|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 18, 2019 1:49:58 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #68Zeck on the cover. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Bruce Patterson-inks, Jean Simek-letters, Phil Rache-colors, Roger Stern-edits When last we left, Shang Chi told Kogar and Black Jack Blue (Tarr) that he wanted to join up... Look's like Chi has been hitting the Dianabol! Kogar accepts, amazingly and Chi is taken to quarters, which are, of course a cell. Kogar tells Black Jack his test of loyalty will be to slay Chi. They are interrupted by Shen Kui, who arrives with Pavane, after his Chicom contacts provide him with Kogar's location. He challenges Kogar to put up his best man, winner takes the crates. Kogar puts up Chi. Shen Kui refuses, due to a debt of honor. Chi also refuses. Kogar counters with his energy weapon held to Tarr's head and reminds Shen Kui that Juliette and Chi killed his brother. The rest is inevitable. They fight with pole arms ( a staff with a morningstar at either end). As before, the fight is brutal... Kogar heckles the fight and lets out that he knew there was a crate marked with an X. Shen Kui halts the fight and questions how Kogar knew that point. Juliette interrupts, arriving in her sampan, with the crates. She offers the crates for Chi's life. Kogar sicks his men on her. Clive and Leiko observe and open fire to save Juliette. Tarr uses the distraction to lay out Kogar and Sklar.Clive and Leiko lead them up to their exit. Chi learns what the crates contain and when he understands what a neutron bomb does, he heads back to destroy the crates and the microdots. His friends give covering fire. He grabs some grenades, when Shen Kui reappears. Chi asks if he will fight or stop the worst weapon imaginable. Shen Kui joins him and they destroy the sampan with grenades. Kogar takes aim at them, from behind... They throw further grenades at the buildings and then all depart in stolen boats. Chi takes one to return Juliette to her house, while Leiko turns away, to hide her tears. The story is dedicated to Milton Caniff. Thoughts: Bang up ending, as Shen Kui and Chi fight a rematch, which also ends indecisively. He joins Chi a bit easily, given that he knew what the crates contained. Zeck's art looks better with Patterson's ink, though it lacks some of the atmosphere that Kida added. His likenesses could use some work and gone are the Gulacy models, especially Clive. Tarr is mostly maintained Leiko varies a bit, depending on the angle. Chi isn't quite Bruce Lee, nor David Carradine, which probably saves them some trouble. You do have to wonder, though, why Chi would continue to run around in his "pyjamas" rather than more modern clothes, after this much time in the West. Moench and Gulacy tried to do this; but got editorial pushback, as they wanted to maintain the established look (probably as much for marketing and trademark, as anything else). It will take a while; but, Moench will succeed in getting him into some Western clothes. More or less, that would stick to the present, after a fashion. This was Moench's ode to Terry & the Pirates, as the dedication illustrates. Caniff's tales were filled with high adventure, travels along rivers and oceans, gangs of cutthroats, femme fatales, nasty villains, love interests, shifting sides, mystery and intrigue, and the exotic. All of that is here, with a bit of Bond grandiose mayhem. It's not quite up to Gulacy levels (oh, to imagine if he had worked on this!); but, it was a fine return to form, after some middling stories. Zeck is improving, but it will take time. Moench will be faced with where to go next and it will be a while before we see another epic saga of great impact.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 31, 2019 18:47:32 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #69Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, John Tartaglione-inks, Jean Simek-letters, Mary Ellen Beveridge-colors, Roger Stern-edits Synopsis: Shang Chi has come to a monastery to track down Skull-Crusher. He left his friends in Hong Kong and Juliette passed on a message that he could find Skull-Crusker in the monastery, where he would face 3 tests. Chi at first refuses, then Skull-Crusher attacks Juliette and Chi tracks him down in anger. He finds the monastery taken over by SC and the monks kicked out, waiting for someone to restore them. Chi enters and finds a solo monk in a robe, who is the first test, as he is one of SC's men. Chi defeats him easily. next, he faces two robed men, armed with blow guns. he whoops their hides then faces three men, in the main chamber. he defeats them and faces Skull-Crusher. Along the way, he reflects on the attack and how Juliette said SC would never harm her. He faces SC and attacks in fury, determined to kill him and beats him and poises for a killing blow. His savagery seems out of proportion and we learn why. Juliette was leaving Chi. he thought it was to return to Shen-Kui, but learns otherwise... Chi departs the monastery, as the monks return. Thoughts: Pretty much the epilogue to the China Seas epic, as Chi learns that Juliette loves another, once again, an enemy. Chi knows rage and hurt and is ready to kill Skull-Crusher and stops short and leaves the holy place, where he lost all touch with his spiritual side. Chi is alone and hating himself. It is here that he will continue on, into new stories.