Inkspot Fancy

People who have been following my reviews for a while might be thinking, "Lissibith? Didn't you already review this book?"

Well, yes and no, my long-remembering friend. Because what I read and reviewed before was the Power Man and Iron Fist Essential collection. And this? This here is the Epic collection. I trust you see the difference.

Well, regardless of if you can, I absolutely did. You see, the difference between the Essential and Epic collection is that the Epic books are in Glorious Full Color (tm), and for that I was totally willing to buy this book again. You see, I love a good buddy book, and even moreso when it's in comics. From Marvel team-ups to Booster and Beetle or Kyle and Guy, superheroes are just exponentially more fun when you get the right pairing, that combination of easy familiarity and genuine deep concern that infuses both fight scenes and their down time.

And Power Man and Iron Fist are my second-favorite such duo in anything ever. Part of it's just the very different ways they approach problems, and how they usually both respect (to an extent) the other's way of doing things, but I think the awesome supporting cast definiely helps.

This book chronicles some of the duo's time as Heroes for Hire - superheroes who can be put on retainer or paid for help with specific things. There's a mix of honest and shady folk who come to them, and from all different economic strata, and it makes for a refreshing change from the city-, country- or world-threatening doings of many other super heroes. From protecting ancient relics and fighting alongside X-Men to revisiting the terrible experiment gone wrong that gave Luke his powers, their stories are all over the place, and I love the ride.

The book is not without its flaws. There's more than one instance of people referring to Luke as a "buck" early on in the run, but thankfully they work THAT out of their system very quick. I don't think it lasts beyond the first issue or two in this collection. Longer lasting is a somewhat misogynistic streak Luke has, but he doesn't let it get in the way of doing his job and he mostly respects the strength of the women in his life.

But mostly it's great vintage superhero fun at its best. And in COLOR!!!