TALKING IRON FIST WITH SWIERCZYNSKI, FRACTION, BRUBAKER AND FOREMAN

[MattBrady]

by Steve Ekstrom

It’s official—Marvel Comics has announced that Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja are leaving The Immortal Iron Fist after issue #16, to be replaced by the team of Cable writer Duane Swierczynski, who will be joined by artist Travel Foreman. Swierczynski and Foreman will kick off their run starting with issue #17 in July.

Newsarama got in touch with Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Duane Swierczynski, and Iron Fist editor Warren Simon to discuss the changing of the guard as well as a number of creative dynamics involved with the critically acclaimed Immortal Iron Fist series.

Newsarama: When the Immortal Iron Fist title was starting up--Ed and Matt, you guys basically came up with a modernized take on a somewhat 2-Dimensional character in terms of his history as a "buddy character" to Luke Cage and a somewhat muddied death/ rebirth at the hands of John Byrne in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Now that there is a definite source/ mythos to Iron Fist, what has become the challenge with handling the substance of the character to the two of you?

Ed Brubaker: I don't think Matt and I really did that much that changed Danny at all. We just looked at the good Iron Fist stuff and got to the core of it. I had always wanted to do Iron Fist, and had always thought that there were Iron Fists as long as there was Kun Lun, basically, and we just started from there and ran with it. Matt had some crazy ideas about mag-lev trains and what Danny should do with his company's money, and then we just started rolling forward getting as much into each issue as we could.

Matt Fraction: I don't think the challenge was any different at the end of our run than it was at the beginning—reduce the character down to his core components, and then crush him to see what happens. The problem was never Iron Fist, it was all the crap that wasn’t Iron Fist—does that make sense? All we did was try to remind people that, hey, Kung Fu Billionaire is a good idea for a comic character.

EB: I also think Matt and I both really wanted the book to feel more like an old Pulp-era thing and less like a superhero comic—more Shadow/Doc Savage inspired. And there are ties to that era, in that Iron Fist was inspired by an old Bill Everett character who was inspired in some ways by the Shadow.

Danny, though, was always well-established as a character. We just made him a bit cooler and more powerful, and gave him a bunch of new costumes because David Aja is a genius and wouldn't keep him in one outfit at a time.

NRAMA: Duane, how are you planning to add to the storied history of the Immortal Iron Fist or are you just going to work with some of the previous incarnations established in the Brubaker/ Fraction run for now?

Duane Swierczynski: What’s great about the Iron Fist universe that Ed and Matt set up is that it’s ever-expanding. It’s basically one big, weird, pulpy story machine, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be handed the keys to the thing. I will be telling more stories about the existing incarnations of Iron Fist, but you’ll see a few new faces pop up, too—and in (hopefully) surprising time periods.

NRAMA: Should Danny Rand/ Iron Fist have a more predominant role in the Marvel Universe of the 21st century? In your minds, how does the Iron Fist stand out amongst other characters like Daredevil or Spider-Man who seem to reach a similar audience but have a more tenured stay in the Marvel Universe?

MF: Danny/IF should have a role that makes sense. Right now it makes perfect sense that he's plugged into the Avengers. Would it have made sense ten years ago? Not at all. Did it make sense when he was from an alien city fighting giant asparagus? Not so much.

And he stands out because there's no one else like him. He's an international, pan-generational hero. He's human, he's American, and yet so much of him is of another culture and another world.

EB: He stands out because he's a Kung-Fu billionaire from a mystical city in the Himalayas. It's really simple. He stands out the same way that Dr. Strange does. That's what's cool about Iron Fist. He's otherworldly in some ways, but street-level in others. You can literally do anything with him, and now we've opened the door to stories about the Iron Fists of the past, so there are a lot of different angles to approach the character from.

NRAMA: With the evolution of this character, do you think readers could see a new Iron Fist down the road or has Marvel barely scratched the surface of Rand as the Iron Fist?

EB: I hope Danny stays around for a while, but Iron Fists do tend to die young, for the most part, so I guess anything is possible.

MF: Well, since ours is the first time an Iron Fist book has had more than 15 issues, I think it's safe to say there's miles to go with Danny.

That said, Duane kills him off in #19. Spoilers!

NRAMA: Is the Iron Fist a better character when Luke Cage is present? Does the character need a foil to balance him out?

MF: I think they both need each other as foils, honestly. It's not a flaw of character, but rather they team up so beautifully and each enhances the other. I know it was probably a marketing decision to team the two big exploitation characters together but man, when it works, it really, really works. It's not about balance—it's about complimenting.

NRAMA: Matt and Ed, are there aspects of this character that you wished you could've explored further?

EB: I think we touched on almost all the stuff I wanted us to at the beginning. It took us a bit longer than I thought it would to do it, but then, I had no idea that the second storyline would involve a Kung Fu tournament. It was originally just going to be a Kun Lun rebellion story, but then we were talking and I was staring at my wife's Enter the Dragon poster, and things just started clicking, and I'm saying, what if there are 6 other cities and they have a tournament, and Matt's saying, and they each have different immortal champions with cool names and... and... and...

And suddenly there was all this other stuff that made the book so much more fun and new and interesting, and that tied directly into the tragic story of Orson Randall, the lost Iron Fist from WWI.

MF: I can't answer this without blowing our last issue, so let me just say that there's a particular relationship dynamic that takes a turn in #16 I would've loved to have written more.

NRAMA: Duane, how do you want to take what Ed and Matt have created and move it forward, yet bring your own unique creative voice to the project?

DS: I’m not so much worried about bringing my own voice to Iron Fist, because I feel like this book is already speaking my language (as it no doubt does with every other Iron Fist fan). It’s the place you go when you want a white hot dose of pulp action, epic adventure, and mystical freakiness. It’s what I love to read, and love to write.

NRAMA: What do the three of you think are some of the flaws of Rand/ Iron Fist that make him an archetypal character in the Marvel Universe?

EB: He's not of the world that he lives in, completely, and he has a mission that he knows will someday get him killed, most likely. And he was born out of tragedy, having watched his parents die when he was like 9 years old.

MF: He comes from a place of tremendous pain and loss-- which if you think about the revelations in Immortal Iron Fist #14, will become even more painful as they come to light. He's the permanent outsider, in both the worlds in which he walks. In K'un Lun, he's a white outworlder from another culture, and in NYC he's a spacey billionaire into Yin-Yang symbols and karate... and that's just the tip of the eccentricities. There's nowhere Danny has ever fit... except with the other misfits that made up the Heroes for Hire.

DS: Also—to build on what Ed said about Danny not being of this world—I think his weird childhood makes him like a big kid, even though he’s in his early 30s. This came into sharp relief in Ed and Matt’s first arc, when he’s interacting with Orson Randall, and it’s very cool gruff dad/clueless son kind of situation. There’s also a father-son thing going on with Jeryn, and a big brother/little brother thing with Luke Cage. Danny seems to have gathered around him a surrogate family to replace the one that was stolen from him.

NRAMA: Were there any stories that the two of you mulled over but simply didn't have the time to tell?

MF: I remembered an idea that Ed had last night that I think he should do as an Iron Fist graphic novel that Jon J. Muth should paint. It was going to be a stand-alone Tales Of The Iron Fist issue, but the idea is so good it really could be something special.

NRAMA: Duane, how does your first story arc start out? What can readers expect once you've taken over the book?

DS: Matt cues up something really devastating in Iron Fist #16, and my story picks up literally a second later. (And then, 10 years later.)

NRAMA: When working with properties owned by a company like Marvel, what do the three of you think is the most important factor when creative teams change like this?

MF: A good editor, which we had a thousand times over in Warren Simons. Because, look, at the start of the day, there were four people that cared about this book-- me, Ed, David, and Warren-- and only one of them worked every day at Marvel and could fight for it every day. And that guy was Warren. A book like this could've so easily been killed at #8 without someone taking the time and energy to protect it, nurture it, defend it, and champion it. To say nothing of organizing the thing and coordinating the amazing array of artists we've had. It's great to know that Duane and Travel are taking over, and god knows it'll be great, but that Warren's still editing the thing means it truly is in the hands of someone who loves it.

