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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 2, 2020 16:40:29 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #119Nice cover from Gene Day. Too bad he isn't doing the interiors. Some young turk is filling in. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, MarK (sic) Silvestri-pencils, Kevin Dzubin(sic)-inks, Janice Chiang-letters, Christy Scheele-colors, Ralph Macchio-editor. That should be Marc Silvestri and Kevin Dzuban. Macchio falling down on the job, though Doug Moench said their phone calls mostly consisted of Macchio drooling over stories, as a fan. At least he liked the book; Shooter didn't. Synopsis: Somewhere, a little figure in a bishop's vestments bows at the skeletal feet of the mortal remains of someone, sitting on a throne (not "the throne"). The skeleton belongs to Mordillo, and the little guy is..... BRYNOCKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brynocki says Mordillo's kingdom has gone to seed and he takes his master's skull to see it. Meanwhile, Chi talks with a recovering Nayland Smith and says he is at peace. Brynocki tells the boos that the real cause for their downfall was love; love for Leiko Wu. Simon Bretnor/Mordillo loved her, Clive Reston loved her, Shang Chi loves her. He implores his boss for a sign of how to get their revenge and Mordillo's hand (with Brynocki's help) falls on buttons that bring Leiko's picture on display. She will be the target of their revenge. Brynocki assembles his robotic Ultra Men.... No, not those guys...Clive and Dark Angel invite Leiko and Chi to accompany them to London, where DA is going to do a bit of work, while Chi and Leiko can use the gym; then, they will all go out to dinner and a movie. The couple agrees and off they go and DA remarks about the change in Shang Chi. Clive jokes about making time with his girl, but Chi can sense the insecurity in those words and thinks of the time with Mordillo. They arrive and the places is deathly quiet. DA goes off to work, while Chi and Leiko go to the gym. they've had their workout, so they decide to play some tennis and Chi goes to get some rackets from the equipment room. He opens a locker and finds BRYNOCKI!!!!!!!!!!! He sics the Utra Men on Chi and his chops have no effect. He uses his brains and uses one robot as a shield, while another's weapons disable it. leiko hears the commotion and joins the fun, after shutting up Brynocki... Elsewhere, Clive finds a dead guard and he and Dark Angel move out. The Ultra Men come a hunting. The pair unload their firearms into them, destroying them. Chi and Leiko draw the remaining ones into the War Room, where they fight... Clive and DA reduce the numbers to two, then Brynocki knocks them out with rackets. Chi uses a steel support rod to take down one of the robots; but, the other carries off Leiko. Chi follows after as she is loaded onto the aircraft. Chi smashes his way onboard as the ship lifts off. Brynocki flips out (well, more so). He rushes Chi, who trips him out the hatch and he crashes to the ground, severing his head. Chi and Leiko take out the remaining robot. The ship crashes into the Thames, though Chi and Leiko bail out before it hits. Brynocki's body picks up his head and carries him off, past the crowd in a nearby park... Thoughts: Fun little story, as you would expect, with Brynocki. It has all the Alice in Wonderland qualities you would expect, like an episode of the Avengers (the British tv show), with plenty of action. Moench is in good form and obviously having a ball. Silvestri does a good job with it, capturing the cartoony qualities, in looks and personality, of Brynocki. It lacks the stylistic touches of Gulacy or Day; but it works. Whatever happened to that Silvestri guy? he never seemed to do much in comics.... So, next, we have Gene Day's final story.
