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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 5, 2019 9:54:37 GMT -5
Well, whattaya know! That slipped right by me. There's a lot of that going on in the 70s. You see it in Claremont's X-Men and MTU to an almost intrusive degree. I suppose when your pay isn't so great (compared to mainstream magazine work, novels and film), you take your joys where you can get them. Stan started the practice, so it isn't too surprising it wasn't reined in, later. Stan most assuredly did NOT start the practice. Creator cameos in comic books were already a thing in the '40s, popping up in titles from All-American, Timely, Quality, and Lev Gleason among others.
Cei-U! I summon the straightened record!
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Post by profh0011 on Jul 5, 2019 17:51:48 GMT -5
If memory serves, DETECTIVE COMICS #76 (Jun'43), The Boy Commandos story "The Invasion Of America" guest-starred The Newsboy Legion and Sandman, and had a cameo by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon working at their office.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 5, 2019 18:17:48 GMT -5
I suppose when your pay isn't so great (compared to mainstream magazine work, novels and film), you take your joys where you can get them. Stan started the practice, so it isn't too surprising it wasn't reined in, later. Stan most assuredly did NOT start the practice. Creator cameos in comic books were already a thing in the '40s, popping up in titles from All-American, Timely, Quality, and Lev Gleason among others.
Cei-U! I summon the straightened record!
I was referring to the practice at Marvel, not comics as a whole. The Bronze Age staffers were following Stan's practice of inserting himself and Jack (and others, into things like Reed and Sue's wedding or Marvel producing comic books based on FF adventures.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 5, 2019 20:10:48 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #18Taste athlete's foot, dishonorable one! Creative Team: Steve Englehart-writer, Paul "MOKF-n" Gulacy-pencils, Al Milgrom-inks, Tom Orzechowski-letters, Petra Goldberg-colors, Roy Thomas-edits PAUL GULACY IN THE HIZZOUSE!!!!! Synopsis: On the inside of th book, Shang-Chi kind of copies the cover, but is wearing shoes,; so, no fungi in the face! Before you can say, "Heawaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Shang-Chi and a dacoit are battling it out, with no quarter given or asked. Shang goes for a neck crank or choke, using his legs; but is close enough for the dacoit to slip his garotte around Chi's neck. he snakes his hands in there before the assassin can tighten the silken chord and blocks the strangulation attempt, then reflects how he came here, as we see him in a hat and overcoat, wander into Fu's office building, which hides his NYC palace. he slips away from the crowd of workers, to the disguised dors that lead to the inner world, where he ran into the dacoit. Chi is able to shift his weight and throw his opponent to the ground, then follow up with a double knife edge to both sides of the neck. He then does a Batman and strings up the dacoit by his feet and leaves a note for pops... Back outside the building, Chi runs into Nayland Smith and Tarr. Smith tells him he accepts him at his word and speaks of fighting Fu since 1911. They make a deal for Chi to aid Nayland Smith in stopping Fu; but, Chi will not be Nayland Smith's agent, only a temporary ally. Smith agrees and points Chi to Florida and offers transport. Chi declines and we see him stow away in the cargo hold of a plane (which is dangerous since he affects the plane's fuel consumption). he meditates to deal with the lack of pressurized environment. In Florida, Shang-Chi tracks down Fu's base, which looks like an old fort, with a pier. he observes a cargo ship moor alongside and spies his father, who is told that trucks to move the cargo are delayed, while avoiding counter-narcotics squads. Fu's pet monkey is agitated by something in the brush and Fu is alert to his state. he orders his men to keep a sharp watch. Chi swims alongside the ship and climbs aboard, slipping into the hold. he finds drums of gas, according to the labels; but, inside is mimosa, a hallucinogenic gas (rather than orange juice and champagne). Fu starts tripping and sees the world as a black light poster... (bet much of this creative team had experience with those) Chi is captured and bound and kicked around, before being dumped in