Far too many times I've seen great creative teams of old return to the characters that made them famous only to disappoint, as their skills have dulled or they just don't fit with the times anymore. Not so with Moench & Gulacy... their kung-fu is still strong. The cover promises a badass martial artist, and the interior delivers, as Moench and Gulacy reintroduce Shang-Chi and his supporting cast, mixing espionage and martial arts the way they did back in the 70s. This is no retro book, though; it's got a modern flair, helped along by the addition to the classic team of master inker Jimmy Palmiotti and master colorist Paul Mounts, that takes this classic character and classic team to a whole new level.
I've only read a handful of issues of Master of Kung-Fu (maybe time for a trade collection, or an Essential, Marvel?), but what I've read, I've liked. When I heard of Shang-Chi in the Marvel Universe in my youth, I just sort of assumed he was a Bruce Lee clone who fought generic ninjas and spoke in fortune cookie wisdom. Turns out that Moench blended that type of martial arts character with an espionage backstory reminiscent of then-popular James Bond and threw in a little classic Fu Manchu to create what was one of comics' first real epics. And while they can't capture the sprawling feel of those stories in this six-issue series, Moench and Gulacy do a great job of showing even a new reader that this is a legend returning to the field for another go at adventure.
This plays out like a good action movie, and I mean that as the highest sort of compliment, as I believe that's what Shang-Chi should aspire to. It's like a sequel to a movie you haven't seen, where you may not know the specifics of who Leiko Wu or Clive Reston or Blackjack Tarr might be, but you can get the gist from the dialogue and the creators fill you in on what you need to know. More importantly, it's clear that these characters have all found a sort of status quo, and the story is upsetting it, which always makes for good drama.
Paul Gulacy is someone whose art runs hot and cold for me, but he's hot here, with Palmiotti and Mounts really helping to bring strength to the work. Beautiful scenery and evocative weather and fire effects give the sense of strange and desolate places that normal people fear to tread, and the action sequences are phenomenal. Particularly impressive is the opening sequence, a brief fight scene between Leiko Wu and minions of the villain, or the finale, where Shang-Chi returns to the life, as we all knew he would. Gunfights, explosions and martial arts combine in the end to provide a great action set-piece.
I love a good action comic, and so far, this is one of the best to come down the pike in a while. Though it's based on an old property, it's accessible to new readers, although I suspect old-time fans will be pleased to see the creators who built this legend coming back for another turn at the wheel as well.