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 3, 2020 8:55:40 GMT -5
I did not remember that Silvestri had such an early work. He certainly improved.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 3, 2020 23:07:15 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #120Highlander meets the Wizard of Oz. Aw, put 'em up, put 'em up! There can be only one!Why do you have a French accent, Mr Highlander, sir? Because the Scotsman is playing an Egyptian. Whoa, must be the poppies kicking in again. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Gene Day-artist, Janice Chiang-letters, Christie Scheele-colors, Ralph Macchio-editor Synopsis: In Scotland, Rowdy Roddy is playing the pipes... (He actually could play them and quite well, though he was actually from Saskatchewan.) Chi is meditating in the garden when Rufus "Super Midnight" Carter turns up and Gene struts his stuff... Carter takes Chi for a ride and some fun and on the way, admits that this is his first case as a private dick (cue the theme to Shaft) and his client is a screwy Scottish laird who says his place is harassed by ghosts and solicitors (at least the ghosts have ethics). Supposedly, the lawyers have proof of deed irregularities and represent the true owners. Carter checked the land office and found that his client's deed is on the up and up, so someone is trying to pull a con. Chi smiles, as the mission doesn't involve killing and Carter needs his help. They arrive and Chi meets Jock McBride, the client, who keeps whailing on the bagpipes, until he finally stops and acknowledges Rufus. Aye, 'es a wee boot around the bend, ya ken? Jock is a fan, having watched Rufus win the heavyweight title, which is why he picked him for the job. Chi is bemused by the Scotsman. They follow him to a shack, and not a castle, as it turns out the castle is mostly in ruins. Jock explains the old feud between the McBrides and the McKinnons, which has led tot he current ghost situation. Ya ken? Carter dinna believe in ghosts; but, they stay the night to check thing oot. Jock catches a wee trout fer breakfast (no porridge?) and then goes off tae play the pipes. rufus and Chi walk outside and Rufus figures he might as well just get the copy of the deed that proves it's McBride land and move on. Chi questions him about the ghosts and he says he doesn't believe anything from Jock. then, they spot too men attacking Jock and go tae pick a fight! Rufus and Chi head to the village, present evidence to the local plod (who is not Hamish MacBeth and then head back to Jock. he still expects them to protect his land from the McKinnons and it turns out he is right, as the two goons were from McKinnon, who has brought explosive the blow the foundation of the castle to find the gold... They lure Rufus and Chi away, then a mob attacks Jock. Carter overhears some goons and sends Chi back to help Jock, while he deals with them. Rufus kicks butt and Chi reaches the cabin and finds it empty, but sees a blood trail. he finds the goons digging in the graveyard; but no Jock. The goons light dynamite, but an eagle swoops down and knocks it out of their hands. Chi sees a ghostly piper and believes it is Liam McBride. Tghe explosives go off and rupture the loch and flood the land,w ashing Chi away with the graves. Chi encounters McKinnon, with an axe and they fight... Chi wins and runs into the piper, who isn't Liam...it's Jock. The grave he saw was the McKinnon's digging up the gold, not burying Jock. he has it now, but rufus won't take a cent in payment. They head home and leave Jock to serenade the hills. Then, Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery come crashing through his land, chasing Clancy Brown, followed by Mel Gibson and Brendon Gleeson,; and, finally, Ewan McGregor and Johnny Lee Miller amble through, asking if they have any "gear." Thoughts: Fun little story, though I kept waiting for Scooby and the gang to concoct an elaborate trap that goes haywire. It has a bit in common with the Avengers episode, "Castle De'ath," where Steed and Mrs Peel investigate strange happenings at a Scottish castle and the surrounding loch, only to find enemy spies and a secret sub pen. This was Gene Day's last issue. He does a magnificent job and experiments again with the text layout and combining the passage of time between panels into a larger mosaic. MOKF was always at its best when it was done cinematically and that was when Paul Gulacy and Gene Day did the art. Mike Zeck was a fine hand at the action; but, he didn't have that same kind of stylistic flair of Gulacy and Day. Day went out with a bang. On September 23, 1982, while walking across the street, in Gananoque, Ontario, his hometown, Howard Eugene Day suffered a massive heart attack and died. He was 31. Issue #122 carried this memorial from Archie Goodwin... As Archie said, Gene lived comics and had an infectious enthusiasm for the medium. he was also a master of its storytelling and an artist's artist. His output was voluminous and much of it was barely seen. renegade Press later put together the comic Gene Day's Black Zeppelin, which featured his stories, along with work from his two brothers. Dave Sim spoke of Jim Shooter all but killing Gene, with the stress he gave him, plus he cited some weekend shut up in the Marvel offices, without heat, doing work. Shooter rebutted this and the general facts, including words from Gene's brother also refutes this notion. Gene was a heavy smoker and had a poor diet. He also wasted much of his youth on drugs, by his own admission and worked hard to make up for what he felt was lost time. Likely, no one thing killed him; but, what is certain was that he was gone too soon.
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Post by berkley on Aug 3, 2020 23:34:19 GMT -5
I remember how sad I felt on reading that notice by Archie Goodwin. The little detail of the long distance phone calls really got to me, for some reason - and still does, I realise as I read it again now. I don't recall if it was in this issue or a later one that Doug Moench wrote his own tribute to Gene Day, which was also very moving.