front of Fu, who monologues. His plan is to mix mimosa with gasoline, which will be sold through a conspirator gas company, cheaply, during the OPEC crisis and skyrocketing gas prices. Cars will then spew the gas over large areas, infecting large populations, until Fu Manchu controls America (at which point the oil exec will be dead). He then presents the defeated dacoit, gives him some amped up drug which increases his speed, though will kill him in 9 minutes. He will destroy Shang-Chi, in that time... Chi fights defensively, with kicks and knee strikes, and the occasional headbutt. The dacoit nears death and shoves a torch into his turban and face and jumps into an explosives shed, killing himself. Chi has the torch in his teeth and executes a kick that sends it into a perfect arc into the cargo hold deck hatch, setting off the gas and destroying the ship, as he leaps into the water and swims away. Fu's men swear to hunt down Shang-Chi, before he can alert the authorities, and bring Crockett and Tubbs around. Thoughts: Business is picking up! Fu has gone on the offensive and now has Nayland Smith as an ally. He runs into some lucky circumstances and his kick of the torch is more miraculous than Luke's proton torpedo. Coloring of the Asians is still pretty racist and Nayland Smith actually makes excuses about the period and Yellow peril hysteria for some of his own, though he recognized Fu's true evil. That's as maybe but it doesn't excuse treating every Asian as if the are Fu or his pawns. Englehart (and Roy, probably) is trying to address the racism of the source material and move away from it; but, at least he acknowledges it. Gulacy immediately us the game with the fight choreography. it's not exactly recogniseable kung fu technique; but, it is more imaginative than what we have seen so far. Chi's opening kick is pretty kung fu and the use of his legs to try to choke or throw is common in several Asian grappling styles, including jiu jitsu. The kicks and knees against the dacoit, in the climax, suggests kickboxing and, more specifically muy thai, the thai kickboxing art that specializes in knee and elbow strikes, while emphasizing speed and combination attacks. Gulacy has done a bit more research or has studied more, or both. A dacoit was a type of bandit, with the name originating in Hindi. Here it refers to specific type of Burmese bandit, notorious for using strangulation techniques (as did, allegedly, the thuggee). Dacoits were common henchmen of Fu Manchu, in the novels. Gulacy draws a realistic garotte, consisting of a wooden handle and a silk rope noose. The assassin would slip it over the victim's head and around the neck and quickly pull it tight and strangle the victim. A standard garotte was usually rope or fine wire, wrapped around two pegs or sticks, which were slipped around the throat and pulled tight, strangling them or cutting their windpipe (when using wire). Such techniques were taught to the SOE & OSS, in WW2, Commandos and later special forces personnel. The common method is to slip the noose around, pivot (pulling the noose tight against the neck) and bending foward, causing the victim's own weight to help strangle them. The Bond film, from Russia With Love, features an opening scene where Donald Grant strangles a SPECTRE agent, disguised as Bond, using a retractable wire garotte, hidden in his wristwatch. The method used there would be harder to pull off. The book now has an artist who is more at home with this kind of thing and gives it more of an idiosyncratic style. Englehart is still more in pulp mystery & adventure territory; but, we are getting elements of Bond-style adventure. Gulacy is still a bit raw; but, his sense of movement and atmosphere is there. Gulacy began work as an assistant to Dan Adkins, who also lived in Ohio. Adkins put him in touch with Roy, who hired him after seeing some samples. His first work was a Morbius story, in Adventure into Fear. he also idolized Steranko and his work, which led to some work for Hustler, after Steranko pointed the jobs to him. Gulacy's style is very much influenced by Steranko and he follows his style of layouts and use of pop art techniques, which will become more prevalent later.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 5, 2019 21:35:31 GMT -5
