Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1976-03-01 00:01:10 |
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Master of Kung Fu #38-39
Issue(s): Master of Kung Fu #38, Master of Kung Fu #39
Cover Date: Mar-Apr 76
Title: "Claws of the Cat" / "Fight without pity"
Credits:
Doug Moench - Writer
Paul Gulacy - Penciler
Dan Adkins - Inker
Review/plot:
Shang-Chi is sent to Hong Kong to rescue a British agent from a Chinese communist agent called the Cat...
...and to retrieve papers for Sir Smith. It turns out that the British agent is actually in love with the Cat, who is no longer a communist, and that the papers did not belong to Smith. Shang-Chi's involvement exposes the fact that the Cat's girlfriend is indeed an agent, ruining their relationship.
Shang-Chi is becoming disillusioned with his current employers.
As always, Gulacy's stylish layouts and awesome martial arts depictions elevate the story.
Quality Rating: B
Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first Cat (Shen Keui)
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References: N/A
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
Inbound References (1): showCharacters Appearing: Cat (Shen Kuei), Juliette (British Spy), Leiko Wu, Shang-Chi, Sir Denis Nayland Smith 1976 / Box 10 / EiC Upheaval Previous:
Daredevil #130Up:
MainNext:
Fantastic Four #168-170
Comments
Juliette (the British agent) should surely be tracked as well; she's a motor for future stories.
I'm always of two minds about this one: the art remains brilliant and two key characters are introduced (at some point there's a letter about the symmetry and the significance of Shang-Chi and Shen Kuei's names), but Cat always seem more of a storytelling device than an actual character, IMO, and it's a little weird seeing Shang-Chi fall so completely under Juliette's spell when he just met Leiko in what was (essentially) the previous arc.
But...without Juliette, there is no issue #69. And that's one of my favorites of the whole series, so...
Thanks, Dan. I've added Juliette as a character appearing. I still don't have a lot of the MOKF series, including issue #69, so i missed her significance and i don't always track characters that don't have a last name.
Plus, neither the MCP or Marvel Appendix track her, so let me give a kudos to CMRO.
I remember having these issues when I was a kid. From my elementary thru high school years, martial arts schools and paraphenalia were "all the rage", and there was a local downtown shop that sold throwing stars, uniforms (gis), and nunchucks. Seeing the sequence of Shang-Chi with his "chucks" triggered that memory. By the way, Gulacy's rendering of said sequence was pretty damn cool when I was a wee lad, and is still impressive today.
