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Post by dbutler69 on May 7, 2021 11:06:27 GMT -5
Marvel Comics Present #5-8Creative Team: Doug moench-writer, Tom Grindberg-pencils, Dave Cockrum-inks, Michael Heisler-letters, Petra Scotese-colors, Terry Kavanagh-editor Thoughts: This thing is a hot mess. Doug lost the thread about issue 3 and I was confused by issue 5. This plan of the villains twists back on itself more than a politician facing bad press and dropping polls. Leiko is only there to suffer, Tarr and Reston are useless until the cavalry is needed and Shang Chi is a one man wrecking crew, until he isn't, so everyone else can come blundering in. No word about Juliette and Dark Angel is also name dropped without a fate. Why? Why even bring them up if you aren't going to address it? Chekov's Gun and all that. This is why I checked out of any further Shang Chi until the Max series. I also dropped MCP, as Wolverine was crap, this was bad, Man-Thing was Gerber trying to recapture the past, with Iran-Contra, and the rest was forgettable. I had better things to spend my comic dollars on. Next, the Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Black one-shot, where Doug works with David and Dan Day, Gene's brothers. I have never read this before; so, this will be fresh. I hope it is better than this was. I will be skipping the Journey into Mystery two-parter, since it isn't Doug, but will look at the Marc Spector Moon Knight Special, since that is him, with his two best comic heroes. Then, the Max series. I will be skipping later forays into Heroes for Hire and Secret Avengers. If it ain't Doug, I don't care. Agreed. This was definitely a mess. Agreed also on Leiko, Tarr, Reston, Dark Angel, and the tortuous plot. I'm actually enjoying the Wolverine story more than the Shang-Chi story, so I'll go ahead and read the two more issues to finish that thing up. I don't like the art, but I find the story interesting enough. I have no interest in the Man-Thing story, so I won't both reading up to its conclusion in #12. The fourth stories in this book have been OK, but not worth continuing the series for.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 11, 2021 12:57:52 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Blackthe cover was a wraparound... I take it that is Fu in the disco, in the upper left. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, David & Dan Day-art, Joe rosen-letters. Terry Kavanagh-editor. No color credit given. This is before Marvel was using computer coloring systems, though. Thoughts: This is Doug on form and the length suggests it was originally commissioned for MCP, but they went with a collected volume, instead, clocking in at over 80 pages. David and Dan do their brother proud, though they weren't quite at his level. Few were. Still, it is a nice tribute to their late brother and I have to wonder if the comments about Reston giving up cigarettes isn't a nod to what helped kill their brother (Gene was a chain smoker). There is good old fashioned mystery here, nods to the Fu of Rohmer, without naming him. The indicia makes no reference to trademarks or copyrights of the Rohmer Estate; so, I think we can safely say that the license had probably lapsed before the MCP serial, 2 years before. That would preclude the use of Fu Manchu, Nayland Smit, Dr Petrie, and Fah Lo Suee, though they do use the name Si-Fan. I haven't been able to find a reference to a Si-Fan that predates Rohmer; so, I don't know how they got around that, unless the Estate never registered a trademark for the group, which in the novels was the tong to which Fu Manchu belonged. This is a better epithet to the series, than the Zelenetz story and certainly an improvement over the MCP mess. Next, Doug's two heroes, Shang Chi and Moon Knight, team up to face and old friend. One hint: Come on back for a double-deck of fun. I thought the art here was great. And I didn't even know Gene Day had brothers! My main issue there is that every once in a while, someone would strike a really odd, out of place, pose. Like someone would be in a bodybuilder pose, for no reason at all. The writing I thought was OK, but not great. What is Doug's obssession with characters with missing hands? First multiploe Razorfists, then Leiko, then this Li Chun guy. Leiko was kinda useless again, and Shang-Chi had to rescue everybody, again. Shang-Chi did plenty of dumb things here, too. For instance, not taking the reliquary with him from Li Chun's palace when he had the chance, and smashing the rest of his father's elixir at the end, without really knowing if he'd taking a large enough dose to save himself. Aftter being reminded of this, he basicallyjust says "oh well". I also thought it kinda dumb for Shang-Chi to fight the yeti rather than simply running, but obviously that worked out all right. Actually, I liked how he made friends with the creature. I'm not quite sure why the si-fan didn't kill Tarr and Reston when they had the chance, but that's comics for you. There was some uncharacteristic humor by Shng-Chi on p.56. That was kind of nice. By the way, Shang looks like Jackie Chan on p. 76. And since when does the elixer make people crazy? I don't remember any allusion to that before in this series, but maybe I've forgotten something.