In the month between MOKF 17 and 18, Marvel launched a new martial arts title, in their magazine line: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. It would alternate months with MOKF and provide tales of Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, the Sons of the Tiger, White tiger, the Daughters of the Dragon, and the Next-Door Neighbors of the Third Cousins, Once Removed, of the Three-Toed Sloth. Or not. The first issue starts with a bang and a HIYAWAUGHEAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1Cover by Neal Adams, and it's a beaut! Suggests Enter the Dragon and a Bond flick, with a guy in a diaper and boxing boots. Must be Kid Pampers! Creative Team: Master of Kung Fu-Steve Englehart-writer, Jim Starlin-artist, Al Milgrom-inks;Sons of the Tiger-Gerry Conway-writer, Dick Giordano-artist Various articles, including a bio of bruce Lee, a look at the Kung Fu tv series, a review of the movie 5 Fingers of Death, and two pieces on actual martial arts techniques. One of these is credited to a Wan Chang O'Shaugnessy, who I suspect is a very close relative of Sergius. Master of Kung Fu Synopsis: Fu Manchu confronts the instructors of his son, over his treachery, having abandoned his father's cuse. He asks if there were any signs. One teacher answers and reminds Fu of a test, when Shang-Chi was 14. Assassins were sent to test Chi's power and he fought hard to defeat these experienced men... It comes down to Chi vs one opponent, who throws a knife, which Chi snatches out of the air.... Chi kills his opponent, then his sifu tells him it was all a training exercise, which stuns Chi... The sifu interpreted the surprise to be related to how thorough his father was; but, Fu thinks it was something that caused Chi to question his father. The sifu seems pleased at the idea... A bio of Bruce Lee follows (who had just passed away) and included some of the theories of his death. per Linda Lee, he had an allergic reaction to a medication and suffered a seizure. There is then Wan Chang O'Shaugnessy's martial arts primer, John Warner's review of the movie 5 Fingers of Death, which launched the kung fu craze, in America and also a look at the pilot movie for Kung Fu, with David Carradine. Wan Chang O'Shaugnessy has a piece about the series, which launches some of the criticism of it and Roy and Marv Wolfman pen editorials about how we got to this magazine. Sons of the Tiger Synopsis: Lin Sun is walking home, in Chinatown, San Francisco, when he is attacked by pesky ninja... One calls Lina traitor to his race, ignoring the fact that Kin is Chinese and ninja are Japanese and both cultures consider the other to be a different (and, often, inferior) race. Lin defeats the ninja and goes to tell his sifo, for a laugh. Ninja are wacky! He finds the school destroyed and his master dying. the old man wastes time telling Lin about his parents, slain fighting the Communists and taken to America by the master, where he trained with black man Abe Brown and Hollywood actor Bob Diamond. He points him to an altar and dies. There, lin finds three jade amulets, in the shape of a tiger's head and forepaws... Lin finds Abe in da hood, beatin' up suckas who deal drugs, you dig? Meanwhile, the ninja attack Bob Diamond's party. He kicks some inja hinder and then Abe and Lin show up and its kung fu vs ninja, with Lin killing a few. He says that is for killing his master (presumably the sound comes after his mouth moves, in fine kung fu tradition). They track the ninja to Su Ti Kama, who works for the Seven Silent Ones. The three unite their amulets and their power grows threefold. Lin haikibas Su Ti.... At the end of the fight, they learn that Su Ti also ran an opium den. That is their next clue. Thoughts: The MOKF story is all flashback and just establishes that Chi was a badass as a teenager. He doesn't look 14, though, in the flashback. Tony Isabella later said the sifu, Cho Lin, was subtly turning Chi against Fu, though Cho Lin is laer seen training Midnight to attack Shang-Chi. Starlin breaks out more technique; but it is still very comic book. Sons of the Tiger appears to be inspired by Enter the Dragon and the mix of Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. Lin Sun is the Lee figure, while Abe brown looks more like Jim brown than Jim Kelly (except for the afro). MOKF and Marvel really needed a Jim Kelly character, especially modeled after after his characters in Black Samurai and Black Belt Jones! Bob Diamond is blond and brings more to mind Bruce Lee's other Hollywood student, James Coburn. No real resemblance, just blond hair and stature suggest more Coburn than Saxon. he gets a black gi, while Lin and Abe get white. Already the white guy gets favoritism! Conway seems oblivious to the