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| Cover art by Kerry Gammill and Bob Layton |
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Groove's Faves: "One Must Die!" by Duffy and Gammill
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Ya know, from time to time, we've rapped about Luke Cage, Power Man (aka Hero for Hire). We've gabbed quite a bit about Iron Fist. But we've yet to have a sit-down about Power Man and Iron Fist, that awesome merger of Cage and the K'un-Lun Kid that ran from Power Man issues 48-66 (September 1977-September 1980) and Power Man and Iron Fist issues 67-125 (November 1980-July 1986). Sadly forgotten, this was one of the absolute best series of the late 70s/early 80s, right up there (imho) with Miller's Daredevil, Byrne's Fantastic Four, J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck's Captain America, David Michelenie/John Romita, Jr./Bob Layton's Iron Man, and Roger Stern's (with Marshall Rogers and Paul Smith) Dr. Strange. My favorite era of PM/IF was issues 61-79, which was written by Mary Jo Duffy and Kerry Gammill. Mixing such disparate but compatible 70s icons/80s has-beens (blaxploitation and kung fu) was actually a stroke of genius, leading to a World's Finest-style mix of cosmic and street-level superheroics, complete with a fantastic crew of supporting characters (Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Sons of the Tiger, and D.W. Griffith) that added layers (and cool sub-plots) to Duffy's (usually) down-to-earth, humanistic, and often charming stories. Kerry Gammill's art was perfect for the series, combining the best of John Buscema, Gene Colan, and Don Newton in a totally unique style (and usually inked by Ricardo Villamonte) that could take us to the mean streets of New York to the fantasy world of K'un-Lun and back again in dynamic, action-packed, cleanly-told pencils. Yeah, PM/IF was a classy, top-notch mag that deserves to be remembered. Just take ish #62's (January 1980) "One Must Die!" for example. Duffy and Gammill tell a riveting, powerful story using an old Daredevil street gang and supporting characters (Thunderbolts and Billy and Lonnie Carver from Daredevil #69), Marvel's version of a major branch of organized crime (The Maggia), a third-rate Spider-Man villain (Man-Mountain Marko), and a "new" superhero (tribute to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Lightning?). Just check it out, baby!
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Thanks for posting this. PM/IF was one of my favorite series during the late 70's/early 80's. I think it gets lost in the shuffle with all the other great Marvel series going on at the same time, but it still holds up pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Power Man and Iron Fist issues 74 and the double-sized 75, featuring the return to K'un-Lun. Fun story by Duffy and outstanding art by Gammill. I wish I had read more of their run!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about PM & IF: it was a really solid, and kind of underrated series. And yes, an awesome supporting cast. Also, I can't argue with your choice of the series' best era, i.e., the issues numbered in the 60s and 70s.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good story, too, although it's a bit of a bummer that such a cool character, Thunderbolt, dies at the end.