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 11, 2021 21:58:08 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Blackthe cover was a wraparound... I take it that is Fu in the disco, in the upper left. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, David & Dan Day-art, Joe rosen-letters. Terry Kavanagh-editor. No color credit given. This is before Marvel was using computer coloring systems, though. Thoughts: This is Doug on form and the length suggests it was originally commissioned for MCP, but they went with a collected volume, instead, clocking in at over 80 pages. David and Dan do their brother proud, though they weren't quite at his level. Few were. Still, it is a nice tribute to their late brother and I have to wonder if the comments about Reston giving up cigarettes isn't a nod to what helped kill their brother (Gene was a chain smoker). There is good old fashioned mystery here, nods to the Fu of Rohmer, without naming him. The indicia makes no reference to trademarks or copyrights of the Rohmer Estate; so, I think we can safely say that the license had probably lapsed before the MCP serial, 2 years before. That would preclude the use of Fu Manchu, Nayland Smit, Dr Petrie, and Fah Lo Suee, though they do use the name Si-Fan. I haven't been able to find a reference to a Si-Fan that predates Rohmer; so, I don't know how they got around that, unless the Estate never registered a trademark for the group, which in the novels was the tong to which Fu Manchu belonged. This is a better epithet to the series, than the Zelenetz story and certainly an improvement over the MCP mess. Next, Doug's two heroes, Shang Chi and Moon Knight, team up to face and old friend. One hint: Come on back for a double-deck of fun. I thought the art here was great. And I didn't even know Gene Day had brothers! My main issue there is that every once in a while, someone would strike a really odd, out of place, pose. Like someone would be in a bodybuilder pose, for no reason at all. The writing I thought was OK, but not great. What is Doug's obssession with characters with missing hands? First multiploe Razorfists, then Leiko, then this Li Chun guy. Leiko was kinda useless again, and Shang-Chi had to rescue everybody, again. Shang-Chi did plenty of dumb things here, too. For instance, not taking the reliquary with him from Li Chun's palace when he had the chance, and smashing the rest of his father's elixir at the end, without really knowing if he'd taking a large enough dose to save himself. Aftter being reminded of this, he basicallyjust says "oh well". I also thought it kinda dumb for Shang-Chi to fight the yeti rather than simply running, but obviously that worked out all right. Actually, I liked how he made friends with the creature. I'm not quite sure why the si-fan didn't kill Tarr and Reston when they had the chance, but that's comics for you. There was some uncharacteristic humor by Shng-Chi on p.56. That was kind of nice. By the way, Shang looks like Jackie Chan on p. 76. And since when does the elixer make people crazy? I don't remember any allusion to that before in this series, but maybe I've forgotten something. I don't recall a specific incident of madness with the elixir, in the comic; but, I believe it was something in the novels (though I never read them). Denny O'Neil made that part of the Lazarus Pit, for Ra's al Ghul, who was a Fu clone (Talia is Fah Lo Suee and Batman is Nayland Smith), and I think he took the idea from Rohmer.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 12, 2021 11:55:54 GMT -5
I thought the art here was great. And I didn't even know Gene Day had brothers! My main issue there is that every once in a while, someone would strike a really odd, out of place, pose. Like someone would be in a bodybuilder pose, for no reason at all. The writing I thought was OK, but not great. What is Doug's obssession with characters with missing hands? First multiploe Razorfists, then Leiko, then this Li Chun guy. Leiko was kinda useless again, and Shang-Chi had to rescue everybody, again. Shang-Chi did plenty of dumb things here, too. For instance, not taking the reliquary with him from Li Chun's palace when he had the chance, and smashing the rest of his father's elixir at the end, without really knowing if he'd taking a large enough dose to save himself. Aftter being reminded of this, he basicallyjust says "oh well". I also thought it kinda dumb for Shang-Chi to fight the yeti rather than simply running, but obviously that worked out all right. Actually, I liked how he made friends with the creature. I'm not quite sure why the si-fan didn't kill Tarr and Reston when they had the chance, but that's comics for you. There was some uncharacteristic humor by Shng-Chi on p.56. That was kind of nice. By the way, Shang looks like Jackie Chan on p. 76. And since when does the elixer make people crazy? I don't remember any allusion to that before in this series, but maybe I've forgotten something. I don't recall a specific incident of madness with the elixir, in the comic; but, I believe it was something in the novels (though I never read them). Denny O'Neil made that part of the Lazarus Pit, for Ra's al Ghul, who was a Fu clone (Talia is Fah Lo Suee and Batman is Nayland Smith), and I think he took the idea from Rohmer. O'Neil has claimed that he never read any of the Fu Manchu novels, but that he may have seen some of the movies, though he doesn't aknowledge specifically remembering having done so.