fact that ninja are Japanese, not chinese. They also didn't run around in black pajamas; but, we can't fix that one (the idea likely comes from kabuki plays, where figures in black are supposed to be unseen and represent invisible killers, in some plays). real ninja wore regular clothes, since they were spies. Assassins were usually drawn from the ranks of the samurai. Why spoil a Western fantasy, though? Also, China and Japan have a long history of hatred and conflict (not quite as bad as Japan and Korea, though) and both consider the other to be inferior. So, a Japanese ninja wouldn't consider a Chinese martial artist to be of the same race. They are gaijin to the ninja and the ninja are gwailo to the Chinese. Chi is seen training with martial arts weapons, most of which are Okinawan, not Chinese. Guess Fu was an equal opportunity molder when it came to killing techniques (he did have Burmese dacoits and Indian Thuggee, as well as the Chinese members of the Si-Fan). Wan Cang O'Shaugnessy is Denny O'Neil, who created Richard Dragon (along with James Berry). Giordano's art looks like Neal Adams may have contributed a bit, in a few panels. It's exciting and dynamic. Wonder if Giordano called up old colleague Frank Mclaughlin, who created Judomaster and was a real judoka. McLaughlin did contribute to a few issues of the magazine. The magazine is trying to be a broader kung fu magazine, mixing the comics with martial arts-related articles. it won't challenge Black belt or Inside Kung Fu; but, it's not a bad route to go for this property. probem is, you can only do so many Bruce Lee and Kung Fu (tv) articles.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 5, 2019 21:51:57 GMT -5
ps The Bruce Lee bio mentions his training with Yip man, a teacher of Wing-Chun. That style was actually founded by a woman, a buddhist nun. It is epitomised by speed in attack and close in fighting, with elbows kept near the body for swift, pointed attack in vulnerable spots. It was designed to help women defend against unwarranted advances, with practitioners who would have shorter reach and less muscular strength. bruce Lee used it as his base and then added other techniques to apply to other fighting ranges, as Wing Chin is practiced at punching range. He added kicking techniques for kicking range, developed the idea of trapping range, where one blocks and traps an opponent's limbs, to then launch counter-strikes. He also studied grappling with American judoka Gene LeBell, who was a stuntman and a feared pro wrestler (feared because he was a legit submission wrestling master and a tough fighter). leBell was one of the fathers of mixed martial arts, as he fought a boxer in a mixed bout and beat him with grappling techniques. he then exchanged techniques with people like Lee and Chuck Norris. Lee then combined this into his philosophy of jeet kun do, aka The Way of the Intercepting Fist. This was less a style than an attitude to martial arts and life, mixing what works and leaving behind tradition, when it doesn't work. Lee also learned Filipino techniques, like kali and escrima, from student Dan Inosanto, while he taught him his wing chun based techniques.
Lee originally taught what he called Jun Fan Gung Fu. Jun Fan is his given name and he taught wing chun and other traditional kung fu styles. He came to see limitations in it and develoepd new training techniques and incorporated Western styles into things, evolving to jeet kun do. He incorporated boxing footwork, as well as his own past, as a dancer (he used to frequent dance halls, in Hong Long, and was well versed in the cha-cha and other Western dances), and developed hand speed by working with fencers, trying to block sword thrusts and parries.
Once Doug Moench comes on the book and starts co-plotting with Gulacy, the Bruce Lee inspiration becomes very strong. Gulacy incorporates a lot of movements from Lee's films, as well as the weaponry seen in them. The fight with Shen Kui copies the nunchaku use in Game of Death and Enter the Dragon.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Jul 6, 2019 13:21:01 GMT -5
Paul Gulacy drew a commission based on MOKF #18's cover.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 6, 2019 21:10:34 GMT -5
^^That is pretty damn awesome, One of my lottery fantasies is commissioning several artists, including Gulacy. I'd ask for a Bond-style poster of all the key characters, or a series of them, one for each major storyline (Velcor, Mordillo & Brynocki, Shen Kui and the Fu Manchu saga).
