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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 8, 2021 16:04:55 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #82Well, at least Leiko isn't being rescued here. The daggers suggest more Kitty Men. Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, Dian Albers-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Roger Stern-editor Thoughts: The cutting back and forth kind of throws off the pace, if you ask me. It would seem to build better if we watched the Kitty men chase Melissa, longer, then have Chi and the Gang arrive. To do that, they would need to hold the Scotland attack until later; but, that means a lot of early exposition, before we got there. Still, I think that is more the route that an Archie Goodwin would have suggested to Moench, rather than a Shooter editor, who wasn't that long out of fandom (though Roger Stern was a pretty good editor and a better writer than Shooter, for my money). The Fu Manchu stuff seems a bit anti-climactic. There was no real mystery here; so, it feels like we are being told something we already know. Kind of get the feeling they clued in readers to Fu earlier, in hopes of selling the storyline, rather than have it progress slowly and build excitement and intrigue. They have bee hurting for a decent villain, since Kogarr and Shen Kui. Zaran made a nice assassin; but, he is more in the Razorfist vein. Brynocki is less a villain and more of a comic relief sidekick. Not real wild on this Fu Manchu story, so far. Some nice action; but, the Zaran portion was way better than this stuff and it was short. Hope Doug is saving something for the next half. Meanwhile, speaking of cats landing on their feet. Since cats always land on their feet and toast always lands butter side down; do you know what happens when you butter a cat's back? I thought this issue was very good. I don't mind them dragging out the return of Fu Manchu, but I do think the bit about MI-6 going loco and our heroes being on the run from that has gone on too long. Still, I'm enjoying the adventure and certainly the art. I did find it odd that Shang-Chi eschewed even tea and asked for water. I know he's drunk tea before. Maybe he just wasn't in the mood?
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 9, 2021 7:18:42 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #83The Return of Fu Manchu! Starring Christopher Lee, Bruce Lee, Janet Leigh, Lee Majors and Zippy the Wonder Capybara! Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, Diana Albers-letters, Ben Sean-colors, Roger Stern-editor. Thoughts: Um........no drug testing at Marvel, I take it (no duh, read Sean Howe's book). Moench seems to be trying to replicate the previous Fu epic, with the story told from Fu's POV. Zeck's art is a bit weaker in this one, like this was rushed or something. on't know how well this is going to stack up to the Moench-Gulacy masterpiece. Moench is gathering all the old characters, as Fah Lo Suee, Karamenah and Ducharme are all back with Fu and Zaran is allowed to live, to serve him. Leiko and Chi still can't seem to go an issue without being on the rocks and how Melissa Greville isn't on a mortuary slab is mindboggling. Moench is all over the Illuminatus Trilogy references, with everything from the All-Seeing Eye to the Golden Dawn, one of many secret societies, with funny handshakes and dumb names. Gathered together we see the Si-Fan (Fu's original secret society), the phansigars (bandits of India, though Zeck draws them as more Chinese Asian than Indian , Pakistani or Burmese). thugees, hashishin, templars, the Leopard Cult and the masons (though he names their symbols, rather than the organization). The templars and hashishin should be at each other's throats. The only ones missing are the Rosicrucians and Cheech & Chong. If Moench introduces a mid-range sci-fi writer who has a converted cattle boat, I am out of here. The thing that annoys me about this issue is that Miss Greville is still blaming herself for "letting" Sir Dennis get kidnaped! WFT? She's a freakin' secretary? What was she supposed to do going up against a band of assassins?? Like you said, she's lucky to even be alive. Typical Marvel self-blaming and self-pitying. That gets annoying, especially when it doesn't make any sense.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 10, 2021 10:51:58 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #84Chi and Black Jack better start humming some Elton John and hope it sways those reptiles! Apparently, Black Jack is related to Oliver Hardy! I guess that makes Chi Stan Laurel (or at least Dick Van Dyke). Creative Team: Doug Moench-writer with the munchies, after last issue, Mike Zeck-pencils, Gene Day-inks, Joe Rosen-letters, George Roussos-colors, Roger Stern-editor, Robert Anton Wilson-checking with his lawyer. Wait, do anarchists/discordians have lawyers? fnord! Thoughts: The time switches are getting out of hand in this series. moench has always used flashbacks; but, his cutting back and forth is creating a weird story flow. I'm starting to think some of his fights with Shooter weren't exactly justified, based on some of this. He could use Archie Goodwin or Denny O'Neil editing him. Stern is probably a bit too green to be exerting much influence. Zeck & Day's artwork looks better than last