American Update: The Rising And Advancing Of The Spirit… Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu
*Marvel: In the 1970s, everybody was Kung Fu Fighting – trust us, we were there – and one ingenious response to the martial arts movie craze launched by Bruce Lee and his chums, was Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin in the previously-reprint title, Special Marvel Edition. Given more depth than the average chop-sockey character by being created as the hitherto unsuspected son of classic fictional nemesis Doctor Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi, the half-American scion of one of history’s greatest villains, sought to combat his father’s ongoing evil and attain peace and spiritual enlightenment… while kicking in heads! After two tryouts, the suddenly selling Special Marvel Edition was renamed Master of Kung Fu and ran for more than a hundred issues, its most famous period being under the creative hands of Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy. Around twenty issues of Master of Kung Fu are added to our listings this week, from Special Marvel Edition #16 – Shang-Chi’s second appearance – to #50, a period generally acknowledged to be the series’ peak.