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 6, 2019 22:55:09 GMT -5
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #2More Adams goodness! The coloring of Shang-Chi's uniform is off; missing the gold accents. Not sure how he is executing that elbow strike, while leaping forward. Murst be double-jointed. Creative Team: Shang-Chi-Steve Englehart-writer, Alan Weiss-pencils, Al Milgrom-inks. Rest of the magazine features articles, then a reprint of Special Marvel Edition #15. Articles include a look at David Carradine's career, more Bruce Lee bio stuff, a review of the movie Dragon's Vengeance and part one of a look at Enter the Dragon. Synopsis: Fu manchu speaks of yin and yang, as we see Shang-Chi walking, through the streets of New York. A young Asian woman comes up, pleading for help. Chi doesn't seem curious about why she has an eyepatch. She leads him down an alley, where an ambush awaits... No stereotypes here!. Chi gets the first shot in and blocks a strike, counters with an elbow lock and a chambered kick to the solar plexus, sending the attacker into his partner. Then, one fly lookin' brotha launches an attack... and lets out a kiyai that hits a pretty high note... After Chi disposes of the biggest bruiser, the girl prepares her attack and Chi goes for a nerve center, at the neck, and pulls off her eye patch revealing an ugly scar and empty socket. She pulls back and damns Chi and his father. Chi breaks his attack and asks if the girl opposes Fu Manchu. She says of course, and Chi helps revive the others. They take him to a martial arts school, where Chi comments about the Western attraction to the violence of the arts, but not the philosophy. Sounds like Englehart got beat at the dojo. Chi is taken to a back room and meets the cast of Tod browning's Fu Manchu Follies... The dude in the posing pouch and platform boots is Mr Man and explains that they are all failed experiments of Fu. They want Chi's help in destroying Fu, for revenge. Chi speaks against revenge and says he will guard their secret; but, not aid them in vengeance. meanwhile, Fu's aid and lover Ducharme, tells him all is in readiness. Mr Man doesn't take rejection well and Chi finds himself facing the three attackers again. Chi takes them down, again, then Mr Man says all attack. Chi fights through them, as they stumble over each other and heads for Mr Man. A dwarf with a gun, named gregor, tries to shoot him and misses. Chi gets past him and takes him down with a kick and grabs Mr Man, poised for a killing blow. Then.....he lets him go. He states again he will safeguard their secret and leaves. Right after he departs, Fu remotely sets off explosives, which destroys the school and all inside. Ducharme brings Fu his pipe, and I don't mean tobacco. Thoughts: Interesting idea, with renegade freaks, who are the byproduct of Fu's experiments. However, they are disposed of rather quickly, rather than developing their story further. They are exaggerated stereotypes; but, it is in keeping with the novels. Mr Man is obviously meant to be gay and the only stereotype missing is a lispie, fey voice. Somehow, I doubt P Craig Russell would have done a character like this. Weiss' art is his usual great stuff, with very energetic facials and excellent work on the fight scenes. he employs real martial arts technique, with a mix of kung fu and karate. Chi not helping them fight his father is odd, gicen he did just that in the previous month's MOKF. Not sure whether they are deliberately trying to keep separate continuities or this was written before Chi attacked his father. Same writer, so it doesn't make a lot of sense. One of the articles features karate and judo techniques, illustrated by Frank McLaughlin, the most accomplished martial artist associated with the magazine. The Carradine piece quotes him poo-pooing Eastern mysticism; but, in later years he would put out books of zen and related stuff, playing off his notoriety from the tv series. Tony Isabella writes a review of Dragon's Vengeance (Chung ko ren), starring Barry Chan, who the poster touts as the next bruce Lee. there were a lot of those: Bruce Li, Bruce Bruce Le, Brice Lai, etc, etc... Even Jackie Chan was touted as the next Bruce, with new Fists of Fury. Jackie did a couple of those, then did more comedic stuff for Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest, which made his career as his own person. This stuff even went so far as to use lookalikes, with titles that referred to Bruce, which were more often seen on cable, than the real Bruce movies, for a time. Denny Wan Chang O'Shaugnessy O'Neil has a review of Alan Block's The Legend of Bruce Lee, which hardly