Master of Kung-Fu #4, by Haden Blackman (writer), Dalibor Talijac (penciler), Goran Sudzuka (inker), Morislav Mrva (colorist), Travis Lanham (letterer) - You may have mastered 9 of the 10 rings, Shang Chi, but you're no match for Zheng Zhu's fabulous hair! If only you had learned the mysteries of Loreal Arts!Shang tries to fight Rand-K'ai and Red Sai, which doesn't go terribly well, and we learn Shang killed Rand's master because Red Sai failed to, and he was trying to protect her and her school. Rand reluctantly lets Shang go to meet his father, and they have the big fight, in a room which resembles a miniature version of their city. So it's kind of like a kaiju fight, but with weird martial arts stuff. Shang nearly loses, but he's learned a few things in his time with the outcasts, which give him the upper hand. He becomes Emperor, everything is relatively happy.
When we get to the final battle, Shang is in his traditional look: shirtless, the red headband, the red pants. It's sort of a treat for the fans thing, but it actually works. Shang's shirt got torn over the course of his many battles, and the headband covers a wound given to him by Red Sai during the fight. So it isn't as though he just randomly decides this is a good look. If you're going to do that sort of thing, there should be a solid reason for it. I wasn't quite as clear on Rand suddenly deciding, "Naw, I can't beat Zheng, it has to be this guy I've been trying to hunt down for years."
I enjoy how, when Shang and Zheng begin to fight, Shang leaps over all those miniature buildings, but Zheng just charges through them, smashing them to bits. It isn't as though they're actually giants fighting in their real city, but it's probably telling in regards to how the two regard their roles in relation to the city. Zheng is one of those, "they're here to serve me" types, Shang is the, "I'm supposed to serve them" guy. I also liked the shift on page 19 from Talijac's normal style, to the flatter style he's been using for the retellings of lore that lead off each issue. Showing how this is becoming part of that legend, the exile returning to challenge his father and take over the realm.
I wish this had more time for the fights. Go full Dragonball with it, spend entire issues on one crazy fight. Lots of back and forth, arguing, weird techniques. For what it wanted to be, I think it was pretty good.
Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos #3, by Gerry Duggan (writer), Salva Espin (artist), Val Staples (colorist), Joe Sabino (letterer) - Monsters, please, the giant spectral Dracula is behind you! Simon Belmont would be rolling in his grave at your attempts to kill the Lord of Vampires.Shiklah and the others reach Weirdworld, where the other half of the scepter is located. After much stumbling lost in the jungles, they find the proper temple, then have to fight off a slightly kooky wizard for the Totem of Manticore. Then they start on their way home. The only problem is, well, see, they left the Invisible Man to spy on Dracula, and he's not nearly as good at staying unnoticed as you'd expect. Dracula was getting pretty paranoid, swinging at the air, until he finally made contact with someone invisible. After that, he pretty much went nuts, and by the time our protagonists return, he's killed much of the population of Monster Metropolis.
Also, the only person who can see Ghost Deadpool is Frankenstein's Monster, who refuses to explain why he seems to be talking to air. Is that a metaphor for something? Frankenstein wants to keep Deadpool all to himself, even if it hurts Wade, even if it makes people think he's off his rocker, because it's something exclusive to him. Kind of like certain segments of the fandom, who want to keep other people out, then wonder why everyone else thinks they're nuts. And the readers are the only ones other than the Monster who can see Wade, so are we similar? Not a comforting thought, but I do share the Monster's fear of being lit on fire. Oh no, I was the monster all along!
It's not the strongest issue. I haven't felt like Duggan's given me a reason to want Shiklah to succeed in her mission. The whole quest hasn't resonated. Maybe because the last time we saw her in Deadpool, she was about to raise an small army of warriors and try to conquer the world. Dracula's no good, but I'm not entirely convinced she's too much better. I did enjoy Dracula getting so paranoid he essentially loses his mind. It's kind of funny, but it also made a certain amount of sense. He knows Shiklah isn't happy about the marriage, he knows he's a shitty boss, so he has to watch both those fronts. That means he starts questioning everything he thinks he knows about them and their actions, which gets him questioning more people. Which makes those people jumpy, 'cause they don't want to die, which makes him more suspicious, and so on. It's pretty well played.
I like Espin's art, but I wonder if it isn't too cute at times. The last panel, with Dracula holding ogre or troll by the hair, while it stares at us blankly, almost made me laugh. It isn't badly drawn, but the way the ogre's tongue lolls out of its mouth gave it a comic edge. It made me think of someone pretending to be dead, like a little kid or something. The panel where he ripped the minion's head off with his teeth was appropriately gory. And Dracula's expressions as he starts to lose it are pretty good. I can almost see his eye twitching when he finds out there's more than one invisible presence in his castle.
I am confused by the presence of the Thors at the end of issue 2. They didn't show up at all here, so I don't know what that's about, whether it'll be brought up next month or not. I don't know if I even want them to show up, other than there needs to be some payoff for it. My guess is, Shiklah and the Commandos kill Drac, the Thors decide this is too much of a disturbance, and she has to lead her kingdom in an open war against the Thors. Which could be a tall order. As Drac put it, God Doomit to Hell (I chuckled at that line).
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