Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Omnibus, Vol. 1

Master of Kung Fu Omnibus

by Doug Moench, Steve Englehart, Len Wein

One of the most groundbreaking Marvel Comics of all is collected for the first time! Born to be the world's most fearsome fighter, Shang-Chi's life takes a major turn when he discovers the truth about his father - the villainous Fu Manchu! So begins the epic story of the Master of Kung Fu! On a quest to end the reign of his pernicious patriarch, Shang-Chi pits his deadly hands and furious feet against incredible foes like Tiger-Claw, Razor-Fist, the mysterious Midnight - and even the macabre Man-Thing! COLLECTING: SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION 15-16, MASTER OF KUNG FU (1974) 17-37, GIANT-SIZE MASTER OF KUNG FU 1-4, GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN 2, and material from IRON MAN ANNUAL 4

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Martial Arts, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Adventure

686 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 2016

About the author

Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)

Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.

Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man how rough can life be if you start out with a dad like the Great oriental mastermind & villain Fu Manchu. Well you can always become one of the world's most bad-ass martial artist to deal with the stress. If you like marital arts comics then this series is the place for you to find a home. very nice stories and art throughout. Recommended

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, what a chore to read THAT was.

I buy a lot of old comics that I've never read, and that's usually because of their historical significance. I almost feel like I have to read them, even though I know in my heart that I'm not going to enjoy them.

I generally find 1970's Marvel comics to be almost unreadable. The massive blocks of text, the turgid purple prose, the trippy stories that make no sense......This was all of that.

It started out well, with Steve Englehart, an author whose work I usually loathe, delivering a handful of thoughtful, intriguing stories, coupled with knockout art by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom. Englehart moves on, and is eventually replaced by Doug Moench, another author whose work I normally can't abide. He does some good work here occasionally, but the massive blocks of text, the endless word balloons, the crazy shit! (The Marvel authors of the '70s all had to be on drugs. You will never convince me otherwise.) A whole issue is devoted to a Groucho Marx lookalike trying to get his stolen $7.80 back from a gang of bank robbers. There's a two issue arc that retells the story from the Dr. Lau fantasy film. For every good story (The three-part French Connection ripoff) there are double the amount of pages taken up with the same old shit, over and over and over. The Paul Gulacy art shines, but it isn't enough.....I often just started daydreaming while reading, because I couldn't take any more...

Considering I blindly bought about $700 dollars worth of Shang-Chi omniboo, I seriously hope the stories pick up, and the fucking wordiness eases off.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shang-Chi is the son of Fu Manchu, the criminal mastermind created by Sax Rohmer. Indoctrinated from birth into his father's twisted world view, he suffers a crisis of faith after completing his first assassination, rejects his father's teachings and falls in with a group of British agents actively thwarting Fu Manchu's grabs for world domination. Naturally, Fu Manchu wants Shang-Chi dead for his betrayal.

Back in the day I was more interested in the more "super" heroes than down to earth characters like this, but Doug Moench has always been one of my favorite comics writers so I thought I'd give this a try. While I don't regret it, I do have some misgivings. Sometimes it takes a series a while to find its groove and so it was with this one. I'm actually a little surprised that it lasted so long but I suppose martial arts being a popular fad in the west at the time gave it a boost. The stories are very formulaic for a good chunk of this volume and generally fall into one of two categories: the heroes get a tip-off that Fu Manchu is about to get his hands on some deadly technology or other, and they set out to stop him; or Shang-Chi is minding his own business in New York (for example trying to find a decent Chinese restaurant) when he is assaulted by Fu Manchu's assassins. At the end of the story, Fu Manchu always makes a miraculous escape. It probably was less noticeable back when you had a month between issues, but reading them in a collected volume makes it painfully obvious. The art is also pretty mediocre for most of the book, though there a few guest-shots (most notably John Buscema) that shine.

