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Hero, Vol. 1
Hero is the graphic novel adaptation of Zhang Yimou's breath-taking feature length martial arts movie of the same name but it has a new ending. At the height of China's Warring States period, the country was splintered into seven Qin, Zhao, Han, Wei, Yan, Chu and Qi. For years, the separate kingdoms fought ruthlessly for supremacy. This brought decades of death and suffering. The soon-to-be first Emperor of China is on the cusp of conqering the war-torn land, yet three martial arts masters are determined to assassinate him. However one loyal subject stands in their way, ironically in the name of peace for all the land
- GenresGraphic NovelsHistorical
140 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2005
20 people want to read
About the author
Wing Shing Ma
55 books21 followersWing-shing Ma (b. 16 January 1961) is a Hong Kong wuxia (Chinese swordplay) manhua (Chinese comic book) artist, writer and publisher. He is best known for writing and illustrating the Fung Wan (Storm Riders) and Chinese Hero series. He also contributed illustrations to the "graphic novel" adaptations of Jin Yong's wuxia novel Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre and Zhang Yimou's wuxia film Hero (2002)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 29, 2019
In my opinion one of the greatest Chinese movies of all time, it is rare that any book related to a movie does the movie justice. But I have to say that this graphic novel, does a very good job of doing the movie justice, the art work inside is top quality, really impressive, the story line is easy to follow, the colourings are perfect, the drawing style is perfect, I cannot praise the book enough. I did not find any editorial errors or translation errors in the novel, only negative in my opinion is that the book is not long enough, I read the book too quickly, in one afternoon. Well worth reading for ans of the movie, well worth collecting and keeping. I found this book a rare book to find in the UK, and it took me many years to track one down. I finally found one in a old book store in Cardiff market.
April 22, 2019
Zhang Yimou's 2002 martial arts film Hero (Ying Xiong) is, without doubt, one of my favourite films to date. From the playful way the narratives dance back and forth -- asking the audience to engage within the tales, to the breathtaking beauty of its cinematography -- accentuated by a gorgeous musical score: Yimou's Warring States Period wuxia world is one to cherish time and time again.
Therefore it's a travesty that this manhua (China's manga cousin) by renowned Chinese illustrator Wing Shing Ma has eluded me for so many years! That being said, having finally read it in one sitting, whilst accompanied quite aptly by Tan Dun's score of the film, I can say that it's a worthy piece for any fan of the film to own (or at least read the once). Like a lot of manhua, the panels are rendered in full-colour, with some panels taking a crisp comic-book printed look, and others being reminiscent of oil paintings of a concept-artist. Hero contains some of the most innovative action choreography within martial art cinema, so, to see these scenes reinvented as illustration is worth the price of purchase alone. It's almost like having a behind the scenes book of Hero concept art.
One of the more interesting aspects of the book is that it contains a different ending to the one written for the film; so, if there are fans questioning why should they bother reading what is effectively a comic-book "novelisation" of the film, this kind of "DVD special-features" alternate ending treatment could be it.
Reviews by other Goodreads users have been mixed, and I can somewhat see why (though I'm still a little baffled). I think the volume acts very much like a companion piece to the film and doesn't work all that well on its own. Put simply: the film tells Hero's story in a much more cohesive manner. Also, although the dialogue is largely the same as the English sub, there are instances where a word is misspelt in this English translation; in some cases words have been left out altogether. A new edition is certainly needed to rectify this.
Nevertheless, I think this manhua is a collectors piece that all Hero fans would enjoy to some extent.
Therefore it's a travesty that this manhua (China's manga cousin) by renowned Chinese illustrator Wing Shing Ma has eluded me for so many years! That being said, having finally read it in one sitting, whilst accompanied quite aptly by Tan Dun's score of the film, I can say that it's a worthy piece for any fan of the film to own (or at least read the once). Like a lot of manhua, the panels are rendered in full-colour, with some panels taking a crisp comic-book printed look, and others being reminiscent of oil paintings of a concept-artist. Hero contains some of the most innovative action choreography within martial art cinema, so, to see these scenes reinvented as illustration is worth the price of purchase alone. It's almost like having a behind the scenes book of Hero concept art.
One of the more interesting aspects of the book is that it contains a different ending to the one written for the film; so, if there are fans questioning why should they bother reading what is effectively a comic-book "novelisation" of the film, this kind of "DVD special-features" alternate ending treatment could be it.
Reviews by other Goodreads users have been mixed, and I can somewhat see why (though I'm still a little baffled). I think the volume acts very much like a companion piece to the film and doesn't work all that well on its own. Put simply: the film tells Hero's story in a much more cohesive manner. Also, although the dialogue is largely the same as the English sub, there are instances where a word is misspelt in this English translation; in some cases words have been left out altogether. A new edition is certainly needed to rectify this.
Nevertheless, I think this manhua is a collectors piece that all Hero fans would enjoy to some extent.
February 12, 2016
Not a bad adaptation of the story and it definitely does have gorgeous illustrations worthy of brush paintings. It blends together story and action almost seamlessly. For those who aren't a fan of manhua and the dramatic rendering of martial arts, it might not feel as fluid as other action graphic novels. But it was well-done and I enjoyed the changed ending (and I'd like to rewatch the movie).
April 4, 2014
The movie was better. See the movie instead. Good story but the movie gives the story more weight.
January 26, 2022
Gonna be completely honest here and say that I found this on a bargain rack at a used book store for a dollar and thought I'd give it a shot.
I have not seen the movie, but maybe if I had it would make more sense?
It was rather hard to follow. Many of the characters were hard to tell apart. The art style shifted dramatically and without reason. There were several VERY glaring typos and misspellings and at one point there was even a panel misplaced and you had to be directed to the next one with the addition of arrows.
I give it 2 stars generously, because when the art style was done with a lot of detail, it was really pretty.
I have not seen the movie, but maybe if I had it would make more sense?
It was rather hard to follow. Many of the characters were hard to tell apart. The art style shifted dramatically and without reason. There were several VERY glaring typos and misspellings and at one point there was even a panel misplaced and you had to be directed to the next one with the addition of arrows.
I give it 2 stars generously, because when the art style was done with a lot of detail, it was really pretty.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews