Before I get to DC’s kung fu fighter, I think it’s time to
return to the world of Mortal Kombat. Just imagine some foot-stomping musicplaying after I said that phrase. It seems like Mortal Kombat fever hit
everything in the 1990’s. We had the movies, we had a crappy animated show
(Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm), a somewhat weird TV prequel (Mortal Kombat:
Conquest), and other stuff. It even spread over into the comics for a bit.
Midway produced some comics that were tie-ins fro the game. I vaguely remember
that there were MK comics on the rack in stores. I think I skimmed through some
at Bi-Lo, an old grocery store in Pulaski that’s not there anymore.
Malibu Comics bought the rights to do some series featuring
the MK characters. From what I’ve read online, Mortal Kombat: Blood and Thunder
was basically an adaptation of the first two games. I definitely see that in
its first issue. There’s a lot more at this page about that whole series. Mortal
Kombat: Blood and Thunder #1 came out in 1994. It was written by Charles
Marshall. The pencils were done by Patrick Rolo. The inks were done by Bobby
Rae. John Tobias, one of Mortal Kombat’s creators, also served as a consultant on
the issue and series.
Mortal Kombat: Blood and Thunder #1
Writer: Charles Marshall
Pencils: Patrick Rolo
Inks: Bobby Rae
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Mark Panicca
Editorial Consultant: John Tobias
The issue starts out with--- Holy Mother of Mary! We get an
up-close shot of Goro’s growling face and I have to say I’m feeling the fear.
Goro’s beating up some guards for not doing their duty. Shang Tsung then enters
the room with a book. It turns out that the book, the Tao Ze Zhan, holds a lot
of importance to the sorcerer. He even says the tournament may have to go on
hold until he can unlock the secrets of the book.
If you think this is bad, check out the last image I post below...
We then switch bases to Hong Kong. Our main fighters end up
boarding the old wooden ship that is supposed to take everyone to the
tournament. Johnny Cage is there with all of his “suaveness” if he really has
any. Kano, a part of a gang called the Black Dragon, escapes from a chase by
boarding the boat. Lt. Sonya Blade and “Sparky” (her partner who’s doing his
best Cable impression) try to catch up to him by getting some help. On the
boat, Liu Kang is reminiscing on his temple’s other fighter, Siang, when he
hears a fight down below. He ends up helping Johnny fend off some of the rowdy
fighters that include Kano.
Oh yes...
Sub-Zero and his partner, Hydro, end up seeing the fight but
don’t get involved. Sub-Zero has a lot more to worry about when Scorpion, a
long-dead ninja, rises out of Hyrdo’s body as a deadly wraith. Scorpion wants
to face him in the tournament and take his revenge. After Scorpion taunts him a
bit, he fades out. Hydro checks up on Sub-Zero and the two are questioned by
Sonya and Sparky. The ninjas and soldiers almost get into a bout when someone
says that they’ve made it to the island. Shang Tsung and Goro greet them and
inform them about what’s about to take place. The issue ends as the final
combatant, Rayden, comes down in style like the thunder god he is.
Ah, the 90's... just soak in all of the 90's-ness!
This was a little on the bland side, honestly. While there
are some decent things to it, it’s not that good. It’s basically a quick
introduction to the combatants with a little more thrown in. I read that the
creators of this series decided to throw in some other elements like the
sidekicks, Siang, and that book to change it up a bit. I don’t know how it all
played out, but they do add a little something different. The scene between
Scorpion and Sub-Zero was pretty cool. Rayden’s entrance was also pretty cool.
The artwork was okay for the most part. I thought the main fighters looked cool
and the little action was okay.
Other than that, it was still pretty bland. When I said it
was a quick introduction, I meant it was a quick one. I think the Flash helped
write this. It skips from place to place without us knowing any of these
characters. The only ones really get to know is Sub-Zero and Scorpion. The
dialogue was also pretty stiff throughout the whole book. There were even some
punctuation errors I even noticed. While I thought the artwork was okay at
points, Most of it wasn’t that good. It reeks of the 1990’s in a bad way. I
have read that this series does dip lower in quality as it went on, so I
probably won’t be looking for more of this series.
Overall, this was close to being decent
but not that close. Mortal Kombat is still popular these days with Mortal
Kombat X being released last year. DC Comics was even doing some tie-ins to the
game which I haven’t heard much about. I do have to say that while I still like
the franchise, I’m not much of a fan anymore. I think my interest in the fighting
genre is fading out in general. I haven’t even played the last two MK games. I
guess it could be the gore which I wasn’t always clamoring for to begin with.
Still, I might try to find the last MK game for the PS3 one day. Well, I have one
more comic I want to look at this month and finally I can move on to something
different. Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Oh yeah...
Eh... Huh... What The $*#$$$$$(**(** is that crap?
NEXT TIME: RICHARD DRAGON… NO, HE STILL DOESN’T RING ANY
BELLS!
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