Marvel Premiere # 15 - "The Fury Of Iron Fist!"

I remember coming across Iron Fist's debut back in the 80s and being wowed by it.  Recently, I picked up Marvel Essential Iron Fist and I gotta say, my childhood memories weren't deceiving me.  This is a great way to introduce a character.  Roy Thomas, currently doing a sterling job on Marvel Illustrated's line of classic adaptations, has penned a cracking origin story which flashes back and forth between a duel in K'un Lun and how Danny Rand ended up there.  It's full of the traditional tragic loss that one might expect from an origin tale but it works really well thanks to the unusual setting and the fabulous story telling.  One unusual distinction, for example, is the way Thomas uses the second person singular as a narrative voice - a trick picked up more recently by Brubaker and Fraction for their Wendall Rand flashbacks in Immortal Iron Fist.  On top of all this is some brilliant artwork by Gil Kane.  This is a terrific read.