Fight the Future

Today's new comics day (yes, on Thursday, no thanks to Thanksgiving), so be sure to pick up your copies of Cable #9 and Immortal Iron Fist #20.

I know budgets are extra tight these days, so huge thanks to all of you who spend the money on my stuff anyway, month after month.

Meanwhile, there's totally free sneak peak at Iron Fist #21 (a stand alone set in 3099) over at Marvel.com, as well as me nattering on about it. (Did I just use the word nattering?) Anyway, it hits Christmas Eve. Can you think of a better stocking stuffer for the nerd in your life?

Nerdery Update

Steve Ekstrom forced me to cough up the latest on my various comic projects, and the resulting Q&A can be found at Newsarama.com. (Possibly interesting aside: I was in the Marvel offices today when the above image, from Cable #11, was sent to Newsarama for inclusion in this Q&A.)

My February Comics

Here's what is on deck from me at Marvel this coming February (my birthday month, coincidentally). Your eyes are not deceiving you; there are five issues here, all in one short month. This makes me seem ridiculously prolific -- but honest, these were written at different times over the past year.

PUNISHER: FRANK CASTLE #67
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Penciled by MICHEL LACOMBE
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
“SIX HOURS TO KILL, PART 2: FIELD DAY”
W.C. Fields once mused that he’d rather be dead than play Philadelphia. Well, if you cross paths with Frank Castle, you’ll be able to have it both ways. Castle has been injected with a slow-acting poison that will kill him in less than hours—but don’t think he’s going to spend them moping around. As long as blood is still pumping through his rock-hard veins, the Punisher plans on killing as many dirtbags as possible. But the Philadelphia underworld isn’t going to roll over so easily. Neither is the top-secret black bag ops unit that dosed Frank. And don’t forget the Mayor of Philadelphia, who only sees one way of saving his already-shaky political career: killing Frank way before his six hours are up.
32 PGS./Explicit Content ...$3.99

DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #2 (of 4)
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Pencils & Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Jack Russell is in serious trouble. The police have made him their prime suspect in a brutal murder...and they don’t even realize the full moon turns him into a vicious, blood-thirsty predator! But Jack is innocent – at least as far as he can remember – and with the clock ticking and the authorities on his trail, he goes looking for answers...and redemption! It’s a gruesome, grisly MAX take on one of Marvel’s horror legends, by Duane Swierczynski (IMMORTAL IRON FIST) and Mico Suayan (MOON KNIGHT)!
32 PGS./Explicit Content ...$3.99


IMMORTAL IRON FIST #23
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Penciled by TRAVEL FOREMAN
Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Danny and the Immortal Weapons from the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven begin to discover the shocking, shameful secrets of the Capital City of Hell. But what does it mean for K’un-Lun, and for our world? And how will each of them overcome the absolute worst and most terrifying enemies they’ve ever faced? It’s kung fu super hero horror action by Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99


CABLE #11
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Pencils by JAMIE McKELVIE
Cover by ARIEL OLIVETTI
“WASTELAND BLUES,” PART 1 OF 2
Deep in the future, Cable and the now seven-year-old mutant messiah find themselves in the middle of humanity’s last stand. And humanity loses! Cable is forced to timeslide into an uncertain future, hoping to find survivors, or food, or water… anything. But the longer Cable and the girl wander, the greater the devastation. As they fight to survive out in the barren wastelands, the girl starts to ask Cable the tough questions he’s been dreading—namely: who am I, and why do some people want me dead?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99


Finally, February brings a brand-new mini-series, announced here for the first time (and of special interest to Cable/X-Men fans):

X-MEN: THE TIMES AND LIFE OF LUCAS BISHOP #1 (OF 3)
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Pencils by LARRY STROHMAN
Cover by ARIEL OLIVETTI
"Memories of the Monster"
By now you know that Lucas Bishop—former cop, renegade X-Man—refuses to rest until he's killed the so-called "mutant messiah." But do you know why? To answer that question you have to look into Bishop's past…which actually means jumping 50 years into the future, when his parents barely escaped a nuclear holocaust, only to land in the most brutal "mutant relocation" camp in the world. There, a young Bishop first heard the horror stories about the green-eyed monster that ushered in the the downfall of mutantkind, and swore vengeance -- embarking on a life-long, time-hopping mission that begins here, in this special three-part mini-series. You haven't heard the "Messiah Complex" story until you've heard Bishop's side of the story…
32 PGS./Rated T+… $3.99

Swierczy Annotates: Immortal Iron Fist #19

Okay, so we're going to try the annotation thing. Got my copy of Immortal Iron Fist #19 cracked open; let's see what jumps out at me.