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 12, 2021 12:23:45 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #1And the Matrix is slapped onto Shang Chi. As much as I am happy to see him out of his red PJs,, I'd rather see him pick a different movie figure to emulate, like Chow Yun Fat. He was cool without CGI or ridiculous dialogue. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Jimmy Palmiotti-inks, Richard Starkings & Comicraft-letters, Paul Mounts-colors, Axel Alonso-editor in name and rubber stamp. I mean, come on, like he was giving advice to Doug. Synopsis: France. We cal tell because the Eiffel Tower can be see from a manor house in the country, even though it's deep inside the city. Surprised a guy in a beret, with onions draped over his shoulders didn't cycle past. Anyway, Leiko is sneaking into said manor house with a contact, which is an obvious set-up; but, never let it be said that Doug was big on tradecraft. The ambushers come out and Leiko goes all Michelle Yeoh on their collective keisters. She's busy scribbling down names and eliminating chances at procreating and grabs a pistol in time to be surrounded and face the villain, in a dark cloak that she recognizes. Wonder who that might be? Meanwhile, somewhere in Asia, Chi buries a little girls doll halfway into the ground to teach her something, saying the ground is quicksand and the girl must rescue her. he then walks away while the girl learns that Chi can be a bit of a Richard, He walks past the latest addition tot eh Once Upon A Time in China series, though why Chines martial artists are wearing ninja hoods is beyond me. Back in France, someone called Moving Shadow (which sounds like a comedy about Lamont Cranston changing addresses) throws the biggest shuriken ever at Leiko's gun, while calling his master St Germain. Chelsea Quinn Yarbo gets her lawyer on the line, but says never mind, as she reads on. Besides, he's in the public domain and Fu isn't (yet). He smacks Leiko and she crumbles rather easily. Still sucks to be her. She's wearing gloves, so I can't tell if she still has a bionic hand. Meanwhile, Chi meditates in some kind of cave/temple, while some dude in stereotyped costume ties up his skiff and walks up the pier. Chi talks bollox while the figure in the coolie hat sneaks up on him. He has visions of Leiko dying, warning him the world is in danger. The shadowy dude pulls a gun on him. Chi kicks hi in the mush and the dude pulls off a Rollin Hand mask and reveals that he is Clive Reston. Clive begins to tell him of the Comte de St Germain, and we all settle in as the BS starts to pile up. Meanwhile, Leiko has a hand locked in a box that has scorpions released into it. Kind of an extreme nail treatment, but these manicure places offer some stranger services. Chi says they believe the Count is real, calling himself the Ghost, that he may be as immortal as Fu was, and he has the remnants of Fu's organization and an agent, Clive's wife is missing. Oh, and that's Leiko... Later, in Singapore, Tar and Reston are cornered, after their safe house is blown, while they waited for Chi to meet them. tarr doesn't think he is coming, which mean he will make a dramatic entrance on the next page. Okay, it takes three pages of gunplay for him to appear, then a 4th page for him to kick bootay and strike a pose (Vogue...) Chi sets fire to some leaking fuel and flash-fries the Millennial Dacoits. Thoughts: Hard to tell at this stage; but, Doug appears to be ignoring the MCP serial, as Lekio's left hand, the one that was chopped off, is the one locked into the box with a maze of scorpions. That in and of itself tells us who the villain is; but, Doug makes it sound like this St Germain is imitating Fu, or is a parallel. Gulacy is way more developed and consistent as an artist, though he isn't using the same likenesses as before, making the characters seem more generic. Palmiotti's inks are fine, though the whole color palate is rather flat, but I've always kind of felt that way about computer coloring, as generally utilized on Marvel books (and DC). It's just a tool; but, I think there are very few real color artists working in comics, using it. It seems more like computer technicians applying colors. Lot of set-up, stereotypical mystery. We know Marvel can't use the name Fu Manchu, yet, so we know that we won't see his name used here, which will probably be implied to be a false name, anyway. Even so, was anyone really buying into the Comte de St Germain being a substitute villain, a rival of Fu? The historical St Germain was a con artist who operated in Europe, in the 18th Century, a supposed alchemist, scientist, philosopher and alleged immortal. He may or may not have been the son of a Transylvanian prince, as he claimed, educated in Italy (or not). What is known is that he swanned about Europe, gaining patronage from the wealthy and powerful. He was noted in the French court of Louis XV, who used him on some diplomatic missions, while Casanova wrote of him entertaining through dinners with non-stop conversation. Legends and conspiracy theories grew about him in the following century, with tales of him being the Wandering Jew, having found the elixir of life, etc, etc. He was said to have worked with the magician Cagliostro, who in