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 9, 2020 20:07:42 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #70Pat Broderick on cover and interior art. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Pat Broderick-pencils, John Tartaglione, Jean Simek (as G Simek)-letters, D Martin-colors, Roger Stern-editor. D Martin is an in-joke for Doc Martin's Dyes, the paints used in coloring comics, before computers. The dyes were mixed according to formulas to produce specific shades and color guides would indicate the mixture. We can assume that several people were involved in coloring this, which probably means a last minute fill in or blown deadline. Synopsis: Chi and Tarr are in new York, to help a Chinese defector escape, whik-le Red Chinese agents, The Black Demon Sect, chase after him. They are outside Tarr's Murder Mansion, where the pair first met. Tarr shows Chi a locket he had given his love, Anna, in Hong Kong, after the war. Anna disappeared, breaking his heart. They go inside and the doors automatically lock. Someone has turned the boobytraps of the house against the,. They make it past a couple of traps when they are attacked by members of the Black demon Sect. They dump them into a firepit. They disable the electricity to CCTV cameras, to move on, unobserved. however, they run into new traps, as they try to make their way to the control room. These weren't created by Tarr. they fight their way past armored robots, until they are in the library, where there is a large mural painting of Anna, that wasn't there before. The BDS strike from behind the painting and Tar and Chi fight through them. Meanwhile, we learn the defector is a fake. Tarr and Chi get past the next obstacle and view Anna being threatened, from the monitors. They desperately move to the control room. Chi kicks butt and Tarr blasts with his Magnum and hits the elader, as they try to run. Tar gets a surprise... It was all just an attempt at revenge on Tarr. Hell hath no fury, etc etc... Thoughts: The next issue includes events here as part of a recap of the China Seas saga and the epilogue, before resetting for the next storyline. Not sue if this issue is a last minute job of one that just fell behind. It has no real bearing on the next issue, nor on the previous. It is summed up in three panels in the next issue, which could have been easily inserted late. The fact that the defector is there purely to draw Tarr into the trap suggests it was not part of a planned story, as it has no bearing on what happens in the next couple of issues. The story is rather contrived and the twist of Anna being the leader of the assassins is a bit too convenient and cliched. I don't mind the idea of exploring Tarr's past; but, creating it and then dispensing with it in a few pages is rather weak. Chi wears boots through this, while still in his pjs, signalling either Broderick didn't want to draw bare feet or they were making a conscious change. Moench & Gulacy wanted to get Chi out of the pjs and into more modern attire since the Mordillo mission, when he was given a jumpsuit. Editorial said no, keep him in the pjs. Perhaps now sales are to the point where they are willing to make some visual changes to the character. I know they weren't as high as during the Gulacy era (which was never superstar level). Broderick and Tartaglione don't mesh very well, though it isn't bad. It just doesn't work as well as, say, Al Milgrom. Next issue will see a new direction in Chi's life and set up for the return of some old friends. It will also see the return of Mike Zeck, with new inking.
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Jan 10, 2020 7:27:22 GMT -5
Broderick and Tartaglione don't mesh very well, though it isn't bad. It just doesn't work as well as, say, Al Milgrom. Yet Broderick's pencil style still comes throw quite strongly, showing just how different and unique his work is. Shang in boots here has me thinking it was Broderick's choice and perhaps one of his earlier assignments as he was learning his craft and perhaps wasn't good at feet yet or his own personal artistic thoughts in that NOBODY would be walking around barefoot. It might be a thing we kids do during the summer (parents saving shoe costs/etc for school) but no matter how tough the soles of your feet may be, concrete or pavement gets dang hot/cold and broken glass/wood/metal/etc will cut your feet wide open. Not to mention the unsanitary aspects meaning Chi would spend half his day cleaning his dirty and likely stinky tootsie's!
