Iron Fist is back in the news once again with a new solo title heading our way in January. Though Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon is only a mini-series, fans are just thrilled to know that the Living Weapon will be back in action very soon.

Helming the series is legendary writer Larry Hama, who longtime Marvel fans will remember as Iron Fist’s artist in the ‘70s. In fact, his first Marvel Comics work was on Marvel Premiere (1972) #16, when he took over for Iron Fist co-creator Gil Kane as penciler.

Interestingly, the title of that issue is “Heart of the Dragon.” Whether it was intentional or not, the title of the upcoming mini-series certainly works for what he has planned for Danny.

Hama had a short stint on Marvel Premiere (up to issue 19 only for reasons which he will explain later), but he had a huge influence in the Iron Fist mythology when he co-created Lei-Kung the Thunderer, Shou-Lao the Undying, and Colleen Wing.

He later worked as a writer and an editor for Marvel Comics, but he is most fondly remembered by many for his writing on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1982), a monthly title based on the Hasbro toyline. He also wrote Wolverine (1988), Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja (1989), and Elektra (1996) which he co-wrote with Peter Milligan.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to find out that Hama will be returning to Iron Fist, this time as a writer. He teams up with former Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artist David Wachter to form the core of the title’s creative team.

I caught up with Hama recently and he graciously spent some time to answer some of my burning questions about his past and present work on Iron Fist.

I AM IRON FIST: You’re no stranger to Iron Fist after you took the artistic reins from Gil Kane on Marvel Premiere. What’s it like to return to the character decades later but this time as his writer?

LARRY HAMA: Surreal. The character has gone through a lot of changes. It has been challenging, to say the least.

IAIF: Danny certainly has gone through the wringer and then some since you last “visited” him more than 40 years ago.

How did Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon come into existence? Did you make a pitch for it to Marvel or did they present you a blank slate and ask you to write an Iron Fist series for them?

HAMA: They came to me with the idea, and we hashed it out and refined it over lunch.

IAIF: It’s great to hear that Marvel thought of giving Iron Fist a new series and that they approached you about a storyline that they had already thought of. It’s been two years since he had a solo title and that last one was a digital-first series.

(Iron Fist: Phantom Limb was later printed in trade paperback form.)

Aside from what the synopsis says about Heart of the Dragon, what can you tell us about it?

HAMA: The gist is that Danny, Luke, Pei, and Fooh have to cross over to the Seven Cities (and an eighth one) to save All Under Heaven from Ultimate Evil.

 

IAIF: Luke is going to join the series? Sounds very interesting! Also, having Pei and Fooh take part in this adventure is only going to make the series more fun.

You’ll be working with Dave Wachter, who is a fantastic artist! Did you handpick him? Any tips that you gave him especially since you were one of the pioneer illustrators of the character? Does he know about your previous Iron Fist work?

HAMA: I was not familiar with him, or his work, but I agree that he is a fantastic artist.  I refrain from giving tips unless asked for. I have no idea what he knows or doesn’t know about me. I had never met him, nor spoken with him.

IAIF: I had never seen his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, too, but seeing the first three pages by David got me more excited.

Going back to your time on Marvel Premiere, how did you land the assignment of taking the reins from Gil Kane? At the time, did you feel a sense of nervousness knowing that your first Marvel work was going to be on a character that he and Roy Thomas created? 

HAMA: I had done an eight-page werewolf story for one of their black-and-white horror titles that went over well, and I was being recommended by Neal Adams. I had been working in undergrounds, advertising, and illustration since the ‘60s, and had work published in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, and Esquire, so it wasn’t my first rodeo.

IAIF: That’s amazing! The recommendation from Neal Adams must have been quite an honor as he’s one of comicdom’s most influential artists. I’m so glad Marvel listened to him when it came time to choose a replacement for Gil.

As someone who studied martial arts, I think I appreciate the way Iron Fist fights more than someone who wasn’t a practitioner of the craft.

You’re a martial artist as well and probably one of the few creators who can draw fight scenes with credibility based on your training. Can you tell us a little bit about your martial arts background?

HAMA: I played Kodokan Judo from the time I was nine and into my teens. I studied Kyudo (Zen archery) with the Shigaki Sensei who was the only kyudo teacher on the east coast at that time.

I studied kendo and iaido, and sparred with other martial artists who were in the Broadway production of Pacific Overtures (I was assistant to the swordfight choreographer). We would gather on stage between shows on matinee days for casual randori. Odd mixture of styles: Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun, and Goju-Ryu.

IAIF: It’s amazing how many fighting styles you learned over the years. I didn’t realize you were such a powerhouse as a teen! Hopefully, no one tested your patience back in high school!