reality was Giuseppe Balsamo, a forger and con artist, himself. The Theosophists wove him into tales, with Madame Blavatsky claiming to have met him. New Age types have thrown him in with the rest of the "lost lore" group who had hidden knowledge that they can help rediscover. At B&N, we had a couple of those, right near David Icke's books about the world being controlled by a secret society of shape-shifting lizard aliens (I think he saw V too often) and Shirley McLaine recounting her past lives, as someone other than an attention-seeking fading film star. Doug, being well steeped in conspiracy stuff, throws him out there as a red herring, for Fu Manchu, as the stories of the Count fit right in with Rohmer's sketching of Fu Manchu; might have drawn influence from them; but, you can find a bunch of these types in Europe, from the so-called Enlightenment. Conspiracy theorists love to latch onto them, giving us an endless parade of Nostradamuses, St Germains, Cagliostros, Adam Weishaupts, Alistair Crowleys, Aga Khans, and the like, alongside Templars, Rosicrucians, Brotherhoods of Set, Freemasons, and Girl Scout Troops. Okay, maybe not the last one, but they are trying to manipulate the world with thin mint cookies. You can't just eat one! Not quite the atmosphere of old, but way better than the MCP serial and a welcome change to a lot of what was on the stands, in 2002 (for my reading tastes, anyway). The Max imprint proves pointless, in this issue, as Doug doesn't go the Garth Ennis route and have Chi sound like he walked out of a Tarantino film. I can only imagine if Tarantino adapted Master of Kung Fu for the screen.... "My name is Shang Chi, which means "The Rising and Advancing of the Mother-@#$%&*% Spirit." Followed by long shots of Leiko's bare feet, while Clive and Black Jack refer to Longstreet as a forgotten classic. Black Jack would be played by Samuel L Jackson, just to make the name ironic and let him excuse the liberal use of the N-Word. Personally, I always found the Max imprint to be a rather juvenile excuse to swear, compared to the Vertigo approach to more mature situations and language. I thought this was a pretty good start. Much better than MCP and also, I would say, better than Bleeding Black. My "holy Sh#$ moment here was finding out that Reston and Leiko are married. However, after thinking about it, I think Reston is a better match for Leiko than Shan-Chi. I'll confess, I hadn't been expecting to see you-know-who, because I just assumed that rights issues would have prevented it, but I suppose they can find a way around that. Agreed on the Mature label, and Tarantino, and the coloring.
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Post by berkley on May 12, 2021 12:43:27 GMT -5
I was a lttle disappointed with Gulacy's and Palmiotti's work on this book - not that it was bad, but I didn't love it the way I usually do Gulacy's stuff. Not sure whether it was down to Gulacy changing his style, Palmiotti's inks, or a combination of both. I also remmber thinking some sections looked much better than others, leading me to speculate that some of the art might have been drawn at different times or perhaps that he was more rushed in some cases than in others. But I'd have to re-read the whole thing to see whether it would still strike me that way or not. Generally I liked the miniseries, though it never reached the heights of the 70s Moench/Gulacy MoKF, and it's something I'll certainly read again one of these days.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 12, 2021 14:15:49 GMT -5
I was a lttle disappointed with Gulacy's and Palmiotti's work on this book - not that it was bad, but I didn't love it the way I usually do Gulacy's stuff. Not sure whether it was down to Gulacy changing his style, Palmiotti's inks, or a combination of both. I also remmber thinking some sections looked much better than others, leading me to speculate that some of the art might have been drawn at different times or perhaps that he was more rushed in some cases than in others. But I'd have to re-read the whole thing to see whether it would still strike me that way or not. Generally I liked the miniseries, though it never reached the heights of the 70s Moench/Gulacy MoKF, and it's something I'll certainly read again one of these days. I blamed the coloring, myself. I don't think Gulacy's art meshes all that well with photoshop gradients. (I actually prefer it in black and white, period!!!) I didn't much care for Leiko and Reston being married this late in the game, personally, despite secretly rooting for Clive when the three formed a triangle. The two of them had seemed to move apart for good and to replace their erstwhile romance with true friendship. But this is a partial reboot (Leiko having her real hand and Tarr not looking like himself), so who knows. (I interpreted Leiko having her hand back in this series as it being the "real" sequel to MoKF #125, sidestepping the MCP and later Specials). One trifling detail that annoyed me was the scene where Chi moves unto the scene. A kiaï should a brief explosion of sound, not a Tarzan-like yodel! My favourite part (part from having Gulacy art on MoKF again) was seeing Chi having retired to a place where he was teaching martial arts instead of simply fishing. That last bit suggested he had suffered a nervous breakdown or something!
