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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 4, 2021 8:54:22 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #55Gulacy demonstrating why he should have done the covers, though it is ironic that he is doing the cover of a fill-in issue, since he required fill-ins to produce the series. Creative Team: Doug Moench-co-plot & script, Mike Zeck-pencils, Jim Mooney-inks, John Costanza-letters, Phil Rache-colors, Archie Goodwin-edits & co-plot Zeck's first work on the series, before he would become the regular penciller. Thoughts: Not a bad little tale; on par with the Deadly hand stories. However, the interruption of the War-Yore storyline is maddening and this is a poor substitute for the bigger adventure. Zeck is still a rookie and I'm not convinced that Mooney was the best inker for him, at this stage. There are glimpses of the Zeck to come; but, he's not ready, yet. Time might have been a factor, as this is a fill-in and the Archie co-plot suggests it was rather last minute. I do have to wonder what Chi would have made of Anthony Burgess, though. I suspect he would better understand Burgess' intent, compared to those who are overly enamored of the Kubrick film and Malcolm McDowell's Alex. This fill-in issue was super annoying. Did Jim Shooter have a point? Anyway, an OK story, nothing great. I didn’t much care for the inks. Too thick for my taste.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 4, 2021 9:07:54 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #56-58Creative Teams: Doug Moench-writer, Jim Craig-pencils, John Tartaglione-inks, Gaspar Saladino (56), Denise Wohl (56, 57), Irv Watanabe (56), John Costanza (58) ,Joe Rosen (58)-letters, Phil Rache (56-57), George Roussos (58)-colors, Archie Goodwin-edits. Thoughts: the whole War-Yore story ends up rather interesting and reads like a transposed Avengers (Steed & Mrs Peel) plot. It seems this is to set up the idea that MI-6 is rotten, at the core, leading to Sir Dennis joining the rest as freelance adventurers, rather than agents of a murky organization. Craig's art is on the cartoony side, throughout, while he also tries to keep it like Gulacy. The cartooniness undercuts the emotion; but, he handles the action well. Likenesses are all over the place, as he is still a rookie. With some more seasoning, he will be fine. The cartoony style does lend itself to the Avengers fantasy aspect and if this had been a bit more light-hearted in style, would have fit like a glove. The series of issues would be fine, had they not followed immediately on the heels of the Fu Manchu epic and Gulacy's work. It's hard to stand on its own merits. As it is, the motivation of the MI-6 faction is a bit murky. The war room displayed doomsday scenarios, so we are kind of left with a Three Days of the Condor idea, where wargames are uncovered by the wrong people and are silenced by those involved. This is played too loosely to do the paranoid idea justice. A pretty good story, though of course the one female has to act as a hostage, as per comic book rules of the time. Still, it was nice to see her go for the nonviolent solution, even if that was more Shang-Chi’s schtick than hers in the past. Now he’s the one seeking violent solutions. The art isn’t Gulacy, but it isn’t bad. I at least give Craig credit for trying those Gulacy style splash pages. They are interesting, even if not as god as Gulacy’s, of course. As we’ll see soon, MI-6 seems to have gone off the deep end. A bit too much for my taste. By the way, Shang-Chi says in #58 that he only possesses one fighting style. I found that statement odd. I thought he’d mastered many different style, though maybe he meant it in a different sense.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 4, 2021 9:09:37 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #59-60Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, John Tartaglione-inks, Irv Watanabe-letters, Janice Cohen-colors, Archie Goodwin-edits Thoughts: Not a particularly good pair of issues, with a sort of greatest hits of the villains of the Moench & Gulacy era, mixed with Steranko's Prime Mover and Dr Doom. It's all pretty weak. Mike Zeck is still a rookie and his art shows it, with some wonky images... Zeck will have improved greatly by the time he returns as full time penciller. I think these might be the worse issues in the entire MOKF run. Yuck!