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 12, 2020 22:17:24 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #71Apparently, Chi gets a little testy when doing jigsaw puzzles. Dude, just walk away from it for a bit; don't just smash it into pieces! Creative Team: Doug moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Bruce Patterson (listed as Bruce D)-inks, Jim Novak-letters, Petra Goldberg-colors, Roger Stern-editor Synopsis: Chi is back in London, contemplating the past (meaning a recap of the China Seas saga)... Chi and Leiko made nice in China and are trying to rebuild their messed up relationship in the UK. Leiko's working on a jigsaw puzzle while Chi watches. A knock on the door brings dinner and they settle down for some pizza and Fleetwood Mac ("The Chain"). Stevie Nicks helps Chi figure things out. They go to a dojo to workout and help mend their broken relationship by kicking the crap out of each other... Generally speaking, I don't think many relationship therapists recommend hand-to-hand combat as a rebuilding exercise. They finish and go to a movie (Close Encounters, the other movie out during the summer of 1977). Chi reviews it as "awesome!" He's turned into a sci-fi geek. After some smoochin' in a handsome cab, they return home to Chi's Siamese cat and the door to the flat opens and a battered and bruised Nayland Smith falls through, saying he resigned from MI-6. Apparently, they were a little upset. Thoughts: Light issue that tries to be a character piece; but, Moench doesn't really write a great romance. Quite frankly, he hasn't handled romantic elements very well across the series, if you ask me. The women all seem needy and lost without the man (except maybe Pavane) and they seem to forgive easily. Leiko spent most of the China Seas saga moping and crying about Chi and Clive. I've always liked the character of Leiko; but, I don't think she has been presented well, as a rounded character. She has moments where she gets to kick butt; but, spends most of her time breaking up with a lover, as a damsel in distress, or moping for another lover. Not exactly Black Canary. This issue doesn't change much, except glue them back together, without any real work, on either's part. Granted, it's a martial arts/adventure comic; but, stil....if you are going to have some romance, at least make it romantic. The rest of it is pretty much a chance for Zeck to show off his skills at action (via the workout scenes) and the mundane (in the theater and other activities). He does a decent job with things, with the puzzle motif used to frame panels, as it is the theme of the story (fitting the pieces if life's puzzle together). His London doesn't look very British. Must not have the reference material. I noted with amusement the choice of workout attire. Chi is wearing his normal pants, but goes shirtless, to show off his abs and biceps. Leiko goes in for a leotard, which seems odd for someone sparring in a martial arts dojo; but, I guess a gi wasn't sexy enough. We do get to see Chi in Western clothes, though I don't know about a green suit. The black turtleneck is good, though. This is pretty much a palate cleanser for the next storyline, which jumps in at the end. get ready to revisit some old friends, under Zeck's pencils.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Jan 13, 2020 22:02:50 GMT -5
The Zeck/Patterson team took a leap forward in quality with this issue. I even like the olive-green suit. Nice cover too. I know you were joking about the "awesome" but in case anyone not around at the time gets the wrong idea, Shang Chi was using the word in its then-normal sense of just plain awesome, i.e. awe-inspiring, and his use of it here didn't have anything to do with the generic catchphrase for any enthusiastically positive judgement it became a few years later.
The sparring sessions between Leiko Wu and Shang Chi always remind me of Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin when I see them now - though not at the time since I didn't read the O'Donnell books until a few years later.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 29, 2020 19:37:10 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #72Ooh; Shock-Wave! Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Bruce Patterson-inks, Gaspar Saladino-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roger Stern-editor Synopsis: When we last left Shang Chi, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith turned up, having got seven kinds of s@#$ kicked out of him. It was done by Shockwave, who has just now intercepted Clive reston and Melissa Greville. Clive fights, to allow Melissa to get away. meanwhile, after a flashback to his previous appearances, Smith details that he now works for MI-6 and the corruption goes higher than the War-Yore group. Melissa shows up and calls for help. Chi jumps out a window (the door was open, dude!) and comes face to ....visor?...with Shockwave. Well, before you can scream "Waaugh! Hiyai! Haikiba!" and "Crackle, thhey are chopping and shocking each other. Chi uses stragedy and cons Shockwave into kicking through a wooden sign and uses a hunk to fight him. Leiko is prepared to shoot Shockwave, to Miss Greville's horror. Chi fights; but the board gets smashed up and he is left with small pieces; but, uses them as insulators to protect against as a shock as he strikes. He knocks him against a wall and Leiko takes shots at him; but her marksmanship is commensurate with someone who ends up a damsel-in-distress alot. Shockwave runs off. Chi attends to Clive and Leiko calls Tarr, who finds himself under attack by....... BRYNOCKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thoughts: Nice butt-kicking issue, with just enough mystery to carry the story into the next issue; plus BRYNOCKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Moench is continuing his trend into the past, s he revisits characters from the better stories. We started this with the China Seas epic, with Shen Kui and Juliette. Now, we have Shockwave, from the Fu Manchu epic and Brynocki, from the Mordillo Saga. The only ones missing are Razor Fist and velcro and they are dead (don't spoil anything, guys).