issue, though Zeck needs to work on his firearms. He lacks Gulacy's flair for exotic-but-functional looking fantasy weapons and a Mike Grell eye for authentic detail. I guess he hasn't got the reference material he would draw upon for the Punisher (which was a gun fetishist's dream, much like the later Mack Bolan books). At least everyone is getting into motion and we are seeing Fu's plot. Lot of rip-offs going on here. Moench has always used ideas from other sources, though this feels less homage and more stuck for ideas and going with what was hot at the movies and in pop culture. I really think that time switches are oversused by writers. They should be used sparingly. I think often times the time switches only serve to make things more confusing, without adding anything to the story. They can even remove some drama by letting us know what is going to happen in advance. I think writers do this to try and look clever, but if often doesn't work. I also agree that the art was better than in the previous issue, for whatever reason. Miss Greville is upset that she doesn't get to go on a mission?! I guess she doesnt have any more sense than Reston. These leopard cultists sure look incompetent here. So yeah, maybe Fu shouldn't have ditched his dacoits back in London. How is Fu's plan going to work if the subjet all have to have their heads shaved, with metal implant sticking out of their heads. Won't anyone, such as their loved ones, ever notice this? Also, why did Tarr and Shang-Chi think that Shang-Chi needed to kill that leopard cultist to keep him from sounding thealarm? Haven't they ever heard of knocking a guy out??
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 16, 2021 12:02:49 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #87Leiko gonna F-up Fah Lo Suee! Creative Team: Doug Moench-Illuminatus, Mike Zeck-Rosicrucian, Gene Day-Templar, Joe Rosen-Knight of St John, Bob Sharen-Shriner, 3rd Degree, Jim Salicrup-BPOE 117. Jim Shooter-blackballed. Thoughts: Some nice character stuff and some brutal fighting. Zeck can't draw firearms (yet); but, he handles the action well. Moench really cannot write a strong woman, unless she is a femme fatale. Sucks to be Leiko, in his hands. All the spiritual stuff is falling to pieces in this saga. Looks like Chi needs to check in with Master Po. Agreed. Shang-Chi seems to have gotten more impatient, short tempered, and violent, and lost much of the philosophical, peace loving part of his character. A lot of people liked this change, but I didn't. To have a nonviolent, philosophical action hero would be a welcome change from all of the mindless violence and destruction. Maybe he should talk to David Carradine.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 20, 2021 10:17:05 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #94Agent Syn needs a better tailor! Creative Team: Moench, Zeck & Day-storytellers; Novak & Sharen text and crayons, Salicrup signing the vouchers Thoughts: Not gonna spend much time on this one as it is a rather weak chapter. Agent Syn comes out of the blue and gets removed rather easily. Dont' really see the point in having him, at all. It's obvious luittle thought went into his uniform. With some build up and an couple of issues, he might have been an interesting character. he appears to be a cyborg, as the chest thing sends impulses into him and he removes a finger to reveal a blade... Yeah, the battle between Shang-Chi and Syn was a real letdown. At least the art was excellent.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 21, 2021 15:09:07 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #95Whoops; I stand corrected! Agent Syn was the height of sartorial splendor, compared to these chuckle-heads! Thoughts: Well, I don't know if I would call this one an epic; but, it has a satisfying conclusion, after a weak middle. This part is pure James Bond, by way of Bruce Lee, in the grand tradition of this series. Grell & Day go to town on the action, though it is clear that we are in the Shooter Regime imposition of the Almighty Grid, as the pages lack much for innovative layout. Shame, really, as Zeck and Day do fine work, when left to their own devices. This is why I drifted away from Marvel (some books quicker than others) as there was just such a generic quality to most of them, to the point even they were making fun of it with their Generic Comic Book... As cults go, this was pretty weak. Doug is using things from the Moonies, Jonestown, Scientology and similar nutjobs (which is why certain rallies are really, really scary these days), but, the plot peters out in three issues. This really could have gone longer, as they race to stop the various cult attacks.... Moench unloads this and wraps it up in three very uneven issues. There was the seed of an epic here. Is Doug burnt out? Is it fighting with Shooter? Is it the Hostage Crisis or the election? Was it the reveal in Empire Strikes Back? Who knows? I thought this was a pretty good issue overall, but again, I thought those Syn agents looked ridiculous. Between them and Razorfist, what is the big idea with these hand implements on the assassins in this series? I don't think anybody in their right mind, or even NOT in their right mind, would get rid of a perfectly good hand and replace it with a weapon, or with anything else, for that matter.