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 4, 2021 15:13:32 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #61Shang Ch vs Skull Crusher, the most hen-pecked assassin in the world. See, he can never escape the old ball & chain! BA-DUMP, CHSSSH! Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Jim Craig-pencils, John Tartaglione-inks, Pete Iro-letters, Phil Rache-colors, Archie Goodwin-edits Thoughts: Moench is finally back in form and Craig is right there with him, is not quite where Gulacy was. Moench sets the mystery and intrigue and gives us a new assassin. Craig handles the action well and the slower parts, though he is trying to emulate Gulacy's layouts. I assume Moench was the Fleetwood Mac fan, as the lyrics to "Dreams" are used thematically, throughout the issue and Craig does an impressionistic rendering of the album cover (same with the Frazetta Silver Warrior painting). Both Chi and Leiko are plagued by dreams, yet have lost one another. Leiko is especially torn up and seeing Clive with Miss Greville tears her down that much more. When Tarr meets Nayland Sith, he talks about times having changed and even he is feeling torn about the actions of MI-6 and is contemplating leaving. Skull Crusher is an interesting new gimmick assassin; but, a fairly successful one. He's no Pavane or Razor Fist; but, he's not bad. This is the beginning of the China Seas epic, where Moench and Craig pay homage to Milton Caniff and his masterpiece, Terry & the Pirates. Chi and Black Jack will be traveling through Hong Kong and mainland China, reuniting with Shen Kui, Juliette, Pavane, and lots of pirates. We'll have to see if they run into Terry Lee, Pat Ryan, Connie, Burma and/or the Dragon Lady. I do remember reading, I think in a letter column, that Moench was indeed a Fleetwood Mac fan. Nice to see whiny Reston finally get over Leiko and go after Miss Greville, which was actually suggested by a reader in the letter column a few issues back. I wonder if Moench got the idea from that writer or already had it planned.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 4, 2021 23:26:38 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #61Shang Ch vs Skull Crusher, the most hen-pecked assassin in the world. See, he can never escape the old ball & chain! BA-DUMP, CHSSSH! Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Jim Craig-pencils, John Tartaglione-inks, Pete Iro-letters, Phil Rache-colors, Archie Goodwin-edits Thoughts: Moench is finally back in form and Craig is right there with him, is not quite where Gulacy was. Moench sets the mystery and intrigue and gives us a new assassin. Craig handles the action well and the slower parts, though he is trying to emulate Gulacy's layouts. I assume Moench was the Fleetwood Mac fan, as the lyrics to "Dreams" are used thematically, throughout the issue and Craig does an impressionistic rendering of the album cover (same with the Frazetta Silver Warrior painting). Both Chi and Leiko are plagued by dreams, yet have lost one another. Leiko is especially torn up and seeing Clive with Miss Greville tears her down that much more. When Tarr meets Nayland Sith, he talks about times having changed and even he is feeling torn about the actions of MI-6 and is contemplating leaving. Skull Crusher is an interesting new gimmick assassin; but, a fairly successful one. He's no Pavane or Razor Fist; but, he's not bad. This is the beginning of the China Seas epic, where Moench and Craig pay homage to Milton Caniff and his masterpiece, Terry & the Pirates. Chi and Black Jack will be traveling through Hong Kong and mainland China, reuniting with Shen Kui, Juliette, Pavane, and lots of pirates. We'll have to see if they run into Terry Lee, Pat Ryan, Connie, Burma and/or the Dragon Lady. I do remember reading, I think in a letter column, that Moench was indeed a Fleetwood Mac fan. Nice to see whiny Reston finally get over Leiko and go after Miss Greville, which was actually suggested by a reader in the letter column a few issues back. I wonder if Moench got the idea from that writer or already had it planned. Probably the latter and the fan picked up on it.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 5, 2021 16:05:25 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #67Thoughts: Clive Reston is a blithering idiot. He takes a secretary into the field, to the lair of dangerous smugglers, with no training in any fieldcraft, on her part. She asks to go and he lets her. Then he shouts out when he runs into Leiko, alerting the guards. She isn't much better. No wonder Shang Chi is always bailing these fools out! No argument here.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 13:01:09 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. 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. I didn't much care for Tartaglione's inks in this and the last issue. Too thick for my taste. Agreed about the Anna twist not being thar great. Also seemed a bit rushed. I think MOKF #62 was when I noticed Shang-Chi wearing slippers and wonder why the change. Not that I think it's a bad idea.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:07:16 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 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. Action packed and silly sums it up pretty well.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:09:53 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 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. A little disappointing here. The robots were way too easy to defeat, especially that sea monster. And I totally agree about Gene Day's appearance greatly improving the art.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:27:19 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. 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. The Zeck art is so good with Gene Day inking that it almost makes me forget Gulacy. Well, not really, but it's still darn good. And shame on them for coloring Chinese characters yellow again, after they said they would stop doing so, except for established characters such as Fu Manchu. I think it may be something that didn't get relayed to the colorist, or the colorist made a mistake, because in the letter column for #82, where they're explaining how they've made the Sax Rohmer material less offensive, they do state that "and - if we're lucky - the colorists will remember that the queasy yellow complexion is now verboten." Thus, it sounds like they were supposed to stop doing this, but it still sometimes happened due to a colorist error. And, since the coloring was just about the last thing done on the book, they might not have had time to correct it, even if they had an inclination to do so.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:34:26 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #77I think Zaran's in a world of hurt if he lands wrong, with all of those knives pointed at his throat. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, Joe Rosen-letters, George Bell-colors, Roger Stern-editor Thoughts: terrific action, especially the fight on top of the train. However, once again, leiko is a liability in combat. Come on Doug, man up and let Leiko kick some but without resorting to sexist cliches! Yeah, it's prettty much a comic book standard that the female is only there to serve as a hostage, or need to get rescued, or act helpless and say "how will we ever defeat them?". Sad, especially as we're up to 1979 now. By the way, Leiko somehow shoots that gun from the left side while driving (page 26 if you include the ads) even though she's driving and the steering wheel is depicted as on the right side in every other panel in this comic. Nice trick!