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 4, 2020 8:42:41 GMT -5
Cody, thanks for letting us remember what a true talent Gene Day was. If he had lived, he would be in there with the top of the Bronze Age artists.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 4, 2020 21:37:12 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #121Creative Team: Steven Grant-writer, David Mazzucchelli-pencils, Vince Coletta-inks, Michael Higgins-letters, Christie Scheele-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor Synopsis: Chi is in Paris, looking for a book. Well, they have book vendors all up and down the banks of the Seine, let alone bookshops. This book, though, is in the hands of an Englishman, meeting with the KGB. Chi breaks in and steals it and KGB goons go after him. The Englishman lets slip that it is a codebook. The Russkies lose Chi, but the Englishman, a spy, knows where he is headed. He corners Chi on the flight to London, with a hidden pistol... A stewardess stops by with tea and accidentally spills it into the spies lap, allowing Chi to hit him with an elbow strike and knock him out. The "stewardess" picks up his gun and walks off with it. Chi wonders whose side she is on. The plane lands anc Chi disembarks, but doesn't see the stewardess again. He does spot a tail, though. He clears customs, then starts running and the tail sprints after him, barging through the barrier. Chi ambushes with a kick and the man pulls a gun, and Chi kicks him again and hotfoots it with the book. He hops in a taxi and takes off, but discovers the book is blank. he goes back to Heathrow and finds the stewardess. She runs and Chi corners her, but, the traitor spy spots them and follows. The woman gives up the book and Chi departs, ignoring her offer to split the proceeds. The spy follows the stewardess, knowing she is up to something. Nayland Smith and an MI-6 flunkie wait for Chi. he arrives with the book, but it, too, is a fake. The woman shows up and sells it to the MI-6 twit. Smith knows her as Vienna. He and Chi leave and Vienna pulls a double cross on a highly amorous MI-6 twit. She leaves with the book to resell it. The idiot catches up to Chi and Smith and pays them 25,000 pounds to get it back from Vienna. The spy traitor spots her first, phoning a contact. The KGB arrive to buy the book, but plan on killing Vienna when they have it. Chi and Smith are hunting. The Russians go to the rooftop meet and Chi spots the traitor. He climbs up the outside of the building. The Russians meet Vienna, the traitor barges in, Chi takes out an assassin, then helps Vienna escape. She pulls her gun, takes the book, but Smith grabs her weapon and the book and he and Chi run, followed by the Russians. Chi and Smith deliver the codebook, then Chi spots Vienna and follows her to Smiley's Bar (very subtle), where she meets a CIA contact, who paid her to switch the books so the Brits don't learn they had and active codebook. Chi catches her. They have a philosophical discussion, then the traitor turns up and tries to kill her. She is wounded, but Chi takes him down and kicks the money into the Thames. Thoughts: Well, not a very deep plot, but it makes for a fun fill-in issue. Not sure that Grant has read much Le Carre, as George Smiley would be more likely to open a bookshop, not a bar. Nazzucchelli does a decent job, though Coletta's inks don't favor him. It gives it a much harsher edge. Many elements of the story remind me of Will Eisner's Spirit stories, as Chi sort of fills the Denny Colt role of have the wool pulled over his eyes, but still rescuing the femme fatale from trouble. Vienna is very much in the mold of P'Gelle the greatest of Eisner's many femme fatales, whose appearance in a story always meant fun and doublecrosses. Smith could even be likened to Commissioner Dolan. The story is more humorous than thrilling, which is why I think the Eisner touches are deliberate. Grant would soon be leaving Marvel to do his own martial arts book, joining the ninja craze with Whisper, first at Capital, then at First Comics, when Capital drops their publishing line (which also included Nexus and Badger). Thankfully, this is still a ninja-free zone. Next, Doug's final story, of the original incarnation of Master of Kung Fu.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 5, 2020 11:28:43 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #122Kung Fu vs Vikings, at a Comedia dell'arte shop. I can't see that being a very viable business, for very long. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, William Johnson-pencils, Ernie Chan-inks, Janice Chiang-letters, Christie Scheele-colors, Ralph Macchio-editor. William Johnson isn't a well-known name from 80s Marvel. His output is rather small, consisting of the last few issues of MOKF, a handful of Daredevil, a Rom annual story, and some Transformers. Per an interview with Bob Budiansky, his editor on Daredevil, he had problems meeting deadlines and asked to be taken off that title, leading to David Mazzucchelli coming on it. He apparently left comics and hasn't seemed to had much of a profile since. Looking at the art, I would say Chan is exerting a lot of influence on the final product. Synopsis: Clive Reston is hanging out in Piccadilly, in front of said comedia dell'arte shoppe, biding his time before meeting his contact. When the time comes, he crosses a street and meets The Riddler, without his mask... ..or a reasonable facsimile. He follows the man down to a cellar club, where some girl is stripping and they go to a back room, when the door is slammed shut behind Clive and two hulking goons flank him. He punches one in the gut and kicks the other, with little effect. He gets tossed like a ragdoll and resorts to his father's favorite method and pulls out a Walther....... ...though it looks like a more modern P5, rather than a PPK. (His pop had one for one movie). He meets his employer, who was just making sure Reston wasn't pulling a fast one. He wants Clive to find someone. The target turns out to be Carrington Scullers, an ex-MI-6 agent who was psychotic and ended up in a sanitarium for the criminally insane. He was a double, working for the KGB and Clive and Leiko were assigned to snoop him out. He tried to murder Leiko in her bed and she chased him off with gunfire and he went on the run. Clive and Leiko hunted for him; but, one night, the hunters became the hunted as Scullers cornered them in their hotel room, without their weapons. They got out and ran to a nearby farm and eventually ambushed Scullers with a large rock and he was taken in. Clive accepts the job. He is directed to a pub, called the Seahawk. Meanwhile, Fah Lo Suee visits Smith and warns him of Scullers and that Clive is on a collision course and suggests sending Chi and Leiko to help him. Clive comes to the closed Seahawk and breaks in. He finds a message on the bar mirror, which says "I'm right behind you," and Clive is hit over the head with a blackjack (and not Tarr). Meanwhile, Chi and Leiko are briefed. Clive wakes up in a car, outside Stormhaven. he gets out, but finds his knees don't work. He sees Scullers enter Stormhaven and is able to get up and follow, but finds the inside filled with inmates from the asylum. They attack him, while Scullers, in a lab coat, takes notes. Clive fights them off and goes after, then notices needle tracks in his arms. He hunts for Scullers and spots him and rushes him, but falls through a trapdoor. Chi and Leiko see something they don't believe. Clive ends up in a cellar, fighting guys in clown make-up, while Scullers observes. He breaks free and corners Scullers, who said it's all in his head, he died in Italy, with the rock to the head and pulls a gun. He is shot by an unseen gun and Clive turns to find Chi and Leiko... Clive runs after Scullers and Leiko finds the notes, which shows that Scullers is nuts and Clive was injected with hallucinogenic drugs. They follow as Clive tackles Scullers. Beyond the door are two goons, one dressed like Kull. Leiko gets the drop on him, but he knocks the pistol out of her hand. Chi launches a kick and the goon reads the message on the bottom of his foot: "By this foot I kick your ass!" Leiko goes into Emma Peel mode, herself, and the bruisers go down, while Clive is wailing on Scullers like Ralphie on Scott Farkas. Clive's mother comes along and pulls him off..... well, Leiko and Chi do it and inform Clive that his client, Carson Langley, is in fact "Scullers," under a wig and he works for the KGB. He was using Clive to test a hallucinogen. He built a facade of Stormhaven in front of the asylum and Chi and Leiko carry the now unconscious Clive to their car. Thoughts: Pretty much an Avengers plot (Steed and Mrs Peel), though with a bit of Prisoner flair. Once again, Clive is less than a badass, though I suppose you could debate, as he dos fight the hallucinations. He still needs rescue, though. The art is fine, though very Ernie Chan, and very bizarre, which fits the story. The initial contact turns up at the end, in the asylum, wearing a clown face, which makes him look like the love child of the Riddler and the Joker. I almost wonder if this wasn't Doug sending a message. This was Doug Moench's final issue. Tired of fighting with Jim Shooter, Doug quit the book and Marvel, altogether and went to work for DC Comics, writing Batman. It wasn't an imediate transition, as his Batman work didn't start until March of 1983, and he quit Marvel in the summer. It's possible he had the Batman offer as an enticement to work for DC, though he might have just approached them about a job abd they grabbed him and