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Post by dbutler69 on May 13, 2021 8:02:02 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #2Is it just me or do they look like lodge brothers giving the secret handshake? Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Jimmy Palmiotti-inks, "Comicraft's Rich & Wes"-letters, Paul Mounts-colors, Axel Alonso-paper pusher Synopsis: Reston, Tarr and Chi are being chased by modern dacoits/ninja/shriners... They kick their black-clad buts and Reston grabs some wheels to get them out, while a cyclist follows. Meanwhile, in France, St Germain inducts some new assassins, which probably means eating escargot without the garlic. They are then shown a hidden paradise and it sounds like Doug has been re-reading the stories of the hashishin. This being a Max series, that includes a lot more skin that Gulacy got to do in the old days (and Pavane didn't wear much; or Leiko, for that matter). The initiates also have to kill an American intelligence officer. They do so and St Germain gets word of the doings in Singapore and the presence of Shang Chi. He sends his top assassin, Moving Shadow, to face him, while the initiates make like T-Rex... Tar and Reston continue to fill in Chi about St Germain and Doug goes deeper into conspiracy theories, as St Germain has the hidden secrets to Tesla's "death ray"... ..even linking it to the Tunguska Event, in Siberia, in 1908. Tarr further tells us they are up against rivals, from MI-6, Omega Team, a bunch of assassins, who put he Adult Content into this, via juvenile profanity, so I can't show an image, without all the pottymouth. A@#$oles! While St Germain continues to torture Leiko, Chi takes down the motorcyclist who followed them and smashes his face shield and then his face, until he gives up the name of his boss. Moving Shadow kills him and attacks Chi. They fight, but he dives out befor Tarr and Reston turn up, guns drawn. Chi is impressed. We zip ahead and St Germain drags Leiko to be executed by goons and she fights for her life, while Reston and Chi sneak in from outside. Leiko was faking being in a trance and she kicks butt, then smashes St Germain's mask, revealing Fun Manchu, in form, if not name... Thoughts: Lots of action, more info dump and Doug throws St Germain into deeper conspiracy theories about Tesla and US space weapons research, name dropping HAARP (High-Frequency Active Aural Research Program), a program that is jointly operated by the US Air Force, US Navy, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Univ of Alaska Fairbanks, which studies the ionosphere, using high frequency transmitters to excite portions, in hopes of developing more sophisticated and efficient communications devices, which makes it a favorite obsession of conspiracy theorists. Tesla's inventions are anothe, especially his experiments in wiresless power transmission. Gulacy's image of Tesla's wonder weapon is based on his transmitter at Wardenclyffe, his factory on Long Island... The Tunguska Event is believed to have been a meteor air burst, in Siberia, that flattened forests for miles. The event has often been cited by conspiracy theorists as being secret weapons tests and has been used in science fiction, including the backstory to Eclipse Comics' Strike! series. In that comic (written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Tom Lyle), the meteor is discovered by the Soviets, after stories of the people of the area showing amazing feats) and a long chain of people transport it (and die soon after handling it) down the line to a lead box. The Germans overrun the research facility during the war and do their own experiments, developing a harness that uses the power of the meteor. A commando team attacks the facility and a soldier puts on the harness and kills the Germans, after seeing the test subjects from the camp, all Jews and other non-Aryans. He returns to Allied lines and becomes the secret weapon, Sgt Strike. In the present, his harness and costume are found in an attic by the hero, who becomes Strike. Doug wrote The Big Book of Conspiracies, for DC's Paradox Press line of Big Book graphic albums, which showed he was well versed in everything from the Kennedy Assassination, Moon Hoaxes, The Trilateral Commission and every secret society under the sun (who never seem very secret), plus stuff like MK Ultra, Operation Paperclip and various other Quasi-government top secret research and scientific projects that did exist, but get grossly exaggerated by theorists. I read a bunch of this stuff in the dawn of the 90s, as I started watching The