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 6, 2020 18:24:10 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #73Hmmm, Cyclops on the cover; must have an X-men tie-in. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Bruce Patterson-inks & letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Roger Stern-editor Synopsis: Shang-Chi and Leiko Wu have parachuted onto Mordillo's Island, as they hunt for Brynocki and the missing Black Jack Tarr. There, they find new madness, in the remains of the dead Mordillo's stronghold. We get a quick recap of that mission, as they explore the strange flora. Leiko theorizes that the solar radiation activated dormant seeds and mutated them; but, that isn't particularly as likely as burining everything on the island into cinders. A trio of elves appear, riding large snails... They are soon caught between them and a dragon that pops out of the ground. Chi subdues the dragon and turns its energy beams on the snails, as all are robots. They reflect on Smith's news that Shock Wave has had full access to MI-6 tech, including captured tech, such as Mordillo's island. We then see another craft coming in for a landing, with Brynocki, Shock Wave and the captured Tarr. brynocki is ready to off him; but, Shock Wave wants to get Tarr's secrets out of him. brynocki obeys, but says Shock Wave isn't as fun as his old boss (the charred skeleton that was Mordillo/Simon Bretnor). The villains land on the other side of the island and Chi and Leiko pick up a caterpillar transport, that is not painted yellow and made in Illinois... Nayland Smith, Clive Reston and Melissa Greville have journeyed to Smith's family castle, in Scotland, to hide out, hoping that MI-6 will double-think themselves off the scent. However, we see masked mimes in the mist, which look like old friends of Mordillo. Brynocki and Shock Wave arrive at a skull cave entrance that has the Phantom talking to his Lawyers Who Sue. Chi and Leiko turn up after them and get attacked by a pair of cyclops (does that now give them 20/20 vision?). In Scotland, Clive gives Melissa a pistol, to defend herself, and she is set upon by the mimes, but can't bring herself to shoot them in cold blood. For Marceau's sake; their mimes! Shoot the vermin, before they spread! Chi and Leiko do some choppin' and sockin' on the cyclops and they smack each other with their clubs and are down for the count. brynocki watches via telescopes and tells us they are actually ogres (I didn't hear them yell "Nerds!" at anyone...) Brynocki launches a dragonfly robot to attack the butt-kickin' lovers and Clive goes to Melissa's room and finds her gone. Brynocki and Shock Wave have the drop on Leiko and Chi. Thoughts: Fast moving plot, with plenty of action and absurdity you expect on Mordillo's island. the caterpillar robot looks rather like the old Inchworm riding toy, from Hasbro... Melissa proves she shouldn't be brought along on field missions (come on honey, the only good mime is a dead mime. At least chain them upside down in a dungeon, in front of a sign that says "LEARN THE WORDS!") Zeck tries to convey the Steranko/Gulacy designs, but doesn't quite have the design sense. He also uses conventional firearms, vs the Bond-inspired that Gulacy favored. So far, this is still a pretty good return of Brynocki and Shock Wave, Let's hope Moench can stick the landing.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 6, 2020 18:45:49 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #74Looks like Shock Wave was mean to Brynocki one too many times. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Bruce Patterson-inks & letters, Petra Goldberg-colors, Roger Stern-editor Synopsis: Chi and Leiko are running from Brynocki's dragonfly machine. Tarr is now awake and sees the predicament and, even though bound, manages to position a giant ray gun to destroy the dragonfly. Leiko never does that kind of thing when she's tied up. Shock Wave is out cold and Brynocki hot foots it away, as Chi and Leiko come upon the unconscious Lancaster Sneed (sounds like a species of weed). Meanwhile, Clive Reston hunts for Melissa Greville. As he does, the mimes come for Nayland Smith. Shock Wave wakes up and he is all kinds of mental. Brynocki decides to become Al Haig and is now in charge. He sics robots on the group, as tarr is now with them. All heck breaks loose... They rock and sock the robots (it's starting to feel