Then, about two-thirds of the way in, the book takes a self-proclaimed "exciting new direction" and it's not hype. We get multi-part stories that don't involve Fu Manchu at all. The characters start to become more developed and less stock. And Paul Gulacy's art improves dramatically. The characters' faces have more, well, character and look less like generic comic book faces with different hairstyles put on. The last third or so of the book looks great. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy all the volumes of this series, but the late change in styles in this volume is promising.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This omnibus edition represents a long anticipated collection. Since I was a kid Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, has been a particular favorite of mine. The art was stunning and the stories were as exciting and fascinating as any James Bond or Bruce Lee film. In fact, artist Paul Gulacy's representation of Shang-Chi was all but a double for Bruce Lee. The problem was that Shang-Chi's father was none other than the villainous & The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu created by Sax Rohmer. As that character, and others in the series, has been under copyright protection, reprinting the stories of Shang-Chi were obviously tied up in legal issues. While many of the stories could have been reprinted, those featuring characters created by Rohmer would have had to have been left out and that would have left very little to be included in any collection. Now that those early novels featuring Shang-Chi's father are in public domain, collected editions are possible. These comics features some excellent stories dealing with espionage, loyalty, pacifism, violence, and questions of familial duty and relationships. The art was often, but not always, very cutting edge for the era when it was produced; with unconventional page layouts and wordless fight sequences that were extremely unusual for "super-hero" comics.
Hopefully this is only the first in a series of long-overdue volumes collecting the adventures of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 2.75/5
To say I was looking forward to this series was an understatement What The Marvel universe lacked in unique comic storytelling compared to DC (thanks to Vertigo), it more than made up for in it's regular universe with characters and books like Shang Chi, and at first, it was all going rather swimmingly. Created at a time coinciding with the explosion of Martial Arts in the west, the initial adherence to eastern philosophical principles whilst sidestepping the traditional super hero cheese of the time was enjoyable, if unspectacular. Though the longer this series went on, it showed itself to mostly a one trick pony. Until the pony tried to learn a new trick, only to find out that the new trick was considerably worse than the old, worn out one.
I was hoping for a grounded and gritty exploration of the seedy underbelly of New York in the 70's. Like Frank Miller's Daredevil, only karate chops and less costumes and cod pieces. What it eventually became, once someone decided that Fu Manchu trying to kill Chi every issue was getting stale, was to turn the book into a D grade, Bond esque knockoff, only with Bruce Lee instead of 007. If that sounds appealing in anyway, then prepare for your expectations to be thoroughly subverted. By the end, I just wanted it to be over.
Douog Moench is a really good writer, and Paul Galuchy's art is excellent, but it all adds up to a whole lot of not much at the end of the day.
I really hope the further this series pushes in the 80's, that the cheese melts away, leaving us with something much more substantial. If not, then I dropped a hell of a lot of dollary doo's on a donkey. 2.75/5


OmniBen.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art feels inspired by Jack Kirby. Shang-Chi doesn't interact much with the greater Marvel Universe except for a welcome detour with Spiderman. I am interested to see how they adapt his story since I did not find any of his early villains to be particularly compelling.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I was too young to experience the introduction of Kung-Fu to the United States, so I missed out on the craze that hit the nation during the 70’s, brought about by David Carradine in the TV series “Kung Fu”. While I developed a love of martial arts many years later, I never even cared for Kung Fu itself. Because of all of this, I had zero desire to even read about Shang-Chi.

Forty plus years later, I decide to give it a shot and it turns out to be much better than I anticipated. There’s a level of introspection and philosophy built into the stories, at least initially. Shang-Chi occasionally thinks about different tenets of his beliefs, which drive his actions. In addition to his beliefs, an external force motivates the plot as well as him: he discovers his father (Fu-Manchu) is not what and who he always thought, causing him to dedicate himself to stopping the one who raised him. Shang-Chi teams up with a British agent who has reasons of his own to battle Fu Manchu and you have at least the first half of this volume.

