Mike Zeck is not often linked to Iron Fist, yet he’s had several notable encounters with the Marvel martial artist. I had the blessing and privilege of interviewing the comic book legend at SuperManila 2023 and shortly after SuperManila Comic Con 2024 to talk about Iron Fist on his 50th anniversary.

Best known by fans for his groundbreaking work on Secret Wars, Kraven’s Last Hunt, Captain America, and The Punisher, Zeck’s influence extends beyond these titles. Among the titles he worked on before these iconic runs is a shortlived stint on Power Man and Iron Fist. After John Byrne left the series, Zeck stepped in to illustrate issues 51 and 52.

In this interview, we look at his connections to Iron Fist including his Captain America Annual #8 recreation piece and his thoughts on Bruce Lee’s influence on martial arts characters. 

We also talk about Iron Fist’s legacy and what Zeck thinks Marvel should do to ensure Danny Rand endures for another 50 years.

Let’s get into it!

IAIF: You did an homage to your iconic Captain America Annual #8 cover, but instead of Wolverine, you had Iron Fist on it. What made you decide to recreate it?

ZECK: In the early 2000s, like 2000 or 2001 or something, I actually started doing commissions, and I opened up to recreations, which was new to me. 

There was quite a bit of interest, but one of my specifications for the recreations is I did not want to do the exact same one over and over again. So [I did] all the popular covers and one of the most [requested ones] was Cap Annual 8. 

Yeah, once I did the true recreation, and then maybe Wolverine in the yellow and blue costume, then, people had to start picking their characters. But they were good ideas. The whole Iron Fist on the shield made perfect sense.

IAIF: Was it in black and white? Or did you color it? 

ZECK: So there were only maybe two recreations that they requested color. Almost all were in black and white.

IAIF: Was the Iron Fist one in color, or did somebody else color it for you? 

ZECK: If you saw it in color, it would have been somebody else. 

IAIF: Ok. A fan probably colored it then. 

ZECK: It could be because people order it and they’re completely welcome to hire a colorist or something.

How did you get the assignment of taking over for John Byrne as the artist on Power Man and Iron Fist?

ZECK: A call from the editor. I didn’t chase it, if that’s what you’re asking. I was lucky that editors were calling me always, “Could you do this? Could you do that?”

So I was saying, “No” more than I was saying, “Yes” because there’s only so much I can do, but at least I didn’t have to go chase work. I’d just say, “Okay, I’ll do this for you,” and “do this for you.” 

IAIF: Were you told you were just going to fill in (for someone who would be the regular artist, eventually), or was it supposed to be a regular assignment? 

ZECK: I wasn’t taking a regular assignment or anything. I just thought this could be interesting and I took the plot and ran with it. 

IAIF: And that was with Chris Claremont writing it.

ZECK: We “sort of” collaborated. It was quite a short collaboration with Chris Claremont (Power Man and Iron Fist # 51-52), unfortunately. It would have been nice to do more with him.

IAIF: That’s a collaboration I think a lot of fans would have wanted to see more of. 

ZECK: Yes.

IAIF: Did you know a lot about the characters before you worked on those issues? 

ZECK: Only that I read the books. 

IAIF: You mean the solo titles of Iron Fist and Power Man?

ZECK: Right.

IAIF: Were you a fan of Kung Fu movies and martial artists like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan? 

ZECK: Bruce Lee, for sure. It’s part of my Golden Age of cinema, I guess. It was around the 70s that the Chinese kung fu movies started releasing in the US. That and the Blaxploitation movies came out at the same time, and the B-movies, the lower budget movies were so excellent at that time. Roger Corman movies and things. So that’s my goal today. Bruce Lee, he was, uhm,… 

IAIF: He’s the man.

ZECK: Yes, and it shows. He’s one of those few people that if anyone talks about kung fu, it’s Bruce Lee. It’s all about Bruce Lee. When you talk about reggae, it’s all about Bob Marley, There’s very few people like that who have that staying power, you know? No one touches them. 

IAIF: Did you channel your Bruce Lee energy into Iron Fist when you were drawing him?

ZECK: Yeah, though I didn’t have too much to do with Iron Fist, but I did Master of Kung Fu for several years. There’s Shang-Chi, so that’s where I was thinking Bruce Lee, and I think the other artists were as well, like Paul Gulacy. You saw his Bruce Lee (in his Shang-Chi art) and I’m thinking the same thing.

