DEADLY HANDS OF K’UN-LUN #1 – The Battle of Brothers

Creative Team – Yifan Jiang, Paco Medina, Ceci De La Cruz, VC ‘s Cory Petit, Leinil Francis Yu, Federico Blee

Published by Marvel Comics

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The Story

This comic was reviewed by Nerd Initiative’s Shawn and yours truly, Megan Nichole!

Shawn – I really loved that Jiang gave us a little darker tone that we are used to seeing out of Iron Fist. The overall trajectory of the character has been a little darker in recent runs but man this one got real right out of the gate before quickly changing tone.

I think the ability to shift from a serious to a more humorous tone near the middle of the issue was a great example of quality writing. The story became a little more funny without making the earlier tone feel useless.

Megan – Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #1 takes all the exciting parts of the Iron Fist lore and combines them into one story. While Danny Rand is no longer the Iron Fist, he is succeeded by Lin Lie, who isn’t aware that forces stronger than he’s ever seen are forming a plan. After storming the Seven Heavenly Cities, Lin Lie’s brother, Lin Feng is on the search for The Last Orb of Chiyou in order to bring back Chyou. Gathering himself a demonic army of power-hungry beings, Lin Feng will stop at nothing to get what he’s after.

Yifan Jiang brings so much heat in this first issue with seeing Lin Feng take down the immortal weapons of the Seven Heavenly Cities. Then Jiang quickly changes pace by showing Lin Lie, who’s right in the middle of saving a town from a gigantic octopus alongside AMi Han, AKA White Fox. Jiang doesn’t just stop there with characters he’s bringing into this story. Pei, Elektra, and White Tiger are also along for this story, which makes me incredibly excited to see what’s next for the new Iron Fist.

The Art

Shawn – Paco Medina and Ceci De La Cruz really treated us to some good and unique art. You can definitely feel the East Asian influences in the art but they are very well blended with distinct features from the artist and colorist.

Cory Petit really shined in this issue as well. There were a lot of introductions that required a delicate touch from a seasoned letterer to avoid becoming jumbled and too much for the story, but Petit was up to the task.

I really love the shading work, particularly on the characters’ faces such as White Fox. I’m also a sucker for the reference by the art and writing team to the Death of Doctor Strange.

Megan – The artists bring so many beautiful aspects to the pages of Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #1, it’s hard to narrow it down to which parts are your favorite. Paco Medina, Ceci De La Cruz and Cory Petit all showcase their talents in a huge way on each and every page. Paco Medina draws the characters in a way that each one has their own spotlight to shine without dulling the others around them. Ceci De La Cruz brings so much vibrancy to the pages using their fantastic talents of coloring. Cory Petit makes you feel the emotions of the characters clearly through the dialogue. The artists truly made this first issue a homerun.

Final Thoughts

Shawn – 9/10. Overall I thought this was a really solid first entry featuring a team folks might not be used to seeing in the same comic. I think Iron Fist and White Fox actually work really well together and want to see what this creative team can cook up for them going forward.

Megan – 9/10. So much happened in this first issue and I’m very excited to see what happens next! There’s action, there’s emotion, there’s a fantastic story. This is exactly what you’d want in a comic!

Overall Grade – 9/10

Let us know what you thought of Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #1!

You can check out more reviews from Megan and Shawn here!