These two and a few other characters hop around the globe attempting to defeat Fu Manchu in whatever scheme he is employing at the time. At first this is interesting, but after a handful of issues it becomes very repetitious and almost a joke. Each time they get closer and closer to capturing him only to find him “slip away” even when it should have been impossible to do so. At times, Shang-Chi has very little to “say” and is merely a weapon that is dropped into a situation and somehow is able to bring it to a resolution. Despite having no actual powers, you do believe in his speed and skill. There were only a couple times I felt he went a little too far (chopping Spider-Man’s webbing and punching through the roof of a car.)

Thankfully, the second half of the volume changes direction. After a less than satisfying closure with his father, Shang-Chi basically become a full-fledged agent and his attention turns away from his father to other world-dominating villains. The first couple of stories are enjoyable but a little outlandish, in a similar vein as the James Bond films of the time, where the bad guy has this incredible grandiose mechanism that can truly threaten the world.

The last two issues were completely different though, enough that I’m not even sure I can explain what they are about. Both the reader and Shang-Chi go through an adventure with tons of questions and zero answers, ending the book with the feeling of having just wasted the last 30 minutes.

Starlin handles the art on the first couple of issues and it sets the tone for the remainder of the issues. Gulacy continues it with detailed fight scenes and moves and a pacing that keeps the story moving quickly. However, there were a few issues that the story jumps panels with no written or visual clue as to what just happened. In addition to the main series, there were some issues of “Giant Size MOKF” that are slipped in between issues. They kept the general tone but there were a couple times they didn’t advance the overall plot at all.

Overall, I would say this exceeded many of the other 70’s titles from Marvel, breaking the mold of the standard superhero fare of the time. The art isn’t bad and some of the stories are truly fun, but there is quite a bit of repetition early on.

[Mark Rubin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun bit of comic book history here, and interesting to see the impact Bruce Lee has on other industries besides film. There’s a lot to like here but the first like 15 issues are all basically the same formula. Shang-Chi is wandering somewhere and attacked by his father’s assassins, whom he quickly dispatches because he’s the best fighter in the world.

There are some fun standouts like the various Fu Manchu super villain plots and death traps. They don’t make them like this anymore (besides the racism). Some of the minor villains also get very silly, in a good way, but that also gets repetitive once you’re at the point of having nowhere new to attach a weapon so there’s a guy with two flails attached to his top-knot.

I do like how the series veers all the way into James Bond territory as it goes on, even if it does go totally off the rails toward the end of the collected run here.

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herein lie some of the best comics I have ever read !
Paul Gulacy is the GOAT, as they say.

[John Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE 1970s Marvel Comic, and the reprint quality is excellent.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 70's Marvel Universe was a pretty cool place, with lots of weird little side alleys that let creators do some groovy oddball explorations. Shang-Chi is very much of that era, back when I first fell in love with comics, but I think I only read one issue of SCMoKF back in the day. I liked it, but I wasn't into the whole Kung Fad - too butch, too silly.

I wanted to check out the character before his movie came out though, so I started at the beginning. It's... okay. Steve Englehart (not usually a favorite writer of mine) launches the book with a lot of promise. He's quickly replaced by Doug Moench, who brings a lot of obvious enthusiasm, but the plots soon become boring and repetitive, with a mind-numbing amount of fortune cookie narration. Things pick up towards the end, with James Bond / Steed and Peel style capers and a goofy existentialist 2-parter that makes absolutely no sense and which I truly loved. The early Paul Gulacy art is fantastic, too, but he only does about half the issues.

I'm not sure whether I'll continue this series, as most of these chapters missed for me - but I might, as it improves so much in the final issues of this volume.

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been extremely fun to read (or rather reread) these stories about Shang Chi. Doug Moench in his introduction mentioned that sustaining the battle between Fu Manchu would be difficult to do and that Shang Chi needed to expand in a broader direction.

Although the fight between his father and Shang Chi is a page-turning long battle of Fu Manchu trying to kill his son, yet when the opportunity arises, he doesn't do it. Fu Manchu's ability to disappear and never be caught is (I never read the Sax Rohmer stories) probably very like the books (I am guessing.)