then batman came up. Not sure of the sequence there, without going digging for interviews. Jim Shooter's intractability put an end to the work from one of Marvel's most prolific and successful writers of the Bronze Age. Moench was never a fan of writing superhero comics, though he enjoyed the comics himself. he preferred adventure stuff and wrote things like MOKF, Godzilla, Planet of the Apes, and a lot of horror titles. He came on MOKF as a replacement for original writer, Steve Englehart and, once he was paired with Paul Gulacy, turned it from a mish-mash of Sax Rohmer and kung fu tv and films into a pure adventure classic, mixing Bruce Lee, James Bond and other adventure templates, like Terry & the Pirates and the like. He broke new ground, with his cinematic stories of death and deception, with manic villains, colorful henchmen, and intricate plots. Master of Kung Fu probably would have been yet another short-lived comic, created during a fad, had it not been for Moench and Gulacy, then carried onward with Moench and Jim Craig, Mike Zeck and Gene Day. Doug crafted some excellent stories, with visual touches provided by the artists, following in the footsteps of Steranko. This put him at odds with Shooter, from the time he was an assistant editor, as Shooter's storytelling philosophy flew against the type of cinematic and artistic touches that people like Steranko and Gulacy gave to their comics. They were following the path of artists like Will Eisner and Bernard Krigstein, who employed cinematic techniques to their work. They used experimental layouts and different POVs, while Shooter wanted basic layouts and very rigid story structures. Moench considered Shooter a jumped up proofreader (the main function of the assistant editors and many editors) and, no doubt, Shooter considered Moench a loose cannon. Many who had worked int he pre-Shooter era had left Marvel over disputes with Shooter and Moench joined them. Gone were Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway (though he burned his bridges earlier, with his short EIC run), Don McGregor, Steve Gerber and now Moench, plus several artists, including Gene Colan (and soon George Perez would cut ties with marvel, over the JLA/Avengers fiasco). Comics were changing and DC was rising up from the ashes of their past and embracing change, while the Direct Market had made conditions favorable for seasoned pros to make good money with greater creative control. Doug would explore that, too, writing Aztec Ace for Eclipse. However, once Shooter was gone from Marvel, Doug would return to Shang Chi, penning an 8-part story in the pages of the anthology Marvel Comics Presents. Still later, he and Paul Gulacy would be reunited on the Master of Kung Fu Max mini-series. We will get to those issues in a bit. Next, we get the final 3 issues of Master of Kung Fu, with Alan Zelenetz, and Shang Chi's mother!
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 5, 2020 12:37:47 GMT -5
I remember at the time thinking Johnson showed promise.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Aug 6, 2020 11:49:49 GMT -5
Shooter's tenure eventually made me abandon Marvel comics entirely.
I always thought Shang Chi's mother ought to have been the Silver Scorpion, the white martial arts heroine from Timely Comics.
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Post by berkley on Aug 6, 2020 13:19:54 GMT -5
Shooter's tenure eventually made me abandon Marvel comics entirely. I always thought Shang Chi's mother ought to have been the Silver Scorpion, the white martial arts heroine from Timely Comics. I had the same experience with Shooter, giving up Marvel early into his tenure. In fact, MoKF as the only series I was still following at the end and once that was gone, so was I.
I don't know the character you refer to but it's true that Shang Chi's mother has always been a bit of a non-factor. I was sometimes a bit suspicious of the decision to make her a "white" character - as if that was supposed to make Shang Chi more acceptable or interesting to a "white" audience. Be that as it may, as it happened she was more or less ignored throughout the series and without looking it up, I can't even remember her name, where she was supposed to be from, or really anything about her. So I can see that one might feel that that element of the Shang Chi story is open for development.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 6, 2020 19:24:33 GMT -5
Shooter's tenure eventually made me abandon Marvel comics entirely. I always thought Shang Chi's mother ought to have been the Silver Scorpion, the white martial arts heroine from Timely Comics. I had the same experience with Shooter, giving up Marvel early into his tenure. In fact, MoKF as the only series I was still following at the end and once that was gone, so was I.
