Review: Will Dubbeld
I'm not sure why the world turned its eye to chopsockey in the '70s, but I'm glad it did.
From grindhouse theaters to Carl Douglas' anthemic fight song, we all were kung fu fighting.
...I mean, not me. I hadn't been born yet, but I'd've stepped right in line.
Marvel has been opportunistic since the days of Cap socking Hitler in the jaw, and it comes as no surprise they capitalized when martial arts came a-knockin'. Iron Fist, Sons of the Tiger, Daughters of the Dragon, and (my favorite) Shang-Chi all kicked down the door, brandishing tropes and cliches and battling their way through a myriad number of comics and magazines.
DHoKF was chief among these titles and was a portmanteau of traditional comics and archetypal karate magazines. Featuring serialized adventures of Marvel's martial arts-based characters as well as articles about relevant films and books, Deadly Hands provided crossover appeal between two groups of fandom. It's a brilliant angle, and I'm hesitant to name a contemporary publication duplicating that feat.
#15 features 3 comic serials and 2 articles. Although the comics were great slices of the genre, they all three were thematically similar in that the main characters were hunted or on the run.
Shang-Chi, in the first of two tales, is chased down by his foster brother, Midnight, and must kung fu fight to the death.
The Death!
The middle story recalls the origin of Iron Fist as Danny Rand fights off thugs and killers who are chasing after a bounty on his head.
The final piece has Shang-Chi fleeing two killers on his trail through the Everglades. You know who lives in the Everglades, right?
Although all 3 stories weren't breaking any new ground they each had spectacular bits of story and lore.
Shang-Chi's 'brother' Midnight is a great Pulp-flavored antagonist and we're treated to a hefty dose of Shang's father, the villainous Fu Manchu!
Yep. That's right. Shang-Chi was sired by Sax Rohmer's Yellow Peril stereotype.
Also, I seem to remember Midnight getting cosmically-powered at one point and fighting Silver Surfer.
Which I always thought was weird as hell.
The Iron Fist segment was of import mostly because I'd never seen his origin lain out and depicted in such a manner. A good 8 or so pages were devoted to Danny's training in K'un Lun with Lei Kung, the Thunderer. August Personage of Jade, Yu-ti makes an appearance, and the battle with the dragon lord Shou-Lao, the Undying, is absolutely worth the price of admission.
The second Shang-Chi story takes the gold for pure selfish and unrelated reasons.
I told you it takes place in the Florida Everglades, reader, and that makes this segment essentially a team-up between Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and the mf'n MAN-THING.
Amazing. Shang-Chi tries to kung fu-fight Man-Thing and succeeds only at getting stuck in his goopy body. It's really a thing of beauty.
The highlight is a two-page spread of Man-Thing immolating a couple of fools with his Burning Touch, however. A magazine-sized, double-page Man-Thing.
I'd hang that on my bedroom wall...
The magazine also features two text reviews, one of an undoubtedly bad kung fu film and the other a posthumous book about Bruce Lee.
Bruce is the man, but we're here to talk about comics...
The art is fine craftsmanship but suffers a bit in quality due to the cheap magazine format and (presumably) cheaper newsprint. There's some muddying of lines and one of the stories looked like it was printed originally in color, suffering a decline in quality when it was transferred to black and white.
Again, these are printing grievances that reflect in no way on the artistic skill involved.
I really shouldn't have to say too much about the writing.
Look at the all-star cast in the above credits. If that lineup doesn't impress you, get the hell outta my dojo.
I'd be remiss in my duty if I didn't mention the ads. Before I cracked the cover I though, "There damn well better be a Black Dragon Fighting Society ad in this book..."
The final count stands at:
1 ad for Aicondo Black Belt
1 ad for Frank Frazetta posters
1 ad for Universal Bodybuilding
1 ad for rubber monster masks and posters
1 ad for Very Special People, a book about human oddities
And yes, folks, among other advertising hawking the best 1975 had to offer we see the face of Count Dante himself inviting us to join the ranks of the BLACK DRAGON FIGHTING SOCIETY!
Swoon, stick a fork in me, 1975.
I'm done.
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