When the battle of Fu Manchu and his daughter became more important and he lost half of his Si-Fan assassins, the tide for the pacifist, Shang Chi changed the storylines and I love the idea that he became a part of the Secret Service that Sir Dennis Nyland Smith was a part of made for a different, but not unnecessary turn in the character's life.

I did enjoy the one story of Shang Chi's involvement in bank robberies with Groucho Marx (really Hackstabber) as a cabbie and unlikely sidekick. It was funny, and silly, and yet fit right in with the storyline.

Worth the read.

[Robert Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fueled mostly by nostalgia, the first omnibus of the adventures of Shang Chi is a fun, if formulaic and repetitive, foray into the martial arts craze of the 70s. It works well for the most part but also shows its age as well. Nevertheless, there is some great work in here particularly once Doug Moench hit his stride as a writer. And when Paul Gulacy came on the scene, it really shined.

The unintentional racism seems a bit too jarring in this day and age. Shang Chi's skin tone looks more like he'd be more at home in a Simpsons cartoon than a Marvel comic. And, seriously, Fu Manchu was just as racist a stereotype in the 70s as it as it is now. Black Jack Tarr's casual dropping of the term Chinaman all the time when talking to Shang Chi is in line with the character, but might be jarring to modern readers.

It does suffer in a few issues with overly verbose dialog and a stiff style that may have been deep in the 70s but just comes across as stiff, now.

Still, it's fun stuff and the quality of the hardcore omnibus is very good.

[Jack Stubblefield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of what I consider the 'B List' of Marvel and DC heroes since I was child. So many of the truly good ones were created in the '70's when I was just discovering comics. Might explain my love of the B List, hmmm. Anyhoo, managed to convince my wife that I needed this first Omnibus of Shang-Chi. It's taken awhile to finish, but I'm so glad I did. He starts as a average character (obviously following the kung fu craze at the time), think David Carradine's 'Grasshopper' from Kung Fu tv show mixed with Bruce Lee movies. And then Paul Gulacy takes over artwork and suddenly the book is elevated to something else all together wonderful. James Bond meets Bruce Lee. I can't recommend this omnibus enough! Now to convince my wife that I need Omnibus 2! This is great stuff, Maynard! If you were around to pick them up originally you won't be disappointed. If you're new to Shang-Chi, you're in for a treat.

[Norbert Földvárszki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read the two epic collections a couple of years ago, and since then I wanted to upgrade and read the rest of the stories.
It was fun re-reading these, and enjoyed them more the second time. Of course the stories as well as the art has its ups and downs, and the first half is a bit repetitive but it gets better. It was enjoyable to read a foreword and the letter pages as well, and those gave me a better understanding as well as to see that what the ppl liked or not in the comics, and that the editors listened to the fans and tried their best to pump up the quality. I liked Shang-Chi's narrative all the way, and I think if someone is a fan of the 70's comics then it's a must have. Get them while you can, these won't be reprinted anytime soon.

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a bit for this series to rise above a basic "ride the kung fu wave" that it was started under, but the reader can really feel the story begin to kick into gear once artist Paul Gulacy signs on, then almost immediately after, writer Doug Moench comes aboard.

Gulacy, as a comic artist, definitely has his growing pains in the first few issues, but almost immediately, this goes from a standard Marvel comic in the 70s to something far deeper and far more cinematic.

Pains are taken with the supporting characters and, with each issue from the 20s on, the book overall gets better and better. Yes, there are the silly, dumb issues, but overall, this was one of the shining examples of what could be done on a series with the right team in place.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some old style writing. Good background on the character but I don't think most fans of modern comic books would enjoy this one as most of the issues are complete short stories in themselves and there isn't much explanation (for example) on things like how the character is suddenly in another country in the next issue. It looks like towards the end of this volume we may start building on longer stories so I'll check out volume two.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad this collection includes the letters readers wrote in at the time of publication. They really give an interesting context to this series and the stereotypes Asian Americans were suffering under in popular culture. The stories and art here are between good and great and Shag-Chi, particularly during this era is a compelling character especially when the Doug Moench takes the reader and Shag-Chi into James Bond-esque territory in the latter issues.

