This gem is an authorized training manual on the art of the nunchaku, with illustrations of Michaelangelo providing the lessons. Need I say more?
Yes.
This manual is a great resource for kids to learn how to wield a dangerous weapon. I love it. When I was a kid, nunchucks were the holy grail of weapons. However, I missed the boat on this issue back in '86, and had to rely on Bruce Lee movies as my learning guide. I think I've done well over the years with my nunchucku skills. 100 bludgeoned can't be wrong, right?
One thing, I love about this issue is the illustrations are full bodied, composed of clean lines. So, if your kids are too young to take up the art of pummelling sticks, the comic makes for a handy colouring book.
I have a huge love of colouring books. Here's a link to some of my work on colouring books.
Also here are some odd ads in a training manual: Texas Chainsaw Samurai, and Sultry Teenage Super Foxes. Only in comics...
Writer: Rick McCollum Artist: Bill Anderson Publisher: Mirage Published: December 1991
What do Mr. Howard, Bruce Lee, Mae West, Leonardo, Edgar Allan Poe, and the ninja turtles have in common?
This comic!
That's right, all these fantastic figures make a guest appearance in this issue, making this a star studded comic not seen since the Avengers assembled to battle some powerful earth shattering thing-a-majigy.
Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai Colorist: Tom Luth Publisher: Fantagraphics Published: September 1992
This issue has Usagi being deceived by a sly fox and Tomoe forced to hand out some samurai justice. The second tale has Usagi in space, kicking ass.
I used to have a Usagi toy as a kid and it rocked I would load up weapons on him and he made the ninja turtles jealous, as only a hare can do to a turtle. Too bad for him there are four of them to the one of him.
Hey I'm kinda liking these 90 second reviews. Gets shit done!
Writer: Michael Zulli & Stephen Murphy Artist: Michael Zulli Publisher: Mirage Studios Published: July 1990
When I first read this back in '90 I had just watched the live action Ninja Turtles film. The film was as about grown up as a movie about mutant turtles meant for kid audiences could be. However, after reading Zulli's interpretation of the TMNT, I didn't realize how grown up and different Ninja Turtles could really be.
Zulli did the story and art, with Murphy providing the script. The turtles are not just pizza loving dudes, but bestial beings who serve their master, 'the rat,' with undying loyalty. Shredder is the Samurai overlord who leads the attack bothy psychically and physically on the beasts "who have no souls."
Zulli's art is dark, spiritual, and noble. He renders the turtles and Splinter as elemental forces of nature, and Shredder is 'man' with all his resources and cold reasoning. This issue forever elevated the turtles in my mind and exposed me to the infinite possibility of what imagination and vision can create. Bravo!
Writer: Mike Baron Artist: Todd Fox Publisher: NOW Comics Published: January 1992
As far as I can tell, the Kato comic series is a mishmash of different Bruce Lee movie plots and images taken from his films and works. Kato # 3 has Kato directing the "Great Glory" which is soon put on halt as a group of Communist militants invade his set. Kato is then forced to justify his film to a panel of Communist Party Officials. Later at a socialist gathering Kato attempts to free some of his film crew who were taken prisoner by the state. He is apphrended and caged away. He escapes, kicks some communist soldier ass, but is soon returned to prison as two deadly female body guards slam their knees into his face. Ouch.
The issue ends with Kato released to film a scene in "Greater Glory" where he has to take on a head Party Official.
Fun stuff, huh?
Baby don't hate the playa - hate the game!
I've had this comic at least 17 years now and this is the first time I've actually read it. Much like a fine wine, this comic needed the time to age into a good read. If I had read it back in '92 I wouldn't have picked up on the Bruce Lee inspired images, (see below), because I wouldn't have seen all the Lee films or read any Bruce Lee books. I needed the 17 years to allow myself just to become versed in the world of Bruce Lee-mania. Todd Fox and Mike Baron are definitely Bruce Lee fans and their dedication to developing a story filled with Lee inspired plots is a real treat to a fellow Bruce Lee fan.
Thunder Cats was my Saturday morning cartoon when I was a kid. Just hearing the opening theme caused hairs to rise, blood to boil, and me to jump up and exclaim "HOOOOOOOOOO!" much to the annoyance of my mom. These days I find it difficult to try and get as excited about the cartoon considering it has been about 20 years, however, when I heard they were starting up a comic series...well that's a whole new ball of yarn!
Issue # 0 is a prelude to the main story. It reintroduces the main characters and different battles they've fought. It's like a clip show in comic form. Story wise, not too much more to tell than that. The art is fantastic. Campbell definitely has upped the ante on the old designs. The characters are sleek, sharp, deadly, and fierce. These ain't no kitties anymore. These are THUNDER CATS!
Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Stephen Segovia Publisher: Marvel Published: December 2008
Here we have part 2 of the Manifest Destiny Wolvie series. This issue picks up with Wolvies old girlfriend ordering his death by the Black Dragon Death Squad. Now they aren't called Death Squad without a reason, and they sure put one helluva beating on Wolverine. One of them punches him in the soul! Thanks to this act we now have conclusive evidence that humans have souls. The issue ends with what is setting up to be an awesome training montage, a la Rocky style.
As usual the artwork is fantastic, and Jason Aaron definitely has a handle on old martial arts dialogue and even manages to throw in THE Chinatown quote. Can't wait for the next one.
I wish I could have made that my high school yearbook quote.
Writers: Mark Bode, Kevin Eastman Artist: Mark Bode Publisher: Mirage Studios Published: December 1990
T is for "Thank You Bruce Lee 4 Fighting For The Little Guy Everywhere."
