Marvel celebrates 50 years of Iron Fist in August

The anthology will feature stories by Chris Claremont, Lan Medina, Alyssa Wong, Ron Randal and more.

Marvel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of Iron Fist in August with a one-shot anthology featuring stories about both Danny Rand and Lin Lie.

The character first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15, published in 1974, in a story by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane. Since then Iron Fist has had his own title on numerous occasions, as well as appearing in places like Avengers, Defenders, Heroes for Hire and the long-running Power Man & Iron Fist title. We’ve also learned that the “Iron Fist” is a legacy, as various characters wielded it prior to Danny Rand, and we’ve seen others use it after him — including the young monk Pei, Wakandan bad ass Okoye and Lie, the former Sword Master.

Following his appearance in Marvel Premiere, Iron Fist spun off into his own title by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, which ran in the mid-1970s and featured appearances by Iron Man, Captain America, the X-Men and Sabretooth, who debuted in the title. For the anniversary one-shot, Claremont will team with artist Lan Medina for a new story from early in Danny’s career that will guest star Wolverine.

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The Justice League at 60, Part 6: Globetrotters

Take a look back at the “International” era of the Justice League that brought new faces, more titles and lots of laughs to the team.

Check out part one, part two, part three, part four and part five of this series.

Folks, we’ve got a lot to get through today, so I’m going to give it to you straight: Some of this stuff was just a mess. Much of it was good and some of that was great. Some of it we can look at as “the ’90s.” However, some of it was, again, just a mess. I’m going to start in the middle and end with the beginning, so we can go out on a not-so-bad note.

Now then: Among the random bits of weirdness in this extended Justice League International period of 1986-1996 are the not-insignificant contributions of Slave Labor Graphics publisher Dan Vado. Starting in Early August 1993 (after Dan Jurgens left), he wrote 14 issues of Justice League America and then wrote the first 8 issues of Extreme Justice. Vado and his artistic collaborators Mike Collins, Kevin West and Marc Campos presided over a two-year stretch of League history, which threatens to be overlooked between the Jurgens and Gerard Jones/Chuck Wojtkiewicz runs.

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Fund Me Monday: ‘Trekker,’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more

Check out new projects from Ron Randall, Birdcage Bottom Books, Ballot Box Comics and more.

As crowdfunding continue to become a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. The internet also allows creators to sell their projects direct to fans, through sites like Gumroad, Etsy and of course their own websites. If you’re looking to buy something from or support a creator directly, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s a look at a few recent projects that fall into those buckets that caught my eye. Send any suggestions of your own to jkparkin@yahoo.com.

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