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Post by brutalis on Mar 21, 2021 15:49:38 GMT -5
But these are villainous folks not in their "right" mind. And heroes require their psycho evil villains for our entertainment.
And what is the most natural weapon of choice in a hand to hand fight? A bladed weapon of course...
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 21, 2021 20:48:39 GMT -5
I think it is a visual throwback to the stereotyped pirate, with a hook for a hand, like this fellow.... ...who looked a little better, here... It would be one thing if they are holding a blade with a cup, like the guard on an epee or a fencing sabre.. With Razorfist, it is more than a bit ridiculous to have a blade grafted to both arms. Had he been shown to be more like Kogarr, where his hand weapon had multiple uses (possibly including an artificial hand) or like the later Razorfist copies, where they had a blade on one arm, while maintaining thir hand on the other, it would make more logical sense, if not the flamboyancy of the thing.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 22, 2021 10:08:18 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #36More Kung Fu Action & Thrills Than Ever Before! Let's see if it lives up to the hype. Of course, it's never had much kung fu action, as Gulacy was about the only one who ever did research on actual techniques, not just a couple of poses and some chops, kicks and punches. It was the comic book equivalent of the WWF, with every Japanese (usually a Japanese-American wrestler who was from Hawaii) wrestler using the same chops and finger thrust to the throat, which was supposed to signify "karate master." Sonny Chiba they weren't! Anyway........... Note John Beatty inking Zeck's cover. We will be seeing more of those two, in future comics, I suspect. Creative TeamL:Moench, Zeck & Day, plus Novak & Sharen, with Salicrup in the office The story is a bit contrived ; but, the point is to introduce Carter as a character. The book has needed a black martial artist for some time, but, it is kind of overloaded with characters: Smith, Tarr, Reston, Leiko, Melissa Greville, Mandy Greville, Mrs Haversham and, now, Rufus Carter. Leiko's the love interest and Tarr is the most popular supporting character. Wonder who is going to get the short end of the stories? Art, as usual, is great. I really like the character of Carter, but what is Moench's obssession with martial artists with missing body parts? First Razorfist, then the Syn agents, now Carter. At least Carter gave us some nice claptrap about dealing with his disability, and at least he didn't intentionally mutilate himself, unlike the others. I also would have loved to have seen a Jim Kelley based character. Oh well. Maybe I'll go watch Black Belt Jones now.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 22, 2021 11:11:54 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #36More Kung Fu Action & Thrills Than Ever Before! Let's see if it lives up to the hype. Of course, it's never had much kung fu action, as Gulacy was about the only one who ever did research on actual techniques, not just a couple of poses and some chops, kicks and punches. It was the comic book equivalent of the WWF, with every Japanese (usually a Japanese-American wrestler who was from Hawaii) wrestler using the same chops and finger thrust to the throat, which was supposed to signify "karate master." Sonny Chiba they weren't! Anyway........... Note John Beatty inking Zeck's cover. We will be seeing more of those two, in future comics, I suspect. Creative TeamL:Moench, Zeck & Day, plus Novak & Sharen, with Salicrup in the office The story is a bit contrived ; but, the point is to introduce Carter as a character. The book has needed a black martial artist for some time, but, it is kind of overloaded with characters: Smith, Tarr, Reston, Leiko, Melissa Greville, Mandy Greville, Mrs Haversham and, now, Rufus Carter. Leiko's the love interest and Tarr is the most popular supporting character. Wonder who is going to get the short end of the stories? Art, as usual, is great. I really like the character of Carter, but what is Moench's obssession with martial artists with missing body parts? First Razorfist, then the Syn agents, now Carter. At least Carter gave us some nice claptrap about dealing with his disability, and at least he didn't intentionally mutilate himself, unlike the others. I also would have loved to have seen a Jim Kelley based character. Oh well. Maybe I'll go watch Black Belt Jones now. Naw, for this book you need Black Samurai. Brother had a jet pack!