I don't know the character you refer to but it's true that Shang Chi's mother has always been a bit of a non-factor. I was sometimes a bit suspicious of the decision to make her a "white" character - as if that was supposed to make Shang Chi more acceptable or interesting to a "white" audience. Be that as it may, as it happened she was more or less ignored throughout the series and without looking it up, I can't even remember her name, where she was supposed to be from, or really anything about her. So I can see that one might feel that that element of the Shang Chi story is open for development.
She was American, but I don't think we ever got her name! Chi being half-American was, I'm sure, a commercially-motivated move. His mom did show an interesting and unexpected aspect of her personality in the next issue; that would be, however, all we'd learn about her from then on.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 6, 2020 21:16:31 GMT -5
Steve Englehart created the idea of a blond American mother for Shang Chi, in Special Marvel Edition #15, where Shang Chi debuted. He goes to see his mother, after Nayland Smith tells him the truth of Fu Manchu. It's possible that the idea of a blond American might have been influenced by Linda Lee, wife of Bruce Lee, though plenty of European women were victims and captives of Fu Manchu, both in the pulps and the movies. It was part and parcel of the racist stereotypes in the stories, as one of the irrational fears of Asians was that they lusted after white women for their perverse pleasures. Doug Moench hated this idea and never mentioned her in his stories, consciously. You'll notice she only re-enters the story after he quit. To me, it is similar to the xenophobia and racism of Ian Fleming in the James Bond novels, where the foreign station contacts all had English mothers, which made them better than their fellow countrymen. It was further permeated in names, as the Turkish spy master, known as Kerim Bey in the film version, was called Darko Kerim in the original novel of From Russia With Love. Speaking of which.....
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 6, 2020 22:25:40 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #123I thought I told you to clean your room ten years ago, young man! Creative Team: Alan Zelenetz-writer, William Johnson-pencils, Mike Mignola-inks, Rick Parker-letters, George Roussos-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor Wonder how this Mignola kid is going to work out..... Synopsis: Shang Chi has forgotten his keys again.... Mom isn't home and the place is a mess/ Chi finds a picture of him and Pop. He wonders where his mom is. In England, Leiko wonders how he is making out. In New York, Chi senses a Si-Fan and ducks, as a sword slices at his head. Chi tells him to eat foot, then blocks the sword with his wristbands and hits the bum with another kick. Bong Soo Han is proud. He finds an answering machine and hears a message confirming two tickets for the Metropolitan Museum, arms and armor exhibit. Chi runs into another Si-Fan at the elevator, swiftly kicks his backside and moves on, rushing out of the elevator on the ground floor, leaving a pampered resident to be horrified by dead assassin. Chi arrives at the museum at looks around, as other Si-Fan attack, hidden inside suits of armor. Chi makes like Bugs Bunny and moves on... Chi stops in Central Park and meditates, to center himself, before continuing the search. he helps a kid retrieve a trapped kite and mom treats him to lunch at Rockefeller Plaza. She's a Si-Fan and Chi doesn't suspect, as he watches the skaters. A skater attacks and he whoops him, then chokes him, demanding to know where his mother is. The man spits out, "Joss house...orphan." Chi heads into Chinatown and walks pass Luke Cage, who is looking the other way, then thinks he sees Fu, until he realizes it is someone else... He walks past pushers, prostitutes and bag ladies and nearly kicks a panhandler, before stopping himself. He walks on and overhears a cry for help and finds a young man threatening an older man with a gun, a man he calls "pa." Opie never did that! Chi gets him to talk then goes to leave and snaps a kick, knocking aside th gun, but it goes off and nicks the father. The kid is remorseful and Pa is okay and they reconcile and the whole thing is a bit too cliched. Chi moves on. Chi finds the joss house and goes inside, where dramas are played for tourists. A dacoit gets the drop and garotte on him and he asks for his mother and is guided downstairs, where there are illegal gaming tables and ..... .....Mom. It doesn't go well, as she berates him for killing Fu and calling him a false son. He runs off. A tourist snaps his photo and he beats him up. He goes off to pout. Thoughts: This started out well; but soon falls apart. It gets more ridiculous and unbelievable after we leave the museum and is completely ga-ga when Chi meets mom. There may be more at work but Alan Zelenetz is a far cry from Doug and this just reads like bad soap opera and kung fu, like David Carradine , as Caine, making an appearance on All My Children, to see his mother, Erica (Kane). We have two more issues of this, which