like an episode of Battle of the planets, with all of the "robots" and violence). The mimes bring Nayland smith, bound, to a dungeon, where we also find Melissa, tied up. You sure her name isn't Daphne? She's about as useless. Smith recognizes the boss, who we don't see. meanwhile, Shag and Velma (Shang Chi and Leiko) deal with robots, while Fred and Scooby (Tarr and Shock Wave, break into a building to sabotage the robots. All that's missing are the Scooby Snacks. They blast a path through the robots, but see more, as Brynocki flies overhead, on a robot eagle (in Sioux attire). The Scooby gang make it to a cliff by the shore and Chi disables Shock Wave;s electrics, so they can dive into the water. Clive finds the dungeon and our bondage playmates, and meets up with Ward Sarsfield, the agent who aided them with communications, against Fu Manchu (who was based on David Niven). He's the boss of the mimes and everything else. Brynocki attacks the Scooby gang underwater and brings out some robot fish monster. Get the tartar sauce handy. Thoughts: Action-packed and silly; but kind of lacking in the atmospheric plot of the Gulacy stories. Ward Sarsfield is a bit of a let down as a "big bad." of course, he is named after Sax Rohmer, as that was his real name. With all of the rope, this storyline is starting to look like 50 Shades of Red and Yellow Pajamas.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 6, 2020 19:25:37 GMT -5
Master of Kung fu #75Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Bruce Patterson-inks, Irv Watanabe-letters, Michele Wolfman-colors, Roger Stern-editor Synopsis: Brynocki has siced the Creature from the Blech Lagoon on Chi, Leiko, Tarr and Shock Wave. Chi is caught, but Shock Wave escapes. Chi relaxes and slips through the monster's fingers and kicks it in the eye, short circuiting it. They all swim to the surface as Brynocki swims away. They get ashore and Shock Wave freaks out when Leiko sees his scarred face, without his faceplate. Brynocki enters a secret grotto, inside one of the island "spikes." he wonders what to do next. Clive is now tied up alongside Nayland Smith and Melissa Greville, even though they are in a locked room. Extra (kinky) security, I guess. The Scooby gang heads for Shock Wave's seaplane and Chi discovers that the island has crabs. They can't get past them and Shock Wave freaks out at being called a freak, by Tarr. he relates his origin: sad youth, teased by stories of Uncle Nayland and Dr petrie's adventures, then abandoned to boarding school (sans uniform, which is not cricket). Sneed went batty and vowed to be a better agent than Unc Nayland. he gets half blown up and turned into Shock Wave. He goes on moanin', like a big baby and Chi tries to comfort him. He them turns off a tape recorder and heads off alone to get past the crabs. Brynocki sics his toys on them. Sarsfield wants his playmates to confess and submit to mind wipes and spouts on about War-Yore being sanctioned by MI-6, then disavowed. Chi gets to the plane and the robots descend on the others. Chi fires missiles at the robots and destroys them and extracts the gang. On the way home, he quizzes Tarr and shows the recorded evidence of Sneed's confession, to deliver to the Prime Minister, to show MI-6' corruption. Meanwhile, Brynocki has a bit of a meltdown and talks to Mordillo's skeleton... Thoughts: Kind of a chaotic end, though with a bit of a bang. Not quite neatly wrapped up. Brynocki is left behind and Smith and company are still prisoners. Moench is still having issues with his finales. Next issue sees Gene Day join the team and the art takes a leap forward, as he grounds Zeck more.
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Feb 6, 2020 19:35:37 GMT -5
I thought the art was great on these. Probably my favorite Zeck MOKF story.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Feb 6, 2020 21:57:20 GMT -5
I sometimes forget how great the Zeck/Patterson team was once they got going, I think partly because their earliest issues (see #68 above), while decent enough, weren't up to the same level as their later work and I tend to lump them in with the inconsistent artwork of the span of around #51-70 or so, and partly because the Zeck/Day art that immediately followed was so outstanding. But Zeck and Patterson found their groove very quickly and these issue numbers in the early #70s were a return to form for the series as a whole.
