sequences. Iron Fist himself looks a little off with the face a bit too round and feels off. The eyes feel apart and face just looks odd. But, there’s some good action sequences and battles, each having a nice flow to them. As the comic moves along there feels like there’s more packed in which is handled without things being overwhelming and it being pretty clear to follow.

Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 is a bit mixed overall. It might have helped to have slowed things down a little and give more time to let the story be explained and details filled in. As is, the comic is pretty quick paced with the actual story being a little thin and specifics. There’s potential here with a turn your brain off sort of adventure. While it doesn’t meet of expectations, Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 still delivers some fun.

Story: Larry Hama Art: David Wachter
Color: Neeraj Menon Letterer: Travis Lanham
Story: 6.95 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics