Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: Revenge! (Power Man and Iron Fist (1978-1986))

This is street level (for the most part) super heroics done about as well as it ever has been. The odd couple pairing of Power Man and Iron Fist was an inspired decision and the characters play off each other very well. Luke Cage (Power Man) is the native New Yorker who comes by his super powers via experiment gone horribly wrong in the finest comic book tradition. Danny Rand (Iron Fist) developed his martial artistry through years and years of practice in a Himalayan lost city which leaves him more than a little out of touch in the "real" world.The book also has a well developed supporting cast which provide springboards into various stories. Outstanding in this regard is our heroes' lawyer and partner Jeryn Hogarth who also provides a fair amount of comic relief. The female supporting characters like Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, and Harmony Young, while generally portrayed as strong and independent, also fulfill the traditional damsel in distress role on occasion. Others, like D.W. Griffiths and secretary Jenny Royce, just keep the plot rolling along. Iron Fist's sparring partner, Bob Diamond, was introduced in the previous epic and there is more of him in this one also. I was ignorant of his background then but since the release of the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu omnibus I've learned he was part of the martial arts group, Sons of the Tiger. Leave it to Marvel to find homes for any character.Mary Jo Duffy writes most of the issues collected until relieved by Denny O'Neill. Both are fine writers and their plots and characterizations are joys to read. The art starts off well with Kerry Gammill but the later issues with Denys Cowan were not as much to my liking artistically.There is also a Daredevil crossover, a Moon Knight guest appearance, and El Aguila makes another appearance. The first was more of a comic relief story (although a good one) but the other two had considerable dramatic punch. There is an interesting return to K'un-L'un where we find that it is not the paradise we been shown thus far. Generally, more of Power Man's background is used than Iron Fist's.The one sour note is the repetitious exposition of our heroes powers and abilities every issue, woven into the dialogue. I realize that every issue is someone's first but that got old quickly.Highly recommended. This is the first comics collection I have read on my new big screen 12.9" tablet and the experience was pure pleasure.

A lot of things combine here to make this a fun read. First of all it's in color with visible line work as the artist originally intended. Plus it's a decent amount of story under one cover to save you the trouble of hunting down back issues. The best part of the storyline is the interaction between the two main characters and the variety of villains they fight. It's an interesting idea that you could hire your own set of superheros to be bodyguards or do jobs for you; and the team has been brought back many times but this is a piece of the original run and well worth a look. It's probably more the fault of the writers that this is still one of the B concepts for Marvel instead of one of their best selling properties- because it's a great concept and the character interaction is interesting here.

Power Man and Iron Fist was one of my favorite titles as a kind. I was caught up the the "kung fu/ karate" fad ofthe 70's. Looking back and re-reading these stories I can appreciate them as almost time capsules to that era. Granted, they aren't always 'PC' but I never get the impression that the terms are meant in an intentionally mean spirited way. The references, the slang, even the citi-scapes in the background, all bring. I also liked the fact that while these two are super-powered, they aren't gods. The can be injured, sometimes significantly. They lose fights. They aren't prefect people but they mean well. They fight super-powered and non super-powered villains. As non reality as comic books are, these were always relatable for me. Good stories, good art, a bit of social commentary. An excellent value for the collection (particularly for Kindle)

I guess I should have paid more attention...the stories are simplistic and maybe not as engaging as the ones these days and the artwork is definitely simplistic. Good for a bit but way too long for me. Good value though if you want to reminisce.

Wow amazing collection! Heroes for Hire the first epic collection was awesome. This is even better. Lot of issues packed into it! Must have for Marvel fans

excellent product

I love the series Mary Joe Duffy it under rated

Missing 14 issues

I cannot wait to read some marvel history!

The second Epic Collection to feature the Heroes for Hire carries on directly from the first volume, so if you bought that one and enjoyed it, this one is pretty much a no-brainer, providing as it does more of the same. Luke Cage (he of the recent Netflix show) and his partner Iron Fist (whose own show is coming next year) get into more superheroic scrapes as they take on an array of jobs for pay.Mary Jo Duffy continues as writer until the legendary Denny O'Neil takes over towards the end of the volume, and similarly Kerry Gamill provides art duties until Denys Cowan swaps in. All of them provide solid, slightly offbeat adventures that are mostly done in an issue each, still finding time for the duo's supporting cast and a few subplots in among the action.This time around, the heroes face villains like Sabretooth, Constrictor, Mole Man and the mountaineering-themed Montenegro, as well as an array of bad guys that don't favour powers and colourful costumes. For the double-sized 75th issue, they also return to the mystical city of K'un L'un in which Iron Fist trained, and wrap up a few last dangling plotlines from his earlier solo series (also collected in a single Epic volume).There is also a crossover with Daredevil, which at the time was in the midst of Frank Miller's celebrated run; the relevant DD issue is included and is great fun, as Luke and Danny are hired to bodyguard lawyer Matt Murdock, putting an unwanted crimper in his own vigilante activities.Sadly, licensing struggles trump even the general completeness, so issue #73, which featured the Hasbro-owned ROM, is reduced to a few pages of our heroes that do not feature the guest star. Still, there is a text page explaining the events of the issue, so you do not really miss out on much.Extras include the two adverts for the Daredevil crossover, original art pages by Gammill, Miller, Cowan and guest artist Keith Pollard, as well as covers for the Sabretooth Classics issues that reprinted the stories contained here and the Essentials (Marvel's last attempt to collect a complete run of the title). Folks new to the title should start with Volume One (or preferably even the Iron Fist volume), but as I said earlier, existing fans will find no reason not to pick this up.

I give this five stars for story and art, however it only gets one star because the thing won't download in full. It stops halfway through issue #76. Hopefully Amazon will fix this issue and hen I can read the whole thing on the Kindle.

This GN looks good on my kindle, but haven't read it yet. Good. Thanks.

Really poor only upto issue 76 download, i feel cheated by Amazon that this has not been fixed by now