sounds authoritative. Block worked for Miami News and this sounds like a quickie paperback to exploit Lee's recent death, a common practice in the lower rungs of the publishing world (pretty much the equivalent of tabloid newspapers). It poo-poos the official finding, that Lee had a reaction to a headache tablet, with no medical evidence to back up a contrary idea, and examining the murder conspiracy theories that blossomed. The idea of a health nut suddenly dying just shows a lack of medical knowledge. Running guru Jum Fixx died of a heart attack, while jogging. the founder of the Atkins Diet died on a sidewalk, with clogged arteries. Heredity and all kinds of things can bring death to the healthiest of people. It may not have been an allergic reaction, but could have been anything like a stroke or an undiagnosed tumor, or something else that brought on a seizure. That explanation has far more in its favor than the conspiracy theories. Don McGregor has an examination of Enter the Dragon (part 1) and describes the opening fight scene. McGregor doesn't know the identity of Bruce's opponent (character, name); but, he was played by future Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung. Hung and Jackie Chan were both doing stunt work and minor extra work, after growing up together in a Peking Opera School (a school that trains performers in stage martial arts and acrobatics) alongside Yuen Biao. The three would remain close friends and worked together in films, including Wheels on Meals, Dragons Forever and Project A. Biao also acted as one of the lookalikes to Bruce, when they were finishing Game of Death. McGregor mentions O'Hara, played by Bob Wall. Wall studied Okinawan karate and opened a school in Sherman Oaks, with karate champion Joe Lewis, and later sold it to Chuck Norris. The school was one that had strong Hollywood connections. Wall also appeared in Way of the Dragon (originally released as return of the Dragon) and Game of Death. McGregor doesn't mention much about Jim Kelly. He was also trained in Okinawan-style karate and won world karate championships. he also played pro tennis. This film launched Kelly into his own career in a mix of martial arts and blaxploitation, with such movies as Black Belt Jones, Black Samurai, Three the Hard Way (with Fred Williamson and Jim Brown), and Hot Potato. I highly recommend Black belt Jones and Black Samurai is pure goofy fun (with a jet pack! and karate midgets!!). Three the Hard Way is like a Blaxploitation Justice League, with Williamson, Kelly and Brown taking on a group of white supremacists, with a virus that attacks only blacks, led by Jay "Dr Shrinker" Robinson. The film is a hoot.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 6, 2019 23:05:50 GMT -5
ps Ducharme was actually created in the comics, not Rohmer. got her mixed up with Karamaneh, who was Fu's lover. Ducharme is later given some of her attributes. In the novels, she was in love with Dr Petrie and eventually marries him, after being freed of Fu Manchu. Fu's daughter, Fah lo Suee, hasn't been seen yet; but will turn up later. moench portrayed her as having been in love with Nayland Smith; but, again, i think that is borrowed from Karamaneh and Dr Petrie.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 6, 2019 23:59:39 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #19Shang-Chi and Man-Thing; not a good idea, in my book. More later. Chi looks like he is auditioning to take over as Redwolf. Very Native American look, minus the comic book red coloring. Really wish Gulacy had done the covers, his splash pages were usually far better than the covers. Creative Team: Steve Englehart-writer, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Al Milgrom-inks, Tom Orzechowski-letters, Stan Goldberg-colors, Roy Thomas-edits Synopsis: Chi faces the shambling Man-Thing. he flashes back to emerging on the shore, after his escape from Fu Manchu, running smack into Fu's men. he flees into the swamps and plays hide-and-seek, with wonky alligators and snakes nearby. He defeats his opponents, with a dead tree trunk, then runs into Man-Thing, quit e literally... He is rescued by Lu-Sun ,who looks suspiciously like David Carradine.... While they rest, Chi thinks back on an encounter with Fu, where he mentioned a fellow student stated that Fu sought to rule the world, not save it. Fu dismisses it and casually asks the students name. Chi, a child gives it. That student is never seen again. Lu Sun says Chi must be at peace with himself and says he cannot defeat evil, as it will always exiist. Meanwhile, Fu's men and the Lord of Strange deaths are traveling in a convoy, which runs