Master of Kung Fu – Comics That Deserve a Second (Or First) Look!

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Master of Kung Fu.

Shang-Chi was raised to become a weapon.  Trained from an early age, Shang-Chi became a master in the martial arts.  When Shang-Chi discovered that his father was a truly evil man,  Shang-Chi reluctantly became an agent for the British government — think Bruce Lee working with James Bond — and found himself in adventures just as wild as in any 007 movie.

I’m particularly found of two teams that worked on the series.  Both teams featured writer Doug Moench. My favorite artists who worked with Moench were Paul Gulacy and later, Mike Zeck.

If you’ve never read Master of Kung Fu, consider giving it a chance.  If you’ve read the series, perhaps it’s time for a second look.

Original “Star Trek” in Cinerama

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Star Trek,  the original series, is a favorite of  many of my regular readers.  Click on this link to see the photo above in all of it’s widescreen glory.

So I wonder how many of you have ever seen Star Trek  in Cinerama widescreen like in the photo above?

Admittedly, that’s a trick question since Star Trek  was never filmed in Cinerama.  That photo above sure looks like Cinerama though thanks to the dedicated work of Nick Acosta.  Click over to Nick’s site and see more widescreen Star Trek  photos and learn how he did it.

Well done, Mr. Acosta.  Well, done, sir.

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD – Comics That Deserve a Second (Or First) Look!

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Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD.

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD began as a series that ran in the comic Strange Tales starting with issue #135.  Each issue featured a Nick Fury tale along with a Dr. Strange adventure.

Fury had transitioned from a soldier in WWII to a government spy working for SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) in the 1960s.  Many of the characters that fought alongside Fury in WWII were now spies under his command.  Like James Bond, Nick Fury found himself dealing with criminal organizations set to destroy the world.

With issue #151 of Strange Tales, Steranko came on as inker over Jack Kirby’s pencils.  With #154, Steranko become the penciler, inker and co-plotter of the series.  Then with issues #155 – 161, Steranko wrote, pencilled and inked the tales.  With issues #162 – 168, Steranko continued to write and pencil the issues, but was joined by different inkers.

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, spun off into it’s own comic after #168 of Strange Tales.  The series lasted 18 issues, although Steranko’s contributions ended with issue #7.  Steranko was given complete control of the series, but he had trouble meeting the monthly art deadlines.  Steranko wrote issues 1 – 5.  He provided the covers for issues 1 – 7 and the art for issues 1 – 3 and 5.  Those Steranko issues are classics.  Adult (for comics) stories plus art that has stood the test of time.

If you’ve never read Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, you should give it a glance.  Or perhaps it’s time for a second look.

Or maybe Marvel should consider reviving Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD.

Can you imagine how cool a new comic series set in the the 1960’s starring Nick Fury would be?  That’s right, set the series in the 60’s.  Make Fury the cigar-smoking, ex-war hero who is now America’s answer to James Bond.   

Can you imagine Fury fighting to keep the USA safe from Hydra, the Red Skull, Scorpio and other menaces out to destroy our way of life.  No longer a soldier, Fury is now a secret agent working for S.H.I.E.L.D. [not yet the head of the top secret organization].

Think how awesome these stories could be.  Heck, they’d be worth the price of admission for new Steranko covers!

Comics That Deserve a Relaunch: Sin City

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Recently Newsarama did a piece on The Top Ten Comics That Deserve a Relaunch.

I thought that was a worthy idea so for the next seven days I’m going to present a comic series a day that I believe we deserve to see again.

Today’s choice is a bit different from the other comics I selected for relaunch.  Both Black Cross and Black Terror were published years ago [with as far as I can tell] no thought about new stories in years.

A new Sin City series has been talked up for years.  Both Miller and Dark Horse have said a new yarn is forthcoming.  Although neither says exactly when.  If Frank Miller came in tomorrow with a completed Sin City  story there’s little doubt Dark Horse would prep it for publication as quickly as possible.

So what’s the hold-up?

Perhaps Miller was so involved with getting the Sin City movie that he didn’t have time to work on a new comic yarn.  Maybe it’s a health issue.  [I certainly hope not and wouldn’t be calling for a series if that was the case.  I’d want Miller to work on his health before all else.]  However, since I don’t know the reason for the delay and these posts are about comics I’d want to see get a relaunch…  Sin City is high on my list.

The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit – Comics That Deserve a Second (Or First) Look!

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The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit

The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit was a three issue limited series created by writers Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon and artist Dan Brereton. Each issue consisted of 48 pages.

This series took place in an alternate universe where organized crime had become a legitimate enterprise.  In this hard-boiled setting, the Black Terror waged a one man war against crime.  Despite his best efforts, the Black Terror realized that he wasn’t making a dent in the criminal underworld.  So he decided that the only way to take down the organization was from within.

To this end, he “did in” a couple of low level hoods and began to work his way up into the organization.  The mobsters only knew him as Ryan Delvecchio, a tough, on-the-rise thug; not his alter-ego, the criminal killer known as The Black Terror.  When Delvecchio is hand-picked to become part of an elite Mafia hit squad, he’s in the perfect position to take out the major players in organized crime… that is if the Feds don’t kill him first.

It’s a crime this limited series has never been collected in a nice hardcover edition.  I always hold out hope that will change.  Until we get The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit omnibus we deserve, it’s time to give the series a second (or first if you haven’t already) look.

Alfred Hitchock’s 10 Most Suspenseful Scenes

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Alfred Hitchcock was the first director I knew by name.  I loved Hitchcock’s movies and still do.

Probably most of you do as well.  If so, you’ll get a kick out of Alfred Hitchock’s 8 Most Shocking Thrillers from Do You Remember. (Sadly, this link is now dead, so instead I present the 10 Most Suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock Scenes, Ranked. – Craig, 2021)

Black Cross by Chris Warner – Comics That Deserve a Second (Or First) Look

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Black Cross by Chris Warner

Black Cross took place in a violent future where the United States had become a battle ground and areas outside of safe zones were similar to the wild west.  The series was created, written and drawn by Chris Warner.

Black Cross was popular enough to spin-off into a mini-series, a couple of stand alone short comic stories and a one-shot. At one point, Black Cross was close to becoming a big screen feature with Howie Long in the title role. At about the same time another Black Cross mini-series was in the works called “My War.”  Neither it nor the movie ever happened.

Sadly, there’s never been a Black Cross omnibus.  Fans deserve a nice hardcover compilation of all the Black Cross material that Dark Horse published over the years.  Hopefully one day we’ll get one.  Until then Chris Warner’s Black Cross deserves a second (or first) look.

“Race with the Devil” and You Better be Fast as Hell!

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l saw Race with the Devil  when it first hit theaters in June of 1975.  I was almost driving age and so a movie about two couples on the run [in fast vehicles – cars, motorcycles and even a travel trailer] from satanists was perfect viewing.  I loved the movie.

Years later when I saw it again I was surprised that it didn’t hold up as well.  Still, it had enough moments to make it fun.  Race with the Devil  is a perfect drive-in movie.

Mike Torrance, Sly and Dolly!

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Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd is back and he’s brought Sly and Dolly Parton from Rhinestone  with him!  This is one of my recent favorites!

Over the coming weeks/months I’ll be posting more of Mike’s sketch card commissions.  My goal is to eventually get a card for every character Sly has played.  We’re well on our way!

You can see more of Mike’s art at his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.