The kung fu keeps coming in the second DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS! Completing this never-before-reprinted series, volume two shifts focus to Iron Fist, the Living Weapon, in stories written by Chris Claremont with lush artwork by Rudy Nebres. Danny Rand battles Firebird and Dhasha Khan in a saga filled with the mystery of K'un Lun! Meanwhile, from the ashes of the Sons of the Tiger, Bill Mantlo and George Pérez introduce Hector Ayala, the White Tiger! Also featuring Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu; Jack of Hearts; Swordquest's samurai action; two team-ups starring all of Marvel's martial-arts heroes; and Claremont and Marshall Rogers' beautiful take on the Daughters of the Dragon! Plus: kung fu interviews, movie reviews, and more! Collecting DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU (1974) #19-33 and material from BIZARRE ADVENTURES #25.
If ya like some high kicking martial arts action in your comics then here is a series for ya. Marvel let the writers and artists loose in their 1970s magazines and the stories show it!. Great art and stories. Very recommended
I really liked these stories and the history (at least the Marvel view of the history of the Kung Fu craze of the seventies).
Chris Claremont's Iron fist and Daughters of the Dragon were interesting stories and since I am a huge fan of them--they were great.
The story of the Swordquest was kind of a mess for me. Following it was easy enough, it just didn't feel right.
The Bruce Lee story was interesting, basically a short bio of his life and death.
Rudy Nebres and of course George Perez did beautiful artwork on the stories. Mantlo, and Doug Moench kept the stories going for Shang Chi and the Sons of the Tiger/White Tiger.
NOTE: This may sound weird, but I did find it odd that in the Daughters of the Dragon story in DHofKF #33 that both Misty Knight and Colleen Wing lost their clothes and were running around topless. It made no sense, did not add to the story, it was just soft core, juvenile male need to see cartoon nudity. THAT made me crazy because it had no purpose at all.
I liked this volume even less than the first. The stories are just about unreadable. Sure, there is the occasional well-written story. But it is surrounded by so much filler as to be inaccessible. Top-notch art throughout, though. Also, this is a rarity. I don't expect to see it in print again for a very long time.
What did I learn from this edition: Chris Claremont has written too many words to comics since early 70s. Thankfully the closer the ending of this edition moved, the better stories got, more focused. And the art was totally solid black and white goodness thoroughly.