(Obligatory Spoiler Warning: This annotation might give away some plot points. So read the issue first. Seriously. It'll make this so much cooler.)

Pages 1-3
The Thunderer's Army vs. the Ch'i-Lin in 1878.
Just want to note, for the record, how much I love Russ Heath. I first encountered his stuff in the pages of the Warren horror comics, and never dreamed I'd have the chance to work with him. That is all. Please pardon the gushing. (But c'mon; look at that Ch'iLin running through the snow on page 3! How freakin' cool is that?)

Page 4
Danny takes a call.
Part of the genius of Travel Foreman is his small, intricate, action-packed panels. At the bottom of this page Travel added an extra panel or two to show Danny on his way to Harlem, and I had to recalibrate the captions. But that was totally fine with me, because the sequence is so much better for it.

Page 6
Danny's students turn on each other.
As originally conceived in my beatsheet, this was going to be about the students attacking Danny and Luke Cage. Who couldn't really fight back because... well, their attackers were kids. But my editor, Warren Simons, wasn't totally sold on it; at the end of the day, he argued, it was still a bunch of kids attacking two of the toughest MFs in New York City. So I brooded for a while, and came up with what you see here. This is what a good editor does: forces you to come up with something better.

Page 8
Enter the Weapons.
In my very first draft of my very first Iron Fist script (#17), I had the Immortal Weapons (Fat Cobra, Bride of Nine Spiders, et al) at Danny's birthday party. I wanted to reassure longtime IF fans that I was definitely keeping the Weapons around. But Warren suggested we wait on revealing them, and I'm so glad we did.

Also: those terse descriptions are a tip o' the mask to Matt Fraction.

Pages 9-10
Ch'i-Lin vs. Danny and the Weapons vs. the Students
I try to give Travel an action-packed spread whenever possible, because he's so damned good at them.

Page 14
Zhou talks his master.
I based this page on some conversations I've had with some of my previous bosses. (Seriously.)

Page 15, Panel 2
Danny talks to Ernst.
Finally... at long last... Iron Fist fans everywhere can enjoy a topless shot of the very hirsute Ernst Erskine. (As Simon and Garfunkel once said: "I'm just tryin' to keep the customer satisfied.") I was also dying to bring Ernst back for a little cameo; I don't think he has much time left on earth.

Page 17, Panel 2
Orson escapes the Ch'i-Lin.
Some readers have asked if Orson started using heroin because of the Ch'i-Lin; I think it was for a bunch of reasons... including the Ch'i-Lin. Check out the nice detail Travel includes in the second panel here: the very, very faint imprint of the dragon on Orson's chest, like it's ready to vanish for good.

Page 18, Panel 9
Searching Zhou's apartment.
Another great Travel extra here: one of Dog Brother's dogs, sniffing around. Not scripted; wish I'd thought of it.

Page 19
Nadine and Danny.
In my beatsheet, I had Nadine sneaking up on Danny with a needle. But that seemed a bit implausible, even though I love me a good needle scene. So I went with coffee. I'm a big fan of using ordinary household objects (dental floss, paperclips, coffee) as murder weapons.

Page 20, Panel 3
Nadine.
Very nice bit of lettering here.

Page 20, Panel 7
Zhou and Nadine.
When my wife is being sweet-yet-sarcastic, she calls me "my love." So yes, I partially based the Iron Fist Slayer on my wife.

A Nerd and His Process, Pt. 2

In the last installment, I left you hanging at the beatsheet. (Didn't read the previous installment? Go! Go now! We'll wait for you.) A beatsheet is basically an outline, detailing the major story "beats" in an issue.

Some writers whip out something quick and dirty; others (I've heard) go nuts with detail. I land somewhere between the two extremes. To me, the point is to show your editor what you have in mind, and what will happen on each page. Broad strokes, but with some level of detail that will reassure the editor that, yes, you have thought about this at some length, and you're not just pulling it out of your ass a few minutes before deadline.