EB: That it should feel like the same book that readers were already into, so it doesn't lose whatever its ineffable appeal is, but at the same time, that the new team establish their own voice as soon as possible.

DS: Yeah, I think making sure the readers aren’t confused—or saying, “What the hell happened to the Iron Fist I loved?”—is vital.

NRAMA: Speaking of editors, Warren, when Ed and Matt leave and Duane comes onto the title—how crucial of a role does the editor play when it comes to holding together the framework of the title's status quo? Are there instances where certain nuances can be discarded or downplayed? Or, with books like Immortal Iron Fist, where the lineage of the character plays such an active role, are there certain things new writers like Duane have to be made aware of--like rules or guidelines?

Warren Simons: I won't delve too far into the day-to-day minutia of editorial, but my goal as the editor of Iron Fist is the same as it's been for the last 18 months: to make this book a great read that our fans will enjoy. Duane and Travel's first issue picks up right where Matt and David leave the book with issue # 16, and I'm really excited about where we're headed. I love our Iron Fist fans, and I honestly wouldn't have wanted the title to continue if I felt like we were offering a comic that didn't have the potential to match the great work that Matt and Ed and David have put together.

Issue # 17 opens 10 years in the future—with a mysterious little boy asking Misty Knight how his father died—and the script just takes off from there. We'll be introducing a few new Iron Fists, as well as some kick-ass villains. If you've enjoyed the book to date, stick around: We're just getting started

NRAMA: Matt and Ed, what was the biggest challenge for the two of you as you capped your run on this series?

MF: For me, I really really, really, really wanted the last one to be #16 and not #15 so we could be the team that broke the old record. And with my workload that was a dumb, arrogant, and exhausting decision to make.

EB: I think the biggest challenge for us was being willing to let it go, but we personally recommended Duane for the gig, so knowing it was going to be someone I'm a fan of was a big plus. Also, Matt wrote the final issue himself (except for one scene that I rewrote, actually) and I think it's my favorite thing that he's ever written at Marvel. I wrote him a fan letter after I read the script for that one.

NRAMA: Are there any crucial threads that have been established that readers should consider in the upcoming months, post-Secret Invasion--or do Skrulls figure prominently into the Iron Fist's future (or past for that matter...) as well?

MF: Fat Cobra's a fat Skrull.

NRAMA: Duane, what do you think your biggest challenge is going to be following Matt and Ed's run? It's one of Marvel's most recent books to get a great deal of critical acclaim--no pressure, right?

DS: Um, yeah, geez, no pressure at all, following such a critic and fan favorite… ahem… er…

Seriously, though, my goal is to someday look back from, say, issue #25, #35 or even #50 and be able to say, Yeah, this story grew organically, all from seeds planted in that first arc, and it never jumped the shark. Or the undying dragon as it were.

[funjoe]

Wow. Very disappointed to hear Matt and Ed are leaving the title. They way they talked at the beginning it sounded like they would be on for a good long time.

[spidertour02]

It’s official—Marvel Comics has announced that Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja are leaving The Immortal Iron Fist after issue #16, to be replaced by the team of Cable writer Duane Swierczynski ...

That sound you heard was the collective screams of all Immortal Iron Fist fans.

[Darquehex]

Originally Posted by spidertour02

That sound you heard was the collective screams of all Immortal Iron Fist fans.

Yup. There went my second flirtation with the man from K'Un L'Un (first ended when a certain Mr. Ostrander had his H4H book killed...)

[brawl2099]

Boooo...

The new team is totally disappointing to me. Way to drive this series towards cancellation Marvel!

[KoozyK]

what is it about bru that he starts a book and then leaves it...

and he always leave it with someone i don't want to read. damn shame.

[hhbx]

Don't know about the new team really so I can't comment on them, but seeing Brubaker and Fraction leaving the title makes me sad.

[jasonbradley]

consider this title dropped as of #17 Very dissappointing news. I thought at the very least perhaps Matt Fraction would go solo on the writing chores but this is...ugh.

