Defenders #11 – Review

by Matt Fraction (story), Mirco Pierfederici (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story:  As the Death Celestial runs rampant, the Defenders discover the true nature and purpose of the Concordance Engines.

The Review:  In reading this sadly pen-ultimate issue of Defenders, I kept feeling like this was constantly teetering right on the edge of becoming a hot mess.  I think a lot of that is because of the ridiculous scale of Fraction’s story, the sheer size of his ideas, and the fact that, somehow, he only has one more issue after this to finish it all up.  I don’t know how the hell he’s going to manage that, but as far as this issue goes, it thankfully never implodes and said hot mess, though flirted with, never comes to fruition.

The big highlight this month is Fraction finally revealing the nature of the Concordance Engines, a reveal that really forms the heart of this issue.  Quite frankly, I thought Fraction’s explanation of their purpose was straight up amazing.  Fraction is a writer that often messes about with grand ideas and while they often go awry or end up overly ambiguous, he hits it out of the park in this one.  If I’ve understood the issue properly, the Concordance Engines’ effect on the Marvel Universe is so staggering that it’s actually mind-boggling; once you grasp what Fraction is actually saying, the implications are staggering.  There’s grand scale and then there’s….this, an idea so massive that it almost become metatextual.  Without revealing anything else, I’ll just say that the Concordance Engines basically answers how one universe can have so many superpowered beings when compared to a universe like, say, ours that is much more mundane.  Yes, there is a comparison there that Fraction implicitly draws between superhero shared universes and our world.  It’s pretty ballsy stuff and have fun wrapping your head around it.

Fraction also does a great job of milking the post-apocalyptic world he’s dumped his heroes in.  While it does lead to action and adventure, there is one scene involving Dr. Strange and Wong that is an absolute, emotional gut-punch.  It was amazing how a scene that came seemingly out of left-field with so little build up could nonetheless have such a substantial emotional impact.  In fact, I think that it IS such a surprise lends it a lot of its impact.  It’s a great scene and a definite highlight of the run.

The Defenders #7 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (penciller), Rachel Dodson (inker), Sonia Oback (colorist), and Clayton Cowles (letterer)

The Story: Black Cat gets recruited by weirdoes to steal weird stuff; the Defenders take their hunt for John Aman to Wakanda.

The Review:  As my top picks for this week can attest, I was looking forward to this issue, but this actually managed to exceed expectations.  Suffice to say, should Marvel ever consider a solo Black Cat series, Matt Fraction would definitely be on my short-list for the book.

Fraction’s has a naturally strong handle of Black Cat and her particular voice and he wisely has her narration the portions of the book in which she appears, allowing him to show off his understanding and clear love of the character.  Felicia Hardy is just as she should be: sassy, living on the edge, thrill-seeking, and cocky.  She leaps off the page and showcases everything that makes her a fan favourite.  Put simply, it’s impossible not to like Fraction’s Black Cat.  The way she’s introduced is also a stroke of genius: we get to see Felicia working an office job, which is comedy gold.  It also, of course, helps to have the Dodsons on art.  While their work overall on the issue is beautiful, as expected, having them draw Cat is a natural choice, given that drawing good-looking women has become one of their trademarks, having published several sketchbooks dedicated solely to doing just that.

Taking the Defenders to Wakanda is also a nice touch.  I’m really enjoying Fraction’s using this book not only as a way to spotlight disparate, B to C list characters, but also as a way to visit the far-flung corners of the Marvel Universe.  It adds a sense of vibrance and diversity to the book that makes it rather trippy, setting it apart from Marvel’s line.  I also cannot emphasize enough how much I loved the way Fraction introduced Wakanda itself: as the Defender’s land, they’re accompanied by narration that sounds like a voice-over from a cheesy old adventure movie or travelogue; it’s so amusing, that it’s guaranteed to have you hearing it in your head.

The Defenders #6 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Victor Ibanez (art), Tom Palmer & Terry Pallot (finishes), Chris Sotomayor (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story: Delving into ancient secrets, Danny and the Surfer discover a connection between the Concordance Engines and the Prince of Orphans, as well as an old, forgotten team of superheroes – the awesomely named Confederates of the Curious.

The Review:  One thing that Fraction’s Defenders has had going for it since its first issue has been consistently awesome art.  I’ll admit that when I saw that Ibanez had been assigned a pair of finishers, I was worried.  Thankfully, while not QUITE as excellent as previous issues, this is still a nice-looking comic.  Ibanez reminds me a bit of Rafael Albuquerque, a mix of Saturday morning cartoon and noir.  In particular, I liked the thick-lines in his inking, which added quite a bit of character.  Sotomayor’s colours really sealed it, using bold, vibrant colours that match the energy and enthusiasm of Fraction’s script.

That energy is far and away the best thing about Fraction’s Defenders and that holds true this month.  It’s clear that he’s having a lot of fun writing that series and, as such, it makes it hard to hate.  Fraction obviously enjoys writing Danny Rand and that makes the character all the more fun to read.  Despite the ominous engines and secret histories, there’s a kind of gleefulness and madcap pace to the book that makes it an enjoyable experience.  I especially like the pacing; this issue could’ve easily been expanded upon and decompressed into a much larger arc, but following a format of short-arcs and interrelated one-shots has meant a much higher pace and single issues that are much more satisfying in their own right, packed with their own stand-alone stories as well as significant progression in the overall series.

The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall, And The Green Mist of Death #1 – Review

By Matt Fraction (writer), Russ Heath, Nick Drgotta, Mike Allred, Laura Allred, Lewis LaRosa, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, Mitch Breitweiser (artists)

What a wonderful book. I always wondered what Iron Fist would be like if Ed Brubaker wasn’t around. Thankfully, it’s just as good, which gives Matt Fraction the “street cred” he so rightfully deserves. This one-shot centers around John Aman, The Prince of Orphans, and his pursuit of Orson Randall, an earlier version of Iron Fist.

The story’s broken up into four parts – each centering on a different time. For instance, part one is pure Golden Age Iron Fist – something that was briefly touched upon in the series. Here, we see more of his group, the Confederates of the Curious. They’re a fascinating team that very much resembles a circus act. I’m hoping we get a mini-series of their exploits down the line. The art teams on this issue are to be commended for rendering each of their sequences to match the era; it’s crazy because this book jumps all over the place. It feels nostalgic in essence – moving from Victorian to western to horror eras. It should feel uneven and chaotic, but some how Fraction makes it all gel.

As the story progresses, it skips through time. We meet Wendell Rand, father of current Iron Fist, Danny Rand, and we see him grow up and study Orson’s techniques. Eventually, Wendell ends up shot and Orson brings him to the most unlikeliest of places to have his wounds fixed – Frankenstein’s castle! But, in a stunning turn of events, the Aman comes to Orson and Danny’s rescue and from there, the entire story and relationship between the two men changes.

This issue answers a lot of questions currently being addressed in the current Iron Fist series. It also offers a wealth of information and backstory to Iron Fist mythos. Iron Fist was never this rich of a character (in terms of history and depth) until Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction restarted his series. Here, Fraction goes the extra mile, painting a lush tale and bringing so many mysterious characters to life. This is one of the best Iron Fist stories ever. (Grade: A+)

– J. Montes