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 22, 2021 12:01:10 GMT -5
I really like the character of Carter, but what is Moench's obssession with martial artists with missing body parts? First Razorfist, then the Syn agents, now Carter. At least Carter gave us some nice claptrap about dealing with his disability, and at least he didn't intentionally mutilate himself, unlike the others. I also would have loved to have seen a Jim Kelley based character. Oh well. Maybe I'll go watch Black Belt Jones now. Naw, for this book you need Black Samurai. Brother had a jet pack! Good point!
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 24, 2021 14:12:03 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #98Thoughts: Bald martial arts assassins who dress like ballet dancers are not likely to catch on, in the villain pantheon. The guy was starting to look like Wile E Coyote, by the end. Mandy Greville's new school just got approved and already has 4 applicants; why? How could she have even advertised it? How did she get accredited, with no background in the field? How much time has passed since she was rescued from the cult? Why purple? Doug is running on fumes. Someone slip him a new idea, stat! At first, I though Shadow Slasher was a pretty good opponent. He seemed pretty skilled and all. Then, he talks about how he wants to prove he's better than Shang-Chi, then contradicts that by turning around and sneak attacking him from the shadows, then attacking him with weapons. Doesn't make sense.
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Post by berkley on Mar 24, 2021 17:22:19 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #98Thoughts: Bald martial arts assassins who dress like ballet dancers are not likely to catch on, in the villain pantheon. The guy was starting to look like Wile E Coyote, by the end. Mandy Greville's new school just got approved and already has 4 applicants; why? How could she have even advertised it? How did she get accredited, with no background in the field? How much time has passed since she was rescued from the cult? Why purple? Doug is running on fumes. Someone slip him a new idea, stat! At first, I though Shadow Slasher was a pretty good opponent. He seemed pretty skilled and all. Then, he talks about how he wants to prove he's better than Shang-Chi, then contradicts that by turning around and sneak attacking him from the shadows, then attacking him with weapons. Doesn't make sense.
One of the things I didn't like about the series, especially in the last few years, was that Moench wrote Shang Chi as increasingly unbeatable. I think he meant this as part of the series concept of "the rising and advancing of the spirit [of Shang Chi]" , but too often was manifested through the tired old comic-book trope of building up one character by tearing down everyone else, friend and foe alike. This is why I think the antagonists are less impressive than earlier in the series, especially during the Gulacy era, and even allies such as Leiko Wu, Tarr, and Reston, seem incresingly useless without Shang Chi there to help them And also why Fu Manch seems less and less formidable with each successive story in which he is the main villain - until in his final appearance he's crawling on the ground, begging for mercy.
I all think this was mostly a conscious decision on the part of Moench, but it's an artistic choice I disagree with: it undermines the dramatic tension of Shang Chi's struggles and renders the other characters less interesting and resonant without achieving the goal of making Shang Chi seem to have grown, spiritually or in any other way - because his increasing superiority feels cheaply bought, an arbitrary decision by the writer, and therefore unconvincing.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 25, 2021 6:59:46 GMT -5
At first, I though Shadow Slasher was a pretty good opponent. He seemed pretty skilled and all. Then, he talks about how he wants to prove he's better than Shang-Chi, then contradicts that by turning around and sneak attacking him from the shadows, then attacking him with weapons. Doesn't make sense.