does not bode well. The art works well enough, early on, but gets wonky later. Not sure who is at fault here, as I still have no concept of how much of it is Johnson.l Last issue was very Ernie Chan, but Mignola hadn't really developed his style, yet, and was a new inker, at the time. i don't see anything I immediately recognize as his touch. Quite frankly, in the latter third the book looks very much like a lower tier indie comic with a rookie artist, like something from Malibu or AC Comics, though there aren't enough yabbos for an AC artist. I think it is obvious that no one at Marvel cares about this book, anymore, and just dumped it on a group of rookies. I kind of suspect O'Neil suggested the mother plot, since she hadn't been seen. I have to think everyone knew the book was being axed, or at least had a pretty strong inkling. The Si-Fan have been masked before; but, they are made to look very ninja, which could be an editorial dictate or just a factor of the young crowd going with what was selling. Personally, I wish Doug had given Shooter what he wanted, while also delivering a big middle finger and have Shang Chi wipe the floor with The Hand, without raising a sweat. Instead, it would have to wait for Ben Edlund to mock the ninja craze, in The Tick.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 7, 2020 6:42:44 GMT -5
That issue had a strong "back to the basics" feel and was closer to the Englehart era than Moench's. Chi is once again acting like a naive teen, and seems to have lost the discipline he worked so hard to reacquire over the past two years. Beating up an annoying tourist? Running away in tears because Mom was cross with him? That doesn't sound like the spirit we saw grow and rise over more than a hundred issues.
Zelenetz does to write a proper Shang-Chi comic, though, tying his story to the book's old continuity and inserting a few tidbits of Chinese culture. I wish he had actually written issue #123, though, and not "Post-Doug Moench Master of Kung Fu #1". This book truly marks a break from the just completed run.
The art was not as rich in detail as that of Gene and sometimes felt stiff (especially the faces) but it was much better than in recent non-Day issues. I particularly like the techniques used by Chi: in the above images, he uses a convincing side kick and blocks a sword in a way that would actually work. His ura mawashi geri is also pretty neat. It suggests that Johnson either was familiar with some martial art, or used good reference material.
I read in an interview that Johnson was very slow and couldn't handle a monthly schedule. Maybe that's why the upcoming double-sized final issue has many downright ugly pages drawn by a guest artist.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 8, 2020 20:07:18 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #124Creative Team: Alan Zelenetz-writer, William Johnson-pencils, Mike Mignola-inks, Rick Parker-letetrs, Christie Scheele-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor. Synopsis: In Tibet, Shang Chi gets into a fight with some locals... (kind of a clumsy attack, there. Chi should be blocking with his near hand and following up with a punch from his other hand. He's crossing himself up) One brings a knife to a gun fight; but, since Chi doesn't have a gun, he just kicks his hinder. He settles down for food and drink, before heading up the mountain into mingou (yeti/abominabbubble snowman) territory. In the morning, the inkkeeper gives Chi food and wishes him well, though Chi turns down the offer of a rifle. He heads off. Meanwhile, in London, Leiko cries and Tarr comforts her, 'cause Zelenetz can't come up with anything better for them. Chi upsets the natural order of things when he rescues a rabbit from a fox. So, the poor fox has to go hungry because it isn't cute enough. Not exactly Tao there Shang. He climbs on and takes shelter for the night and runs into a migou. Chi comes to a monastery (not a lamasery?), but gets told to hit the bricks by the guards. So, doing the peaceful thing, Chi kicks them around and walks in. Master Po recognizes him and speaks to him via telepathy, 'cause, Tibet. Peter Cannon and John Aman watch in the background, while The Flame smolders. Fu Manchu studied there, which means this must be Fu Manch U (Circle Campus). The brothers welcome him by trying to kill him. Tough rush week they have here. The Dean Fs with Chi's head and sends him climbing. He almost goes off a cliff but is rescued by the migou, then shown a cave where voices talk jibberish to him. Thoughts: More pointless narrative w#$king. Nothing is revealed, except Fu trained there and healed people and Chi has a bunch of pointless fights he would have avoided, if Doug were writing this. Some serious wheel spinning here. A directionless story for a directionless book, that is about to be put down like a steer in an abattoir. The artwork is more consistent here and Johnson has either watched Kung Fu Theater or has issues of Inside Kung Fu. I don't think anyone was left, at this point. Next issue is the end; which, since I am finding my will to care fading, let's just hop to it...
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