Prisoner and a few things inspired by Robert Anton Wilson's The Illuminatus Trilogy, which fits quite well into Shang Chis "Games of Deceit and Death." Problem is, later writers have turned everything into one grand conspiracy that interlinks everything, to the point of lunacy, with HYDRA and SHIELD being byproducts of ancient groups. Conspiracies work best on the small scale. Meanwhile, St Germain is revealed as "Shang Chi's father." At no point will the name Fu Manchu appear in this mini-series. Paul even departs from the traditional appearance of Fu, within these pages. Better safe than sorry, as they didn't have the rights; but, also, it allowed them to move somewhat away from the stereotype. Ha! I knew Codystarbuck would be all over HAARP and Tungaska. I notice that Tarr is still calling Shang "Chinaman" even though Shang says "Don't call me Chinaman" at the end of the last issue. Interesting that Leika calls out for Shang instead of Clive when she's imprisoned. I meant to mention in my comments on #1 that Tarr looks much younger here. He looks to me like he's in his 30's. I also meant to complain about Leiko being kidnapped and needing to be rescued by Shang again, though she was pretty tough in this issue. If Moench has decided to ignore the MCP story and give her her hand back, that is fine by me. As far as the art, I think it's good, but not at the heights of Gulacy in the 70's. I don't know if it's Gulacy's style changing, or Palmiotti's inks, or the coloring, but it's something. I'll also say, as I mentioned in the "There I said it" thread, that I don't like the modern comic book art method of not drawing what I call "lines of action" in action and fight scenes to help show the flow of the motion, such as the path somebody took, or the path their fist took. Somebody probably decided it was more "realistic" but it makes the art less clear (to me, anyway) and doesn't take advantage of the fact that comic books are a unique medium. Pardon that digression.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 13, 2021 12:00:39 GMT -5
I think it depends on the artist. The correct choices of movement and body language can give the reader enough information for the brain to fill in the rest. I'd have to look over a selection of Gulacy's past work to see how much he used speed lines in his work. I know he did in some sequences, like when weapons katas were employed, as in the classic first meeting with The Cat (the nunchucks and other weapons).
I think some of the problems with modern techniques are down to the evolution of the printing, as much as the tools. Past artists developed techniques to both do the work quickly, to meet deadlines (and pick up more work) and to have it look as good as it could on the newsprint that publishers used in their comics. In the 80s, we had new papers introduced, like the Baxter-format material, that was white and colors reproduced differently on it and linework appeared differently. So, artists had to evolve to match the new publishing standard, if they could. Then, not too long after that, we had digital coloring processes, which changed a lot of things. Colors could be layered in with greater variety in shade and tone. The colorist could actually take over some of the function of the inker, as they could give depth to a figure with color variations. Look at the early Image stuff in black & white, then look at it colored and you can see how much heavy lifting the colorist was doing. Now, you have artists actually drawing in a digital environment, rather than paper, so their techniques are different. You don't really see that fine illustrative tradition, like an Alex Raymond, with the feathering, since the computer technology can achieve the look via different methods.
I also think, based on my experience at work, that fewer modern artists have any real knowledge of the printing technology that reproduces their work. A lot of the old timers were very familiar with printing presses, as they had to compensate for their weaknesses or the cheapness of their publisher, if they cared about how their work looked, beyond getting more work. I see art students come in all the time and have to explain color formula to them, in regards to what we use on our printers and what is seen on a computer monitor. You'd think that lesson would have been in Week 1, if not Day 1. I expect to have to explain it to lay people who have enough trouble understanding why color printing (4 toners, intermixing) is more expensive than black & white (single toner). Or that it isn't 1982 and copies cost more than a dime, but that's another gripe.