I usually break it down into scenes, starting with how many pages I think it'll take. For instance (from my beatsheet for Immortal Iron Fist #19):

[3 pages]

New York City. Now.

Danny suits up into his Iron Fist gear and speeds across the city, leaping over rooftops, through buildings—all of that cool shit.

Danny and Cage meet outside the school. Danny looks down at his fist, which is flickering out. “He’s here.”

And then—

Out of the shadows, dozens of screaming children attack. Danny’s own students. But they’re mesmerized, just like the West Texas townsfolk were mesmerized, and the San Francisco strikers were mesmerized.

It's just a rough idea of what'll happen on those pages. If you've read Iron Fist #19, you'll see that these pages play out differently. That's because when I reached the scripting stage (and revision stage), I let the story open up, and tried to listen to my characters, instead of forcing them into my little beats. But again, at this stage, it's still broad-strokesville.

I'll throw in a little dialogue, just to give my editor a little variety. Dialogue is easy to read; I used to be an editor, and know what it's like to slog through graph after graph of narrative.

My beatsheets tend to be 1,000 words or so, sometimes a little longer. (I just checked the most recent beatsheet I turned in, for Punisher: Frank Castle #69: it was 1,025 words.)

The page counts are my best guesstimate. Sometimes, in the heat of scripting, I'll want to open up an action scene so the artist can go crazy. But again, all the page count does is tell your editor that yeah, you thought about pacing, and here's how you see it playing out.

Interestingly, I don't outline (or beatsheet) my novels. With The Wheelman and Severance Package especially, I was just winging it. Outlining tends to kill the fun for me.

But in comics, I find it essential. (And other comic creators I've met over the past year say the same thing.) I once tried to wing a script without doing a beatsheet, and it was like baking a cake without flour: the thing just fell apart in my hands. Even if I end up changing a lot of what appears in the beatsheet, I still have to go through the process.

Imagine there's a hunk of clay in front of you. You work it until the thing vaguely resembles a human being. Yep, there's the head, the torso, the arms and legs. Got it all in front of you, right? But now it's time for the fine details, to really make this thing look real--the shape of the eyes, the thickness of the fingers, the muscles of the legs. The things that will make people stop and enjoy your work.

Well, consider the beatsheet to be the vague human shape. The next part, of course, is the scriptwriting, which we'll hit in the next installment. Check back soon...

A Nerd and His Process, Pt. 1

Yesterday I asked if readers would be interested in seeing regular posts with "DVD extra-style" commentary/annotation for the comics I write. I was very surprised by the reaction. (I would have been happy with a single "meh, whatever, loser.") So look for my first, on Immortal Iron Fist #19, in a few days.

But I thought it would be smart to kick things off by answering a question that "Marty" posted in the comments yesterday:

Please also--if possible--talk a little about what it takes to plan out and write a comic.

You got it, Marty. (Feel free to stop reading if I start putting you all to sleep.) But let start with a caveat: this just one guy's process, not The Process. I'm still very new at this comic scripting thing. I've been doing it for about a year and a half now, and if my math is right, I've just started working on my 30th script. So yeah... still kind of green.

But this is what works for me, and if makes any sense to you guys, all the better.

Every issue starts with a pitch. If I'm invited to pitch a one-shot issue, I'll usually give the editor three or four ideas, no more than a paragraph each. For example, here the pitch I sent Axel Alonso for a Punisher Max one-shot. It would eventually be published as "Force of Nature," but at the time (March 2007) I was calling it "Wrecked":

The Punisher: Wrecked
Three Jersey wiseguys decide to go casting for bluefish off Wildwood Crest. A few miles out, both engines sputter… and stop. Their communication gear is fucked, too. They immediately know what happened: the goddamned Punisher. Water fills the boat. They set up a life raft. A storm front moves in. We spent the next 30 pages with these poor bastards, fighting for survival on the open water, accusing each other of selling them out to Frank Castle, unearthing some long-buried grudges, watching them die… until we hit a twist ending not even the Punisher could have called.

I tried to set up the story as quickly as possible ending with a little tease that, if it did its job, would have Axel calling to ask: "So... what's the twist ending?" (Note: at the time of the pitch, I didn't have one. But I made sure I did by the time Axel called.)

If it's a story arc, I'll do a much longer synopsis, maybe two to three pages, detailing the major plot points, giving a feel for the characters and what they're up against. But since I live in Philadelphia, just a quick train ride away from NYC, I try to visit the Marvel office to pitch to Axel or Warren Simons (my Iron Fist editor) in person. Not to sell them hard on the thing, or ply them with booze (though that helps), but to let the idea breathe a bit, and give us the opportunity to kick the tires. Sometimes a stray thought from Axel or Warren will take root in my mind, then blossom on the train ride home. Sometimes they'll point out the serious logic flaws, saving me a lot of future grief. And sometimes... just sometimes... I'll nail it in one line, and see their eyes light up, and boom, that's all the encouragement I need. That happened most recently with an upcoming Iron Fist story arc:

Me: "You know the Eighth City? Well, it's actually [REDACTED]."

Warren: "Dude! Go write it."

This step in the process can be that quick... or it can take several weeks of back and forth and fine-tuning and rethinking and all of that fun stuff. When it's finally approved, it comes time for the second major step: the beatsheet.

And more about that in part 2, coming soon...

New Swierczy Comics, and a Question

Just a little reminder that Immortal Iron Fist #19 is available today in comic book stores everywhere. It's the third part (of four) detailing Danny Rand's brutal struggle against the creepy dude with the monster in his throat. If you've been craving a little Fat Cobra in your diet, you might want to check this one out.

Also out today: a reprint of Wolverine Annual #2, in case you missed it the first time. It also makes an excellent Halloween present.

And now for that question: I was kicking around the idea of doing posts where I'd annotate my comics a little. No spoilers, just some DVD extra-type material, explaining why I made a particular choice, sharing a bit of trivia, revealing what #$%@! really stands for, etc. Any interest? I know I'd want to read something like this... but then again, I have strange ideas about things.

Let me know in the comments below, okay?

Your January '09 Nerdery Preview

Somehow, I have four comics... yes, four... appearing in January 2009, and the preview blurbs were just released.

The first two are my usual monthy titles. One's the conclusion of a story arc, the other, the beginning of a new story arc:

CABLE #10
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Pencils & Cover by ARIEL OLIVETTI
“WAITING FOR THE END OF THE WORLD,”CONCLUSION
In the present, Cyclops, Emma and Beast have been ambushed by Bishop and a nasty little surprise he’s smuggled into the X-Men HQ. Meanwhile, hundreds of years in the future, Cable realizes what the former X-Man has done to the planet -- all in an effort to make sure Cable and the four-year-old mutant messiah never, ever return to the present. Once again, the rules of the hunt have been completely rewritten, and the future of mutantkind has never looked more uncertain.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #22
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKi
Penciled by TRAVEL FOREMAN
Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Iron Fist and the Immortal Weapons kick off another dimension-spanning adventure! Think you know everything there is to know about the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven? Well, maybe you do. But a couple of arcs ago we did tease there being an EIGHTH city...oh that’s right...Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman are taking it there!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

And the new titles are the first issues of two mini-series... both long in the making, and both under the MAX imprint:

PUNISHER: FRANK CASTLE #66
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Penciled by MICHEL LACOMBE
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
“SIX HOURS TO KILL," PART 1
The Punisher always knew he’d die on the job. But he didn’t know he’d have an expiration date. After busting up a slave ring in downtown Philadelphia, Frank Castle has been tricked, trapped, gassed, strapped to a table and injected with a serum that will turn him into a 220-pound corpse by dawn -- six hours from now. The people who grabbed him want him to do a simple little job and then they’ll give him the antidote -- simple, right? Guess again. The Punisher is nobody’s errand boy. There’s only one thing he wants to do before he dies: Take as many bastards as he can with him.
32 PGS./Explicit Content ...$3.99

DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1 (of 4)
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Pencils and Cover by MICO SUAYAN
For 28 days of the month, Jack Russell leads a normal life. He’s got a beautiful wife and a baby on the way. He’s the picture of happiness. On day 29, however, he turns into an uncontrollable, bloodthirsty monster. But as the saying goes, the best-laid plans of wolves and men...
32 PGS./Cardstock Cover/Parental Advisory ...$3.99

The Punisher series you already know about; I'm one of three crime novelists tackling Frank Castle in the wake of Garth Ennis. Right now Gregg Hurwitz is kicking ass with the title, and after my five issue run (#66-70), Victor Gischler will be donning the black t-shirt with the white skull. My story's called "Six Hours to Kill," and it's set on the mean streets of Philadelphia.

