The Immortal Iron Fist #3 - Marvel (2007)

There were 1652 artists involved in this issue. OK, four but they sure do take up a lot of real estate on the credits page. David Aja, as the guy drawing the modern-day stuff, did the vast majority of the art. Travel Foreman, Derek Fridolfs and Russ Heath contributed some brief "Iron Fists of Yore" inserts. They're all good but Aja's work is outstanding. From close-ups to sweeping cityscapes, every panel of his is gorgeous and evocative. Helping out all the artists is Matt Hollingsworth on colors. His palette is mostly muted which works perfectly with the story and setting. The art is the star of this show.

The story is good. There's nothing ground-breaking, just a good, solid "Iron Fist vs. Hydra" tale. It's possible to write Hydra for laughs, not as easy as it is to do that with A.I.M., but the jokes tell themselves what with the pajamas and the Nazis and such. Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction did not go that route. Their Hydra is full of scary, brainwashed badasses you don't want to end up on the wrong side of. Iron Fist's opponents in this story are drawn from every cool Hong Kong movie out there. It's even got twins who turn into cranes! That right there was worth the price of admission.

The Civil War storyline creeps its way into the title here and there but for the most part it stays in the background where it belongs.

Excellent art + good story + cool bad guys = This stays in my hold box.