As all you Bruce Lee fans are aware, today is the day the Little Dragon was birthed into life, November 27 1940. He would have been 68 years old today, and would have probably been in better shape than I'll ever be. Happy Birthday Bruce!
The reason I chose TMNT today was because it started with the letter T and the issue is dedicated to Bruce Lee. The whole premise of the issue is pretty much a homage to all of the Bruce Lee flicks. The story begins with the turtles visiting China, and while waiting for some food, the restaurant is attacked by some goons. The goons work for a corrupt business man who's plan is to take over all the restaurants and food related businesses.
One restaurant, Hu-Shan's, isn't willing to sell, and so is being terrorized to no end. The turtles end up beating up the goons, and at this point, Chang Lee enters the scene. He is there to visit his uncle. The goons show up again, but this time it's Lee who does the ass kicking. The bad guys are desperate at this point, so they hire Buff Nordick, a renowned tough martial artist, who just so happens to hate turtles with a passion (due to a childhood trauma).
So if anyone has seen any Bruce Lee films, well it is fairly obivous how this one ends. If you haven't seen any of these flicks, do yourself a favor, and check em' out.
This was a great issue from the first page to the last. Mark Bode is a great artist, and I would be amiss to say he hasn't inherited his fathers artistic style. His work on this issue is perfect for TMNT because he is able to infuse the absurd with intense action. As for his depiction of Bruce Lee, lets just say there are a lot of Lee inspired comics out there, but his rendition is definitely one of the best.
In case you haven't guessed, I am of Chinese descent. But before you go on to think this post is going to turn into a cry fest over racial injustices, think again, because the NEXT 5 POSTS ARE GOING TO DETAIL MAJOR AND MINOR RACIAL INJUSTICES I'VE HAD TO ENDURE OVER THE YEARS!
Just kidding! The only way I'm ever going to dish out that pain is if I'm getting paid to do it. Man's gotta pay da bills so, MONEY, THAT'S WHAT I WANT!
But to answer any questions that I may have brought up during that little glimpse into my past, I'm not really bothered by the whole dead Chinese building railroad thing being quoted towards me repeatedly. Chinese folks are on the upswing, so don't worry, revenge is on its way.
Ok, moving along now. The Nitro comic is pretty much the Heritage Moment expanded a bit. The comic has a bit more grumbling by local workers complaining about the Chinese immigrants, and a bit more on the families the Chinese workers left behind to work in Canada. The comic is nicely painted and definitely delivers the same message it's TV counterpart does.
Also, for anybody who has ever wondered why Chinese immigrants tend to live in communities called "Chinatown," and tended to be owners of restaurants, nail shops, laundry mats, it has nothing to do with "that's just the way they're inclined," but everything to do with immigration laws and the need for self-preservation. Without getting into too much historical record, on July 1st 1923, the Canadian government banned Chinese immigration. This was the only law to exclude people on the basis of race. For the next 24 years, Chinese immigration was next to nil. This destroyed many families and peoples lives and because of this blatant discrimination, Chinese turned to self-employment options, such as restaurants and laundry mats, and began to form communities of their own. Really, it was the only way they could survive.
So, if you're as outraged/saddened as I am over this injustice in Canadian history, next time you're out on Canada Day busting a beer down your gut, take a moment and pour some on the ground for the Chinese and every mile of that railroad track.
Writer: Kazuo Koike Artist: Goseki Kojima Publisher: Futabasha, Dark Horse Comics Published: 1970, 2000
L is for Lone Wolf and Cub!
Up until this point I've been trying to be bit of a purist. I've tried to just focus on single issue comics, the standard size of 32 pages. I've avoided the graphic novels, unless they can be broken down into single issues, and I've also tried to stick to original publishing dates and publishers as best as I could. However, today being the letter L (I'm starting to remind myself of Seaseme Street), I had the choice of reviewing Lady Death or Lone Wolf and Cub, and I had to choose the latter. That's not to say that Lone Wolf and Cub is superior to Lady Death, but I can't justify writing a post strictly about Lady Death's boobs. Not yet anyway.
(NOW before I get the "oh you're just a sexist juvenile pig who can't get past Lady Death's boobs and focus on the epic emotional story of good versus evil," let me just say that I've done nothing wrong by stating that the Lady Death comics are only about boobs. For your information, I like boobs. My girlfriend has boobs, and she likes me,...at least she puts on the appearance she does...aww jeeze I hope she does...'cause I sure as hell don't want to relive my teenage years where my only date on a Saturday night was a Lady Death comic....)
So, today I'm reviewing Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 1: The Assassins Road, Chapter 1: Son for Hire, Sword For Hire, even though it is not a standard North American comic format. The opening chapter sets the tone for the entire series. It has Ogami Ittō (Lone Wolf) using his son to finish an assassins job. Ittō is hired to kill a local lord, but he needs to bypass the Guardians Eight, who are superior guardsman. Ittō sends in a false message that leads the Guardians to arresting him and his son as would be assassins. He and his son are then bound and taken before the Lord he was sent to kill. Daigoro, his son, ends up crying because he needs to pee, so the captors release Ittō to assist his son. Ittō ends up taking this moment of freedom to kill the lord with a concealed spear he had hidden in the baby cart. He then dispatches the Guardian Eight in a fury of sword strokes. The story ends with he and his son leaving untouched.
If you feel ripped off I gave away the entire plot of this story, which I did, don't worry, there are 28 volumes with about 5 or 6 chapters apiece, so you'll have plenty of reading ahead of you. Trust me, it is worth it, especially if you like historical fiction, graphic fights, father/son issues, and an epic bloody revenge story. Of if you don't have the time or money, rent the movies. They're pretty awesome in their own right. Let's just say Ogami Ittō puts Arnold's title of One Man Army to shame.
Writer: Peter Brody