Werewolf By Night, however, is the "secret horror project with Warren Simons" that's had me almost severing my tongue for over a year now as I struggled to keep my mouth shut. This was (I think) the very first character I pitched when Warren approached me to write for Marvel. It's appropriate, because Werewolf By Night (a.k.a. Jack Russell) was the first Marvel character I ever met, in the form of a book-and-record set (at left) I received one Christmas. It scared the living fuck out of me, and probably kick-started my love of horror. One image, in particular, never left my brain: that of the werewolf, leaping over a fence, as a bullet shred his furry bicep. It was the real world smacking into the horror world, and it was the launchig pad for this new story.

I'll blog more about it when we're closer to the pub date, but it's finally nice to be able to talk about it.

One-Shot Times Two

Those one-shots I've been yapping about for a while now—The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California and Wolverine: Roar—hit comics shops yesterday. Oddly enough, I was actually in California yesterday, but didn't have time to pick up any copies until today. And my holy goodness do they look awesome. Forget the words and crap; just check out the art. Giuseppe Camuncoli's "cinematography" (check the credits!) in Death Queen is cool, sexy and kinetic. Mike Deodato, meanwhile, brings to life the gruesome little horror movie I've had in my mind for years. I'm so lucky to have been paired up with these gentlemen.

Also, let me not be a douche who doesn't tip his hat to the colorists, who also knocked these suckers out of the park: Paul Mounts, in the case of Death Queen, and Val Staples with Wolverine.

This may seem odd, but I don't see the finished versions of any comic I write until the day it's published. Sure, I see the color art as it comes in, and I proofread a black and white .pdf of the lettered version a few weeks before it ships. But release day is the first time I see the whole thing come together. And that includes the cover. (I was surprised to learn that Wolverine: Roar was actually titled Wolverine Annual #2.)

Hope you guys enjoy these if you have a chance to pick them up.

Yapping and Roaring

Over at CBR.com, Dave Richards and I chat about Wolverine: Roar, the one-shot (with art by Mike Deodato) that's out next Wednesday.

And earlier in the week, I yapped with Peter Jaffe over at Comixology.com about next week's Immortal Iron Fist one-shot, Cable stuff, and a bunch of other assorted topics. The podcast is available for the downloading right here.

Three Words: Robo. Fat. Cobra.

Here's a sneak peek at this December's stand-alone issue of Iron Fist. If this month's stand-alone ("Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California") is Iron Fist gettin' his Hammett, McCoy and Cain on, then December is all about Iron Fist gettin' his Bester, Dick and (Harlan) Ellison on. (Have I mentioned before that I love how this series can straddle so many damn genres?) Look for this one right around the holidays.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #21
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Pencils by TRAVEL FOREMAN
Cover by JUAN DOE
Danny Rand was not the first Immortal Iron Fist...and he won’t be the last! The year – 3099. The place – a distant planet first colonized a millennium ago by the People’s Republic of China. Now, a humanity oppressed by a totalitarian technological tyrant has just one hope for salvation – the kung-fu freedom-fighting of the Immortal Iron Fist! But his coming is nothing more than a prophecy and a silent prayer...and even if the Iron Fist does arrive, he must first defeat the most powerful weapon the evil robot empire has...Robo Fat-Cobra! Hot off the heels of Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman’s rip-roaring “MORTAL IRON FIST” arc comes an all-new look at the future legacy of the Immortal Iron Fist...with a jaw-dropping cover by Juan Doe!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Swierczy's Double, Orson Randall's Threesome

There's a short feature at Marvel.com highlighting my next two comics, both of which drop on the same day (September 24): Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California and Wolverine: Roar. There's also a slew of preview pages, which include the kinda kinky panel you see above. (I think it's kinky; the Bride looked at it and just thought it was weird.) Both are oversized issues (34 pages each) and self-contained stories, which means if you're new to comics, you can pick up either of one of these issues and not worry about back issue muss and fuss. Because I know that's what's been holding you back.

Also in the Me, Me, Me Department: Brian Lindenmuth posted his very kind Severance Package review over at Bookspot Central. It's so kind, I don't even mind he dredged up the whole "not living up to his potential" stuff from earlier this summer.