[Monster X · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biracial son of Fu Manchu discovers that his sheltered life of education both mentally and physically was not given in loving benevolence by his father, but in horrific malevolence. Great Bronze Age series by Steve Englehart Jim starlin Doug mornch Paul gulacy many more

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 4 out of 5]

The featured artists, Jim Starlin and Paul Galucy, are really great and the fill-in artists are good The stories are a mixed bag (which is understandable as the authors change and the character is developing.) I look forward to the following volumes.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paul Gulacy art is wonderful; you can see skill development from the first issue through to the last. The fill-in artists are definitely a come-down. The later issues show definite influences from both Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko.

[Brent · Rating 2 out of 5]

We had a few random issues of this when I was a kid but not enough that I could really sink my teeth into so I was looking forward to finally getting to know Shang-Chi. It started off strong but fell to average very quickly.

[Paul Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved re-reading these tales from my teen years! Love me some crazy Kung fu action!

[Fresno Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved this as a tween, got boring and repetitive in omnibus form

[Andrew Emerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fire. i could extremely relate to the emotions and feelings of shang chi.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This omnibus isn't kidding around. It's huge and expansive. I'd bumped into Shang-Chi here and there but this was my first time really digging in to the character. I liked the setup and thought it had a bit of a "The Fugitive" vibe to it.
The drawback of reading so many issues so close together was that I got a little exhausted with the formulaic approach. After a while the stories began to blur and feel repetitive. If pick up the second collection I will definitely spread my reading out.

I interviewed one of the original authors, Steve Englehart, over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/in...

[I.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic comic finally getting its due after years of being out of print. Great art and an interesting character. Takes a few odd steps as it finds its way but once it does it's tremendous stuff. But man oh man was this book expensive!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never read these before, but I am a big fan of 70's Shaw Bros kung fu films and this felt like a slam dunk since I also love Marvel stuff that came out in the 70's. Now that I have read the entire volume, I really do love it and look forward to more reprints, but it isn't perfect. Starting with the art, started out with Jim Starlin for a few issues and it shows that he was ahead of the curve when compared with other artists at the time. His lines are clean and his characters all look natural in any position. Shortly after, Paul Gulacy took over. First issues by him were a bit rough, but his abilities improved while he was drawing this. Most of Gulacy's characters move a bit awkwardly. His line work is kind of wonky. But he draws women really well and was always experimenting and trying to improve himself. His creative use of composition more than makes up for any areas where he might lack.

Stories are pretty standard. The writer was usually Doug Moench and he really struggled with falling into a rut. He didn't want every issue to be about Shang Chi fighting against Fu Manchu. To change things up, he tried to turn the stories into a Nick Fury spy intrigue. While this was a nice change of pace, it stopped being about kung fu, which was the selling point of the entire series. Hopefully we will see an improvement on this is subsequent volumes.

[Troy-David Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series of omnibus volumes. The introduction of Shang-Chi is a good one: it will be (must) different from the film, due to the presence of Fu Manchu.
The use of the Sax Rohmer characters is handled well, but it is the introductions of Black Jack Tarr and Clive Reston and Leiko Wu who round out the cast in these stories. The arrival of Paul Gulacy as artist is stunningly good. Gulacy has a style very cinematic and his presentation of the martial arts is excellent.
The inclusion of Midnight’s minor story from Iron Man Annual #4 is quite welcome.
I am very and especially enamored of the Darkstrider story (originally presented in #36-37).
An excellent collection!

[Peveril · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moench does a great job making this into more than a kung fu kickfest. Gulacy us almost as good as I remember. There are some really great comics here. A few dissappointing fill-ins, especially some of the art, but they were churning out so much to satisfy a trend this was always likely. The good stuff more than makes up for it.