Seriously, the martial arts training you had is incredible. You also found a way to use these disciplines as a professional which is really cool.

I was intrigued by Tae Kwon Do as a kid, but I just went with what my instructor knew which were kickboxing, judo, and arnis (Kali or Eskrima/Escrima to others).

Since you had this martial arts background, do you think working on Iron Fist was more personal to you than if you took on other projects for Marvel back in 1974? Do you see yourself in Danny’s shoes in any way?

HAMA: Well, truthfully, I would view it more personally if Iron Fist were an Asian with working-class roots. It’s a bit harder for me to identify with an extremely wealthy, blonde, white guy.

IAIF: Same here! Yeah, even just the part about Danny being filthy rich is pretty hard to relate to. I’m Asian as well, but I honestly felt a kinship with Danny from the first time I read an Iron Fist comic. He was an inspiration for me to take up martial arts at 11.

But Danny wanted to be trained for the wrong reasons. Iron Fist’s origin story was about vengeance for the death of his parents, and we know that revenge was a common theme of martial arts movies in the ‘70s. 

How do you think Doug Moench’s story was different from these movies? Did you have any influence on how the story went?

HAMA: I had no influence on how the story went. But on one issue, I had to draw the whole comic based on a plot that was about one paragraph long told to me over the phone. My feeling about revenge is that it rots the soul.

IAIF: That is amazing how you were able to draw an entire comic off of one paragraph only! I’m sure that was quite tough but you pulled it off really well based on what we’ve seen of your work. It was fortunate that Marvel chose you to take over for Gil Kane!

Now you made me quite curious as to which issue of Marvel Premiere that was.

Let’s talk about one of the characters you created.

What was the overall idea for the creation of Colleen Wing, and do you remember if you and Doug had any long-term plans for her? How did you come up with the overall look for the character?

HAMA: She was given to me as a fait accompli, so all I did was draw her.

I based her look on two girls I knew named Diana. I based her father, Professor Wing on the minister at the Buddhist temple where I played on the judo team.

IAIF: That is so cool! I wonder if these people knew that they were immortalized in comics.

Speaking of Colleen Wing, did you watch the Netflix Iron Fist series? If you did, what was it like for you to see Jessica Henwick portray Colleen Wing in live-action?

HAMA: Yes, I was invited to the “friends and family” screening. It’s always strange for me to see the characters I worked on walking around on-screen.

IAIF: It’s a good thing that Marvel Television (before it was shut down a year ago) took care of you when it came time to honor the comic creators who paved the way for these shows.

This is just for fun!  How do you think a sword battle between Colleen Wing and Snake Eyes would turn out? Who will you be rooting for?

HAMA: Snake Eyes.

IAIF: As much as I hate to, I’d have to agree with you. I’d still root for Colleen, though.

After wrapping up the first story arc in Marvel Premiere, you and Doug Moench left the title. I believe Doug wanted to focus on Master of Kung Fu, but I’m curious as to what made you leave? Was it a personal or an editorial decision?

HAMA: I was offered Wulf the Barbarian at Atlas Seaboard at double my Marvel rate, which was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

IAIF: Oh that’s why! I’d probably have done the same if I were in your shoes. But I’m glad you found your way back to Marvel later on.

Going back to Heart of the Dragon, are there certain elements or themes from the recent Iron Fist stories by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Kaare Andrews, and Ed Brisson that you’ll be exploring? If there are any, can you tell us about those?

HAMA: Yes, but that would be a spoiler.

IAIF: That’s fair. I’m just happy to know that we’ll see some familiar elements in the series.

By the way, Billy Tan is an excellent choice to draw the covers! Any chance you could go back to drawing and do a variant cover for the series?

HAMA: I’ve been drawing all along. I was laying out Deathstroke, Michael Cray, and Damage at DC for months, and I’ve been laying out books for Guy Dorian’s new company and doing alternate covers at IDW, but nobody at Marvel ever asked me to do a variant cover.

IAIF: I’m embarrassed that I haven’t been following some of the other stuff you’ve done lately. But I do wish that Marvel gives you a chance to do a variant cover for this series. It would be wonderful to see how your style in drawing Iron Fist has changed over the years.

Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to Iron Fist fans, and to the fans who have followed your work all these years?

HAMA: Thanks for sticking with me!

IAIF: I believe I speak for all the fans here when I say you are most welcome! We are grateful for all the creative work you’ve done and continue to do to make comics such a beautiful place to lose ourselves in. 

Thank you, too, for your time with us, Larry! It was a pleasure to hear from you.👊