IAIF: How is it different drawing martial artists like Iron Fist or Shang-Chi compared to the other characters that you were drawing before? 

ZECK: It’s not an amazing difference. You’re just trying to give them some move. 

IAIF: Did you refer to the movies for the moves? 

ZECK: That’s what I was going to say. The movies are for entertainment. They’re not exactly how a real martial artist would approach a fight. They’re just entertainment. 

So I was going more for the movie influence rather than what a real black belter or somebody would do, because I was working in entertainment. Comics are entertainment so I went that route more so. 

IAIF: It has to be more artistic than realistic, right?

Did you pattern your artistic style after somebody?

ZECK: My own art style was patterned after everyone, in a way. I was influenced by everybody. I’ve always felt my art style was kind of an amalgam of what I learned from everybody so I don’t see the uniqueness of my own style. 

But I understand it’s there. Just like me, I could recognize anybody’s style in comics that I was reading. And the kids who were reading my comics, knew my style. They only had to look at a panel and say, “Oh yeah, that’s Mike Zeck.” I know there’s a style there. It’s just not so recognizable to me (laughs). 

IAIF: (Laughs) Yeah, I get it. Did you have a different style when you were drawing Power Man and Iron Fist? I think it was early in your career as well. 

It’s different from your work on Secret Wars or Captain America. Can you describe your growth in developing your style from what you were doing before to how it turned into eventually?

ZECK: Some of the differences that you’re talking about,… it’s always going to look different with a different inker. Some people are going to say, “Oh, you changed your style?” I said, “No, that was another inker injecting their own style into it.”

NOTE: Ernie Chan and Ricardo Villamonte inked Zeck’s pencils on Power Man and Iron Fist #51 and 52, respectively)

That’s always a factor. I think there was obviously some growth over the years. Even during the Master of Kung Fu years, I still felt kind of like a student, still learning, still trying to take a plot and spread it over 22 pages. I would take a plot and start sketching the thumbnails of the plot.

I was going with the pacing that I thought I would like, but then I would get to the 22-page limit and there’s still no plot maps (NOTE: Mike might’ve said plot notes, but I’m not sure), so I had to go back and figure out how I’m going to trim and combine and do all those things. That’s a learning process, in a way. There were times on the Master of Kung Fu covers, that I thought, “Okay, I’m hitting a stride or doing better, at least.” I think that happened more in Captain America. I think I was more comfortable by that time. 

IAIF: Which of your projects came first? I can’t remember if it was a Punisher or Captain America?

ZECK: Captain America because when I broke into Marvel full-time it was on Master of Kung Fu. 

Then, from that one, I moved on to Captain America. And then after Captain America, I had to leave it to do Secret Wars. Then, Punisher the limited series. Then, Kraven’s Last Hunt. 

IAIF: About your pinup in RBCC (issue #132 of Rocket’s Blast Comicollector magazine), how did you decide to use Iron Fist as the character to draw for the issue considering he was a relative newbie to Marvel at the time (it was published in 1976)?

ZECK: Back in the 70s, Marvel Comics regularly used Gil Kane as a cover artist. I was a longtime fan of his work. Seeing his rendition of Iron Fist may have inspired that pinup art.

IAIF: Power Man and Iron Fist weren’t part of Secret Wars. Would you know why they didn’t make the cut and do you think they would have had some issues working with the other superheroes involved had they been a part of it?

While I wasn’t involved in choosing the lineup of heroes, my impression was that the “flagship“ characters would go to Battleworld and that would be enough to handle. If Power Man and Iron Fist were included, then we might have also had to endure Dracula and Howard the Duck fighting the Beyonder! Not likely.

IAIF: Lastly, this is Iron Fist’s 50th anniversary. What would you like to see Marvel do with the character to make him endure for another 50 years or so?

ZECK: Marvel already found a place for Shang-Chi In their cinematic universe. They should be able to do the same for Iron Fist, not necessarily based on the Netflix version.

Merchandise will follow. Kids will become familiar with the character. Then who knows how long he might stick around?

IAIF: Thanks for your time, Mike! I truly appreciate it.