into an ambush, led by Nayland Smith and Black Jack Tarr. They unload on Fu like the Feds and police on Bonnie & Clyde; but, Fu escapes. Lu Sun's philosophy lecture is interrupted by Fu's assassins, who fire arrows into Lu Sun's legs. They have swords drawn and attack Chi, who defends; but, is maneuvered into quicksand. he is sinking and they go to deliver a killing stroke, when they arms are stopped by Man-Thing, who shambled after Chi and Lu Sun... Chi tends Lu Sun's wounds, then seems to walk away, as Lu Sun questions him. Thoughts: I'm generally not big on Shang-Chi mixing with the rest of the Marvel Universe. Like Dominic Fortune, The Eternals, and Kirby's 2001, it works better in its own world (same with Warlord, at DC, who was kept out, until Grell left the book). There have been a few good stories with Chi and superheroes (such as the MTU issues, with an amnesiac Black Widow, an undercover Nick Fury, and Viper & Silver Samurai as villains). Mixing Man-Thing really doesn't work. If Fu Manchu is such a threat, why hasn't Nayland Smith sought help from SHIELD or the Avengers? I suppose, given Fu's experiments, that Man-Thing is a bit more at home than some; but, this is really a clash of worlds, if you ask me. Lu Sun is pretty obviously inspired by David Carradine's Kwai Chang Caine, and even has the bedroll. he has the same orange-yellow coloring as the other Asians. Gulacy is not at his best here, though he has moments. he also seems to have a preponderance for southpaws, with his firearm-wielding characters. In the ambush scene, you can see some of the Steranko influences and Gulacy could not draw realistic firearms, at this point. His at least looked functional, which is more than could be said for Rob Liefeld or even many of George Perez's (check out the Deathstroke origin story, during the Judas Contract, for some wonky rifles). What he does draw is very Steranko. He will later draw a fairly consistent Walther LP53 air pistol, as used in publicity shots of Sean Connery, for the Bond films... Gulacy's faces are also a bit odd, as are some of his body movements. His art improves greatly, later on, and is better with dan Adkins inking, and best with his own inks. This is Englehart's last issue. Conway handles the next, before Doug Moench takes up permanent residence. Moench will also take over writing Shang-Chi in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.
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Post by zaku on Jul 7, 2019 1:17:21 GMT -5
Every time I see a martial art comics, I am reminded the immortal words of Scott Evil:
"Just. Shoot. Him."
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Post by kirby101 on Jul 7, 2019 7:57:51 GMT -5
Enjoying this thread cody. As for Gulacy and guns, at this point he isn't trying to draw real guns, he is drawing Steranko guns. Later, as he takes more reference from movies, he becomes more realistic.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 7, 2019 8:55:54 GMT -5
Not entirely. He has Blackjack with a Colt .45; but, his rendition varies quite a bit, from panel to panel, and it's not just the perspective. He's doing Steranko to a point; but, a lot of that is also his inexperience. He has issues with proportions in some panels, and that continues for a bit, until he refines his style more. Throughout the series, he sticks with the fantasy weapons; but, refines the look into something that appears more and more functional. The Walther derivative that Clive Reston carries, and a few others use, remains pretty consistent. By the Velcro story and beyond, Tarr is seen using a revolver, almost exclusively (looks like a Smith & Wesson .44). Steranko varied a bit, too, depending on the shot. At the same time, Fury's weapon was supposed to fire needles, which never made sense from barrell size. it always looked more like it was supposed to be an energy weapon, or that was a really weird silencer on the end of the barrel. That one cover he did, with the SHIELD origin story, he cobble together something using a target pistol and what looks like a camera lens to mimic the look of Fury's sidearm, in his photo collage.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 7, 2019 9:22:28 GMT -5
I'm enjoying your very thorough reviews, cody. I know squat about martial arts, so all I can contribute is the occasional piece of behind-the-scenes trivia. To wit: Lu Sun looked a whole lot more like David Caradine/Caine before Marvel's legal department ordered editorial to add the mustache. Also, Karamenah will be showing up in the series but not until MOKF #81.
Cei-U! I summon the job well done!
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