Another Fist Bites the Dust

The Immortal Iron Fist #18 hits comic shops everywhere today. It's the second chapter in my four-part arc, "The Mortal Iron Fist," in which Kung Fu billionaire Danny Rand meets the creepy guy (with a monster in his neck) who claims that he's killed every previous Iron Fist. You can check out some truly grisly preview pages at Comic Book Resources. Pick up multiple copies for your Labor Day Weekend party!

Fists Will Fly

This Wednesday Immortal Iron Fist #17 hits comic shops, and it's my debut on the series, along with artist Travel Foreman. You'll find some preview pages right here at Marvel Noise, along with a really kind preview/review from David Price. Jumping on board this one is a dream come true, especially for a kid who used to dress up like Caine from Kung Fu and try to kick the crap out of his younger brother on a regular basis.

And speaking of superhero types: Canada's Globe and Mail ran a nice short piece about Murder At Wayne Manor: An Interactive Batman Mystery, stressing that it's nowhere near as dark as The Dark Knight. Which proves I have a kinder, gentler side. I think.

The Immortal Iron Fist...

... as illustrated by the amazing Travel Foreman. Is this not insanely cool-looking? These are pages 20 and 21 of our first issue, due out later this month. There are more preview pages right here.


Update: Marvel.com has an Iron Fist (and Cable) Q&A with me right here.

(One) Shots Ring Out

By sheer chance I have three oversized, one-shot (i.e. self-contained) comics out this September. Originally, the King-Sized Cable Spectacular was going to be two issues, until my editor Axel and I decided it was better to give readers the story in a single blast. (It's also not a bad place to jump on, if you haven't tried Cable yet.) Wolverine: Roar was the second comic script I ever wrote, and it's been hanging in the wings, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California (cover art at left) is the newest of the lot, and follows in the fine Brubakerian and Fractonian tradition of offering up an untold tale of one of the previous Iron Fists. Fans of 1920s Hollywood, Black Mask and beautiful ladies—looking at you Bill Crider—will probably dig this one.

Cover Previews: Cable #6, Iron Fist #18

Here are the cover images of the August installments of both Cable and Immortal Iron Fist. One's kind of an awwww moment from Adi Granov (of Iron Man fame). The other, a kind of ewwwwww moment from mad genius Travel Foreman. I love 'em both.

Hot One

No, this is not a PSA illustrating the summertime perils of propane grills. This is Travel Foreman's awesome cover for Immortal Iron Fist #17, our first issue together, due out this July. (Click on the image to see an extra-large version.) Here's the skinny on the book itself:

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Pencils and Cover by Travel Foreman
“The Mortal Iron Fist" part 1 of 4
Marvels’ kickingest, punchingest, kung-fu-iest book just got bigger! Following the character-redefining, critically-acclaimed, fan-favorite events of “The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven,” the all-new IMMORTAL IRON FIST creative team of Duane Swierczynski (CABLE) and Travel Foreman (ARES) takes it to the next explosive level! Think you know everything there is to know about the traditions of the Immortal Iron Fist? If you do, then why’s Danny sweating bullets over an inescapable legacy that’s haunted the Iron Fists for centuries, huh? Tell us that, if you’re so smart. What was the deeper meaning of Xao’s ominous threat? And what incredible new adventure are Danny’s fellow Immortal Weapons embarking upon?

Iron, Like a Lion, in Zion

Some cool news that I've been sitting on for... oh, quite a few months now: I'm going to be taking over The Immortal Iron Fist starting this July. For a kid who grew up on Saturday afternoon Kung Fu flicks, and used to jump around in his underwear, thinking he was Caine, to the tune of Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting," it's a dream gig. Leaving the book are mad geniuses Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, who have spent 16 (plus) issues building the coolest, freakiest, Kung Fu/action/pulp/adventure ever, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be stepping into Danny Rand's yellow Ninja boots. The new artist is Travel Foreman, and you can see a sample of his work (from our first issue) at left. If you don't think this looks cool, ask someone to check your pulse.

A bunch of interviews popped up today at various comics sites, if you want to hear more from myself, Brubaker, Fraction and Iron Fist editor Warren Simons.

Comic Book Resources (Dave Richards)
Newsarama (Steve Ekstrom)
Comics Bulletin (Dave Wallace)

Update: Now there's a story from Tim Stevens up at Marvel.com, too.