One of the things I didn't like about the series, especially in the last few years, was that Moench wrote Shang Chi as increasingly unbeatable. I think he meant this as part of the series concept of "the rising and advancing of the spirit [of Shang Chi]" , but too often was manifested through the tired old comic-book trope of building up one character by tearing down everyone else, friend and foe alike. This is why I think the antagonists are less impressive than earlier in the series, especially during the Gulacy era, and even allies such as Leiko Wu, Tarr, and Reston, seem incresingly useless without Shang Chi there to help them And also why Fu Manch seems less and less formidable with each successive story in which he is the main villain - until in his final appearance he's crawling on the ground, begging for mercy.
I all think this was mostly a conscious decision on the part of Moench, but it's an artistic choice I disagree with: it undermines the dramatic tension of Shang Chi's struggles and renders the other characters less interesting and resonant without achieving the goal of making Shang Chi seem to have grown, spiritually or in any other way - because his increasing superiority feels cheaply bought, an arbitrary decision by the writer, and therefore unconvincing.
I agree that it cheapens things when a writer weakens everybody around the main character to make the main character more impressive. I wonder if they made Watson and Lestrade dumber in those old Sherlock Holmes movies to make Holmes seem more impressive.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 25, 2021 12:34:38 GMT -5
At first, I though Shadow Slasher was a pretty good opponent. He seemed pretty skilled and all. Then, he talks about how he wants to prove he's better than Shang-Chi, then contradicts that by turning around and sneak attacking him from the shadows, then attacking him with weapons. Doesn't make sense.
One of the things I didn't like about the series, especially in the last few years, was that Moench wrote Shang Chi as increasingly unbeatable. I think he meant this as part of the series concept of "the rising and advancing of the spirit [of Shang Chi]" , but too often was manifested through the tired old comic-book trope of building up one character by tearing down everyone else, friend and foe alike. This is why I think the antagonists are less impressive than earlier in the series, especially during the Gulacy era, and even allies such as Leiko Wu, Tarr, and Reston, seem incresingly useless without Shang Chi there to help them And also why Fu Manch seems less and less formidable with each successive story in which he is the main villain - until in his final appearance he's crawling on the ground, begging for mercy.
I all think this was mostly a conscious decision on the part of Moench, but it's an artistic choice I disagree with: it undermines the dramatic tension of Shang Chi's struggles and renders the other characters less interesting and resonant without achieving the goal of making Shang Chi seem to have grown, spiritually or in any other way - because his increasing superiority feels cheaply bought, an arbitrary decision by the writer, and therefore unconvincing.
I fully agree that Chi's friends became more and more redundant; Leiko, for example, was a pretty scary femme fatale when she first showed up and was quickly demoted to the role of "the girlfriend". Even when Doug had her practice martial arts and kick a few butts, even when she decided that she wanted to reaffirm herself aside from Chi's shadow, it all felt a little tacked on. Chi and Leiko may have talked about her being independent and strong and everything, but she would always revert to type pretty quickly, never developing much of a personality beyond the one defined by her relationship with Shang-Chi. (Dark Angel, underdeveloped as she was, had more of a mystery about her; we never understood what really made her tick). Reston was a favourite of mine during the Velcro and Mordillo arcs, but he became sort of pathetic after that; as for Tarr, while he remained the steadfast ally, he could no longer play the role of Smith's "muscle", the role he had been created to fill, when Chi was around (talk about redundancy). Grumpy comic relief is still an important role in a series, but it is somewhat limited. Fah Lo Suee had an interesting arc, what with her becoming top banana at MI-6... but her becoming one of the good guys never struck me as being very believable. I wish they had kept her in a more ambiguous role (say, the way she was written at the start of the last Fu Manchu story). Chi getting more and more unbeatable I had less of a problem with, because Doug stressed how, around the time of the Illuminatus/Fu Manchu story arc, our hero felt that he had become less focused on his development and had allowed himself to regress. From then on we'd see him train more often, or meditate, suggesting that he was serious about getting back in top shape. Fu Manchu was clearly becoming less and less interesting with each appearance, but in that case I blame simple overexposure. Instead of working from the shadows, he was there in plain sight, sharing his thought bubbles (or captions) with us. It's a bit as with Doctor Doom or Galactus: villains of such a caliber cannot long endure the light of day before becoming a little boring.
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