I remember finding the back-story Moench and Zeck came up with for Shockwave very moving at the time: I didn't find it maudlin or cry-baby at all, my sympathies were fully engaged on Shockwave's side and I always wished Moench would have brought back the character at a later date, perhaps in a fully-rehabilitated form, i.e. as an ally or loose associate of the regular gang.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 8, 2020 0:12:44 GMT -5
I sometimes forget how great the Zeck/Patterson team was once they got going, I think partly because their earliest issues (see #68 above), while decent enough, weren't up to the same level as their later work and I tend to lump them in with the inconsistent artwork of the span of around #51-70 or so, and partly because the Zeck/Day art that immediately followed was so outstanding. But Zeck and Patterson found their groove very quickly and these issue numbers in the early #70s were a return to form for the series as a whole. I remember finding the back-story Moench and Zeck came up with for Shockwave very moving at the time: I didn't find it maudlin or cry-baby at all, my sympathies were fully engaged on Shockwave's side and I always wished Moench would have brought back the character at a later date, perhaps in a fully-rehabilitated form, i.e. as an ally or loose associate of the regular gang. I'm just goofin' on the story a bit, though it sounds like Sneed was one of the "Wheezy boys, with a note from matron." You'd have to watch Blackadder Goes Fourth and Stephen Fry's loony General Melchett to fully appreciate that line.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 15, 2020 10:19:31 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #76Shang Chi vs Marlon Brando! Not my night....... Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, John Costanza-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Roger Stern-editor Gene Day begins his association with Shang Chi, which will last until his untimely death. Synopsis: Shang Chi is moving through Greg Brady's attic room... In actuality, he is in London's Limehouse district, looking for spiritual answers from old men in bars. Well, that's what he says; but that's all just code; I mean, it's still a pretty closeted period and all.... Chi follows the old man to get some answers, while Black Jack Tarr sits on his brains, outside Sir Dennis Nayland Smith's Scottish castle (waiting for John Cleese to answer from the parapet, no doubt). Chi questions the old man about universal peace bs the violence he becomes mired in and we wait for Master Po to school the grasshopper; but, instead, he gets betrayed for some cash. Chi is taken down to a pier to be plugged when he errupts in violence... Some of the white guys join in and get kicked around, for good measure. Soon, there are piles of bodies and Chi interrogates one about why they wanted him... So, this Zaran is offering money for Chi. Chi collects the money and goes back to the old man and drops it on him and walks off like a bad-ass. Then, he goes to Leiko's and starts crying like a baby because every time he has peace it ends in violence. Yin and yang, dude; yin and yang. Tarr calls and it's off to the races... Thoughts: Mostly a reset issue, as Chi mostly mopes around and then kicks butt. Why must his life be violence? because no one is going to read a comic about the search for spiritual enlightenment! If you want to know why you suffer, Chi, ask Doug Moench. We don't suffer, though, as Gene Day is here and the art takes a jump into a more detailed realism. Zeck has mostly been good, from the start (he was a bit shaky at the start, but improved with Bruce Patterson inking). Now, Day is providing more detailed finishes over Zeck's pencils, adding more weight, more mood. He helps balance Zeck's tendency towards a more "cartoony" line. One not so great element is the continued use of yellow for Chinese characters. The old man looks like he is suffering from jaundice and Chi's own orange isn't much better. It is 1979 and no one at Marvel will admit that there is no such thing as "yellow" skin tone. I don't know if Bill Wu was still reading; but, I suspect, if he was, there were letters (unless he just gave up highlighting Marvel's racism). Zaran is name dropped and we will meet him next issue. The bar scenes remind us more of old newspaper strips, 1930s films, and Sax Rohmer novels, as we get smoke filled dens of criminals, sailors, and violence. All we need is Warner Oland (and maybe Keye Luke). Tarr is doing something sensible and reconnoitering the castle, before charging in, which is a welcome change from his usual MO. Can't wait to see him kick the crap out of a bunch of mimes.
|
|
|
Post by chaykinstevens on Feb 15, 2020 19:20:06 GMT -5
One not so great element is the continued use of yellow for Chinese characters. The old man looks like he is suffering from jaundice and Chi's own orange isn't much better. It is 1979 and no one at Marvel will admit that there is no such thing as "yellow" skin tone. I don't know if Bill Wu was still reading; but, I suspect, if he was, there were letters (unless he just gave up highlighting Marvel's racism). According to GCD, MOKF #77, 82 & 94 included letters by Bill Wu.
|
|