Next up for the month is a pretty modern comic. Back in 2016,
an independent publisher called Darby Pop released a mini-series called Bruce
Lee: The Dragon Rises. It’s a book for all ages. I don’t remember when I first
heard about it, but I was kind of interested in it. It lasted four issues and I
own the first two. It’s been released in the trades since then. Today, I’ll just
be talking about the first issue to the miniseries.
One of the biggest things about it is that Shannon Lee,
Bruce Lee’s daughter, is actually involved in it. She and Jeff Kline wrote the story.
Kline was a producer and writer on some of the recent Transformer shows and
Jackie Chan Adventures. Finding that out helps me get this comic. The artwork
is handled by Brandon McKinney, the colors are done by Zac Atkinson, and Troy
Peteri does the letters. Reginald Hudlin is on here as a consulting producer
which sounds weird. I guess that means he’s the editor? Oh well, on to the
synopsis!
Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises #1
Writers: Shannon Lee and Jeff Kline
Art: Brandon McKinney
Colors: Zac Atkinson
Letters: Troy Peteri
Design: Steve Blackwell
Consulting Producer: Reginald Hudlin
“Part 1”
The story takes place in California during 2012, the year of the dragon. A security guard
who could cosplay for Carl Winslow is watching over some cryogenic equipment in
a warehouse. Suddenly, an earthquake hits and the equipment breaks down. Someone
comes out of the pod and takes the guard’s uniform. Then, he (I’ll call him ‘Bruce’)
walks around in a haze and doesn’t recognize anything especially himself. Bruce
runs into some teens at a martial arts studio and even roughs up their jackass
teacher. Seeing that Bruce’s not well, the kids (Jax and Wren) take him to
their home.
At the warehouse, the boss (Mr. Shen) sends out goons to
find Bruce. Meanwhile, Jax, Wren, and Bruce make it home. Since they don’t
necessarily trust Bruce, Jax and Wren leave him outside. That’s when he’s recognized
by Joe Toomey, a private investigator and one of Bruce Lee’s former students.
He takes Bruce home and tells him about how he died 40 years ago. Now, he
somehow back and he’s barely aged a day. Later, men break into Joe’s home and
try to take Bruce but Bruce and Joe beat them up and get them out. The next
day, Bruce and Joe go to CostSmart, Joe’s regular job. Bruce gets some new
clothes and then realizes that the men knew how to find them through the kids.
They go back to the house and find the kids being accosted by
the henchmen. Butt-kicking ensues as Bruce and Joe save Wren and Jax. Joe then
takes them all back to CostSmart since he has a hidden break room. At the warehouse, Mr.Shen chews out his main henchman.
We then find out there’s someone above him. It turns out that she has had Bruce
and others frozen for their unique genes.
At CostSmart, Bruce and Joe decide to go back to the
warehouse in order to find answers. They get there and start to look around but
they get captured. Bruce gets put back under ice and things look sticky. Luckily,
the kids followed the two and help out Joe and Bruce breaks free from the pod.
He beats up Shen and escapes with the others. At Joe’s break room, they all
wonder on what to do next. The story ends with Wren asking Joe and Bruce if they
could find her and Jax’s father who’s been missing for a year.
…………………………….........
I thought this was a decent, long read that clocks in with
42 pages and no ads. I wish the main companies would take notes with that. The
story was fine for the most part. It’s a “fish out of water” trope that’s been
done before. Bruce’s shocked at all the advances in technology and most of it
is funny. Since it’s an all-ages book, it’s got a lighthearted feel to it and
that’s not a bad thing here.
The artwork is pretty cool. McKinney got Lee’s look down. I also liked that Joe Toomey looked a little like martial arts actor, Jim Kelly. All
of the artwork looked pretty consistent from page to page. The action was also
pretty nice. I really don’t have any complaints on that front.
As for the negatives, I do have a couple. Some of the comedy
and dialogue didn’t always land. You had Bruce going around confused at the
modern world and some of that didn’t land for me. I can also see some being
turned off by it being all-ages instead of something a little grittier. It is a
little too kid-friendly to me, but that’s admittedly a nitpick. It’s meant for
younger audiences in the first place and it does succeed there.
In the end, this was a fine read. It may be a little too lighthearted,
but that’s not a bad thing. If you’re a fan of Bruce Lee or are looking to get
your kids involved, then this would be a nice pick-up. Reading this does make
me wonder how the rest of the miniseries ended, so I may check the rest out one
day. Well, that’s all I got for now. Next time will be a return to the
nitty-gritty and the 80’s. For now, Peace, God Bless, and “Don’t Think! Feel!”
NEXT TIME: BRONZE TIGER UNDER THE SCOPE!
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