Re: HAARP; well, I was a naval officer, so I somewhat followed defense research, though as often via outlets like Popular Science. At the same time, I was a bookseller for 20 years and used to skim various books that came into the store, including conspiracy theory tripe and actual science books, and some that fell somewhere in between (like books about health issues relating to high voltage power stations and lines). In the early 90s, I was reading stuff like Robert Anton Wilson (though I didn't get far, as I just couldn't take the chaotic structure of the narrative) and some references on conspiracies & secret societies. Some of it was research, as the movie Highlander and the Archer & Armstrong and Scout comics had ideas swirling in my head for a character who was immortal and opposed an ancient conspiracy group (that was pretty much swiped from Archer & Armstrong, as Armstrong was chased by the Vatican). I was also reading Robert Adams' Horseclans series of fantasy novels, about a post-apocalyptic US, that has reverted to a medieval state. There were a few characters in it who were immortal. Meanwhile, there was an enclave of scientists who operated from Cape Canaveral and could transfer their minds into new host bodies, like psychic vampires. The main hero, Milo Morai, felt they were a danger in reintroducing technology that destroyed the previous world. That, and I was watching the Prisoner and found a GURPS reference book to the series, for role playing games, which had references for conspiracy-style literature. I knew Doug was big on this stuff from his past writing and since he did the Big Book of Conspiracies, which I bought. It was filled with Tesla and MK Ultra, Templars, LSD, assassinations....you name it. So, when I originally read this and saw the Tesla transmitter, I knew exactly where Doug was getting his ideas and the references he was giving to Gulacy for the visuals. Heck, I had a book at the store I could have pulled out that covered tesla's inventions, with all kinds of illustrations and photos (not to mention ridiculous claims of anti-gravity machines and death rays). So, this mini was a bit of a perfect storm for me: Master of Kung Fu, Moench & Gulacy, Tesla conspiracies, St Germain, espionage, Hong Kong action films, and comic books.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 17, 2021 12:31:57 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #4Leiko and Chi are swapping fishing stories there. Clive doesn't seem to believe them. Creative Team: Doug Moench-story, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Jimmy Palmiotti-inks, Rick & Wes-letters, Paul Mounts-colors, Axel Alonso-editor Thoughts: I don't see the point of Omega Team, unless Doug and Paul are making fun of the various Image super-commando teams, like Wetworks and the rest. They are pretty inept and rather ludicrously attired. Lot of testosterone being thrown around and that's just the women! The MI-6 bunch is riding Fu's supply ship, after MI-6 payed off the captain; but, we are to believe that he isn't scared s@#$less of the owner of his cargo that he goes along with it? I still think this has been padded out to much for a trade. There is 4 issues worth of plot, tops. The rest is a lot of people standing around and cuckolding. The firefight with the Si-Fan is beyond James Bond silly. I think Doug is trying to hard and Gulacy isn't exactly knocking it out of the park. They did better work on Legends of the Dark Knight and their own Sci-Spy, around this time; not to mention their James Bond mini, Serpent's Tooth. This is kind of like a midling reunion album from a classic band. Let's see if they can at least pull off a decent finale, as we have 2 issues to go. The most ridiculous thing in this comic is the female commandos in bikinis. By the way, speaking of other Moench-Gulacy joints that were better than this, did you ever read Green Lantern: Dragon Lord? It was pretty good.
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Post by berkley on May 17, 2021 16:32:25 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #4Leiko and Chi are swapping fishing stories there. Clive doesn't seem to believe them. Creative Team: Doug Moench-story, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Jimmy Palmiotti-inks, Rick & Wes-letters, Paul Mounts-colors, Axel Alonso-editor Thoughts: I don't see the point of Omega Team, unless Doug and Paul are making fun of the various Image super-commando teams, like Wetworks and the rest. They are pretty inept and rather ludicrously attired. Lot of testosterone being thrown around and that's just the women! The MI-6 bunch is riding Fu's supply ship, after MI-6 payed off the captain; but, we are to believe that he isn't scared s@#$less of the owner of his cargo that he goes along with it? I still think this has been padded out to much for a trade. There is 4 issues worth of plot, tops. The rest is a lot of people standing around and cuckolding. The firefight with the Si-Fan is beyond James Bond silly. I think Doug is trying to hard and Gulacy isn't exactly knocking it out of the park. They did better work on Legends of the Dark Knight and their own Sci-Spy, around this time; not to mention their James Bond mini, Serpent's Tooth. This is kind of like a midling reunion album from a classic band. Let's see if they can at least pull off a decent finale, as we have 2 issues to go. The most ridiculous thing in this comic is the female commandos in bikinis.
It was ridiculous - and I loved it!