[Tekkamansol]

Wow that's some rack

Seriously this sucks, Matt Ed and David made this book a monster hit with me, the story is amazing the art is superb oh yeah they also made Iron Fist not suck anymore, it's just gonna be more of the same

[EyesBL7]

This is GREAT news! Great news in the sense that I've been looking for a reason to cut some titles from my pull list.

[Corpulent1]

I'll be sad to see Brubaker and Fraction go, but I'll give the new team a chance. Travel Foreman's a great artist, and Swierczynski seems to have a genuine love for the character that could translate into good comics and not, um, Cable.

[sonofbuzzo]

Wow, sad news. It was a great run, but I guess EB & MF are too high profile now for a book like Iron Fist.

[Mk.III]

I think it would be fair to say that I've just died a little on the inside

[Jed Saxon]

Not to bash the next creative team, but I'm dropping this title as well. I'm looking on the perfect exit point on all Marvel titles sans "Spider-Girl" and Marvel just presented it here. Yay!

And I like that Marvel is at least consistent in keeping artists on the book that never heard of the word "deadline". (that was a jab, not a bash ).

[Rawnzilla]

Wow, I'm very disappointed. Cable is garbage and Iron Fist has been one of my favorite titles. Bru and Fraction are off of it already? Wow.

[painters_eye]

Who is the artist on this picture? If this is the artist for the new team, sign me up.

[Fenrir]

Ugh. For the love of Buddha tell me Danny's not going back to the collar..

[ReaperFett]

On the positive side, the new writer is good.


On the other, it does feel like a book where there was so much more to tell us. The old Iron Fists, Orson Randall's exploits, the other champions. Brilliant creative team gone so quickly.

Also, I see the old bloody costume is back

[umanumanamo]

This news is supremely disappointing.

However, to be fair, I'll give the new team a chance and see what they cook up. I'd have like to have seen Kano take over on art, as he's been doing a great job with the fill-ins and such in the current story arc.

I was under the impression that Fraction was going to stay on this book for a while. The success of this book hinges on Fraction and Brubaker's team-up and love for the character, which turned it into my favorite book that Marvel puts out these days.

I just hope the change-up works and the quality stays the same.

[Tomwaitsfan]

Maybe people should give Swierczynski a chance. Sure, Cable is crap but that Punisher One-shot was great.

[ReaperFett]

Originally Posted by Tomwaitsfan

Maybe people should give Swierczynski a chance. Sure, Cable is crap but that Punisher One-shot was great.

I like Cable, got a nice Western vibe going on. But when a great book changes creators, you're dissapointed no matter what.

[xdemon]

I am not happy about the change but this gave me some hope:

EB: I think the biggest challenge for us was being willing to let it go, but we personally recommended Duane for the gig, so knowing it was going to be someone I'm a fan of was a big plus. Also, Matt wrote the final issue himself (except for one scene that I rewrote, actually) and I think it's my favorite thing that he's ever written at Marvel. I wrote him a fan letter after I read the script for that one.

I knew Bru would be leaving but I guess Matt got more valuable to Marvel to leave him on IIF.

[Birmy]

Originally Posted by EyesBL7

This is GREAT news! Great news in the sense that I've been looking for a reason to cut some titles from my pull list.

Yeah, I'm with you. I kept dropping and re-adding this to my pull list since I couldn't bring myself to stop reading it due to Brubaker/Fraction. Foreman doesn't do too much for me and I sense Swierczynski is still in that "proving himself" stage, so off the list you go, Danny Rand and your various ancestors.

[RDuarte]

Originally Posted by spidertour02

That sound you heard was the collective screams of all Immortal Iron Fist fans.

Originally Posted by jasonbradley

consider this title dropped as of #17 Very dissappointing news. I thought at the very least perhaps Matt Fraction would go solo on the writing chores but this is...ugh.

Originally Posted by Mk.III

I think it would be fair to say that I've just died a little on the inside

Agreed on all counts.

[Question86]

Fraction is leaving as well? Man I've been loving this book and now I might drop it.