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:44:00 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #78I take it, by the knives, that Zaran is back. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Al Gordon-inks, Joe Rosen-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Roger Stern-editor. Not sure why Al Gordon is doing the inks, this issue, instead of Gene. Maybe Day was bogged down with another assignment (he was a regular inker on Star Wars and did some Marvel 2 in 1 issues, around the same time). Thoughts: Not that Al gordon does a bad job, far from it; but, I missed Gene Day's inks on this one. Still, Chi looks suitably pissed and Zaran soon does. It's about time Chi got a little testy in a fight. The whole MI-6 thing is dragging on a bit long and defies logic. However, Doug Moench loves his conspiracies and secret intelligence shenanigans. For plot, I'd say 2 dead mimes, though that fight earns an extra mime and a half. It seemed kinda cold to me for Shang-Chi to take off after Zaran without even hearing the prognosis from the doctor first. I also wonder how Leiko knew how to find that cabin. And yeah, this MI-6 stuff is a bit crazy. Could they really be that corrupt, or be manipulated by a madman?
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:48:23 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #79No snark; just a really cool cover. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gen Day-inks, Jim Novak-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Roger Stern-editor. Thoughts:Okay, that was a weird climax. Moench telegraphed Chi was fatigued, but his responses are a little much. 2 days, for the average person, doesn't turn you into a complete zombie. Should have included a scene with some kind of drug or something. Fah Lo Suee was unexpected; but, if Fu is back, she wouldn't be far behind. Is Fu alive? Oh, please, like they would waste paying a licensing fee and royalties to Rohmer's estate and not use Fu Manchu. They were smart to keep him off the board for early 3 years, though. Still, with Juliette and Shen Kui back, then Pavane, then Shockwave and Brynocki, Fu couldn't be too far behind. Zaran sure does look incompetent here. I do like how he mocks the standard supervillain "I'll reveal everything since you're going to die anyway" speech, though. Oh, and yeah, that is a really cool cover.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 15:53:11 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #80Attack of the Kitty men! Creative Team: Doug-Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, Joe Rosen-letters, Nel Yomtov-colors, Roger Stern-editor Thoughts: The blue pelican reads Geoffrey Chaucer! Yes, but he doesn't understand it! That is because he reads it upside down. Moench has been reading too much Len Deighton, lately. So, set up for the next phase, with the subplot carryover from the last one. I don't know why they are playing coy with Fu in the shadows, since they spend most of the issue saying he is alive and we already saw that fact before. This is 1979, our attention spans weren't that.....Hey, look at that dog! Chi is going through a personal crisis of faith and confidence (same thing, really) and gives into things easily; and, by his own admission, isn't up to snuff. Guess his workouts with Leiko spent too much time in the clinch. Fu seems to be lack Si-Fan and is forced to use locals, who aren't very good killers. His dude Maru (Woody Strode) kills too who were just sparring. However, we seem to have a double or clone, or something; so, maybe Fu is hanging out with the Boys From Brazil. Shang-Chi listening to loud music (rock, no less) just seems wrong to me. At least he's finally listening to something other than Fleetwood Mac.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 16:01:15 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #81More Kitty Men! Hate to see the size of the litter box! Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, Jim Novak-letters, George Roussos-colors, Roger Stern-editor Thoughts: The constant ambush-escape-new ambush-escape gets old really fast. It feels like moench is padding this out to fit a certain length, rather than letting the story dictate the number of issues. So, we revisit old history, which reminds us that Smith and Petrie ar in their 70s or 80s, yet are portrayed as maybe their 50s or 60s. Part fo the problem of doing a modern interpretation of much older material. Maybe they swigged some elixir vitae, I don't know. The Kitty men aren't very formidable, which makes the Tweety and Sylvester comparison apt. Quite frankly, though, Clive and Tarr are coming across more like Sylvester and Sylvester Jr, when they face the kangaroo Hippety Hopper. Leiko finally gets something to do, rescuing Chi by helicopter and dropping grenades on the ambushers. Still, London is a busy city and there is no response from police? Not even a "What's all this then, sir?" The Blues Brothers car reference fits; but, this comic predates the movie by a year. I thought this was a very good issue, but I do have to say, it doesn't seem like the son of James Bond (i.e. , Reston) should be using slang like "bob". Bond would never say that. Even "darlin'" doesn't seem right. I thought that Smith and Petrie were 90, actually. In MOKF #18, Smith states that he was 28 years old in 1911, when he first saw Fu Manchu. That puts him in his 90's now! He and Petrie are remarkably spry for nonagenarians!! Especially considering that they smoke. Plus Smith had his legs busted up pretty badly just prior to Shang-Chi's first appearance. I'm only 52 and I already don't heal like I used to.
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