Forgot to mention earlier, I didn't mind Tarr's make-over too much - a but trendy, but still keeping to the spirit of the character - and I also kind of liked the new version of Fu Manchu - younger, more vigorous looking - though admittedly farther from Sax Rohmer's description than in previous Marvel appearances.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 17, 2021 21:05:22 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #4Leiko and Chi are swapping fishing stories there. Clive doesn't seem to believe them. Creative Team: Doug Moench-story, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Jimmy Palmiotti-inks, Rick & Wes-letters, Paul Mounts-colors, Axel Alonso-editor Thoughts: I don't see the point of Omega Team, unless Doug and Paul are making fun of the various Image super-commando teams, like Wetworks and the rest. They are pretty inept and rather ludicrously attired. Lot of testosterone being thrown around and that's just the women! The MI-6 bunch is riding Fu's supply ship, after MI-6 payed off the captain; but, we are to believe that he isn't scared s@#$less of the owner of his cargo that he goes along with it? I still think this has been padded out to much for a trade. There is 4 issues worth of plot, tops. The rest is a lot of people standing around and cuckolding. The firefight with the Si-Fan is beyond James Bond silly. I think Doug is trying to hard and Gulacy isn't exactly knocking it out of the park. They did better work on Legends of the Dark Knight and their own Sci-Spy, around this time; not to mention their James Bond mini, Serpent's Tooth. This is kind of like a midling reunion album from a classic band. Let's see if they can at least pull off a decent finale, as we have 2 issues to go. The most ridiculous thing in this comic is the female commandos in bikinis. By the way, speaking of other Moench-Gulacy joints that were better than this, did you ever read Green Lantern: Dragon Lord? It was pretty good. If memory serves, I read it; but, never been a big Lantern fan; so, I think it was only when it came out. As ridiculous as this mini was getting, they should have had Shang Chi meet up with the monks from Shaolin Soccer and play a game.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 18, 2021 5:07:24 GMT -5
The most ridiculous thing in this comic is the female commandos in bikinis. By the way, speaking of other Moench-Gulacy joints that were better than this, did you ever read Green Lantern: Dragon Lord? It was pretty good. If memory serves, I read it; but, never been a big Lantern fan; so, I think it was only when it came out. As ridiculous as this mini was getting, they should have had Shang Chi meet up with the monks from Shaolin Soccer and play a game. I think we can work Kung Fu Panda in there somehow, too.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 18, 2021 11:06:53 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #5Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Jimmy Palmiotti-inks, Rick & Wes-letters, Paul Mounts-colors, Axel Alonso-editor Synopsis: Omega Team land their hydroplanes on the shore of Hellfire Base and do some walking and cursing, then get flash-fried by Fu's lightning weapon. Tarr, Reston, Chi and Leiko head in on a cigarette boat and see the destruction, from a distance. They sneak aboard a truck carrying the components to Fu and Reston gives Chi the stink-eye. meanwhile, Fu plays video games while Moving Shadow.....er, moves his shadow... Fu is alerted that the cargo has arrived and orders preparations be made to target London. Tarr and the Rest get ready to sneak inside, when Omega Team turns up, alive and making a ruckus. They use the distraction to slip past the Si-Fan and Chi puts on a do-rage and moves off on his own. He does some choppin' and sockin' and continues on, while the others deal with various threats. Chi comes into sight of Pop and the others encounter heavy resistance. hi then faces Moving Shadow. Thoughts: Again, things are heavily padded, which affects the flow of action. Lot of fits and starts. No explanation how Omega Team escaped the lightning. Must be rubber fetishists or something, which might explain their suits. Fu Manchu, excuse me, Shang-Chi's dad, is playing Pac-Man?! And this is the guy who's always going on about "Western decadence"? "If Shang-Chi was dead, I would feel it". Uh, okay. You know Shang-Chi means business when he slips on his bracelets! Shang-Chi has yet another brother he didn't know about? Haven't we been there before?
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Post by codystarbuck on May 18, 2021 11:32:44 GMT -5
Yeah, that's how I felt about Moving Shadow. It seemed like Chi was forever facing yet another previously unknown sibling or clone. On the face of it, there is a certain logic, as Fu had lived a very long life, thanks to the elixir vitae. So, he probably had a few kids running around. I've never seen or heard an interview with either Moench or Gulacy about this series and wonder if someone at Marvel was a fan and offered them a chance to go what was probably a one-shot, that got reconfigured into a mini-series. A graphic novel makes more sense, based on the plot and the pacing of things. It seems like Doug just kind of dredged up some old material and added some conspiracy theory material on top to try to hide the repetition of plot. Pac Man isn't Western decadence; now, Donkey Kong is a different story!
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