Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword, Volume 1

Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword #1

by Ding Kin Lau

As a child Hero's family was attacked and killed by a practitioner of Northern Mantis kung fu. This assassin was tasked, by the affluent head of a local triad, to retrieve Hero's family heirloom - the legendary Blood Sword. Barely escaping with his life, Hero has now reached adulthood, having mastered several forms of kung fu to aid him in his lifelong endeavor to safeguard the family treasure. But now his enemies turn their gaze to his newborn son. The tales of Blood Sword begin here.

260 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2007

Reviews

[Ming Wei · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent novel, really enjoyed, the grammar was a bit confusing at time, but 90%+ of the time the story line and wordings were good (maybe a translation issue). Apart from this issue, it was a very good Kung Fu story, much like many movies. To be honest I did enjoy it, and would read further issues in the series. Without any spoilers about the plot/story line, it is basically what you expect from a King Fu story at this period in time, reminds me of the IP Man movies. Well worth reading if you like Chinese King Fu, and movies like Bruce Lee.

[Jodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book suffers from the first part of the Chinese Hero story not having been included in this edition of the series. This means the reader is immediately thrown into high action with no build up and spends the entire book being introduced to characters who are already part of the story and working out their relationship with the main character.

The actual story is decent enough, taking into account the extreme nature of martial arts comics. The genre has definitely evolved since this was written and it does feel overly fast paced, often more a sequence of events than a flowing story. This isn't helped by the translation, which while understandable and functional, maintains too much rigidity and furthers the often stilted feel beyond what I'd naturally expect from a martial arts comic.

The comic also shows some of Ma's inexperience at this point in his career in panel layout and flow.

However, this comic is a great piece of history, especially in regards to contemporary manhua

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have single issues of this comic, so every five issues (64 pages each) I’ll log a volume here.

First, I was not aware there were volumes, so I’m glad there will likely be a more affordable option moving forward.

These comics are filled with errors, including dialog boxes that run out of the margins of the book from time to time. But it doesn’t inhibit the story. Only a few letters missing really.

These characters are great. An armless kung fu expert named Ghost Server. A monk with what many mistakenly think is a nazi sign between his eyes. I remember as a kid drawing this symbol in the margins of my papers for science class and being scolded for it.

This comic pushed my love of drawing to new levels. I constantly tried to draw ghost server’s mask, drew faces with masks to avoid features, same as using mittens to cover fingers. As a kid you gotta cut corners, you know?

Anyway, I finally had enough disposable cash to pay for a trip down memory lane and picked up issues 2-9 of this comic. It is as compelling as I remember. I’m really enjoying it so far. The nostalgia likely weighs into my enjoyment of the series, but it is respectable in its own right.

[J.D. Estrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge Blood Sword fan and to be frankly honest, I grew up with these comics and stopped reading comics altogether for about twelve years after they got canceled. Having the chance to have at least a partial collection of these titles in graphic novel form is a treat I can't begin to describe. But I'm not totally sold out and make no mistake, this title has a few shortcomings that I think should be mentioned. First off and to get it out of the way, grammar. Though the translation flows fine more often than not, there are moments when spelling and syntax could very well feel messed up. But as various translations have proven, it's not the grammar that counts but what's between the lines and if you like kung fu movies then you should really enjoy this title and the beautiful artwork showcased throughout. I clearly remember re-passing the pages of the original titles because I loved the art so much and the same still holds up til today.

Mature content, interesting storylines and one of literature's great tragic heroes.