Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1

   I'm a sucker for this kind of comic - a "throwback" to the Kung Fu era, starring Shang-Chi, a character I've always been a fan of - so it's a shame that I ended up disgusted by this comic.

   I get that they're making an effort to riff on Kung Fu film tropes. The opening is directly stolen from the movie "Enter the Dragon," all to give revenge as to motive for Shang-Chi's return, and to set up his fight with seemingly unbeatable foes.

   So what's not to like? Everything.

   The issue kills off a character beloved to long-time fans in a brutal and senseless fashion. Dear writer (in this case, Mike Benson): if you feel the need to kill off a character to tell your story, please invent one of your own, rather than taking out one that another gifted writer and artist created.

   Hiding behind that excellent Dave Johnson cover is some rough art by Tan Eng Huat and Craig Yeung that doesn't really fit this story at all. The characters are barely recognizable, the fight sequences are flat, the layouts are bland. It just feels rushed and uninspired.

   I'm being a bit harsh here, and part of that probably springs from the fact that I was delighted to see this series, this character, this concept, back in print again. With all that potential, and the actual comic is just a terrible disappointment.

   My apologies to the creative team, who will hopefully go on to bigger and better things - but this one is a miss.

Grade: D

-----------------------


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I flipped through it. Passed.

Glen Davis said...

I largely agree with you view on this comic. I was sort of hoping that The Sons of the Tiger would do a little bit more than stand around, too.