Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Mortal Kombat: Blood and Thunder #1

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

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Spider-Man #41

Next up for this month of butt-kicking is someone who people like a lot: Iron Fist. I think he’s alright. I think his costume has mostly turned me off. It’s not horrible but I can’t get behind a man in yellow and green. I don’t care if he knows kung fu. At least he tries to make it work. I do like that Marvel has tried to retool his costume without removing what makes him Iron Fist. I know they did get rid of his big collar which should only be on one superhero: Nightwing. I’ve only read a couple of stuff featuring him like some of Ed Brubaker’s stuff, New Avengers, and this issue. I don’t know how he is on Ultimate Spider-Man since I still haven’t watched it yet.

I guess mentioning the Wall-Crawler is perfect in talking about today’s issue, Spider-Man #41 from 1993. Iron Fist plays heavily in the issue. I found this issue in the cheap bins where I actually met someone kind of interesting.  Hopefully, I’ll see her again. Anyway, the issue was written by Terry Kavanaugh. The pencils and inks were handled by a much younger Jae Lee. I know more Lee for his stuff today like his artwork on Dark Tower, some DC work, and his other Marvel work.

Spider-Man #41

Writer: Terry Kavanaugh

Artist: Jae Lee

Colors: Kevin Tinsley

Letters: Joe Rosen

Editor: Danny Fingeroth

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Master of Kung Fu #125

Since it is the season for some butt-kicking, I think it’s time to return to a character that I talked about a couple of years ago: Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. He’s not really a favorite of mine. I really don’t know much about him. All I’ve really read of him has been a free comic book of Amazing Spider-Man where Peter had to learn kung fu, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #3, and Master of Kung Fu #124. He debuted during the 1970’s when the martial arts craze began to take hold over here. He wasn’t the only character that came out of that craze and I’ll get to them later. He’s still around the Marvel Universe these days. I think he was even an Avenger for a bit though everyone’s been an Avenger. I actually think I’m on reserve status these days…

Today’s issue is Master of Kung Fu #125. This was actually the last issue in this series for the character. I found it at McKay’s and since I read the previous issue before, I wanted to see how it all ended. Allen Zelenetz wrote the final issue. William Johnson did the main pencils while Alan Kupperburg came in and did some pencils and his own inking. Hellboy’s creator, Mike Mignola, handled the main inks. Denny O’Neil was also the editor of this issue. So, let’s see how Shang Chi dealt with the guilt of killing his father.

Master of Kung Fu #125

Writer: Allen Zelenetz

Pencils: William Johnson and Alan Kupperburg

Inks:  Mike Mignola and Alan Kupperburg

Letters: Rick Parker

Colors: George Roussos

Editor: Denny O’Neil

Movie Talk - Bruceploitation 3: Rise of the Bruce Lee Knockoffs!

From left: David Cairadine, Bruce Lee, and Robin Williams... at least that is what the movie wants you to believe.

Well, it’s finally time to start off Martial Arts Month with the awesomeness that is Bruceploitation. I’m starting a little late, but that happens when you spend the previous month writing about characters similar to that Gosh-Darn Batman. For those that are new here, Bruceploitation was a phenomenon that occurred in the 1970’s after Bruce Lee died. There were a lot of actors being thrown into that “Next Bruce Lee” title. Movies were even marketed to make it look like Lee was actually in them. Some movies even had footage from Lee’s earlier movies to make it look like he appeared in it. Does anyone remember the 1978 version of Game of Death? I do and man, it was bad especially when you see scenes of Lee from other movies in it.

I saw a couple of them when I was younger but decided to dip into this weird pool a couple of years ago. I have to say I was quite surprised. These movies actually tend to range from decent to “what in God’s name did I watch” pretty frequently. You might have “biographies,” original stuff, sequels/remakes, or really weird stuff. There is one I’ll talk about today that definitely fits in that last segment. I have five movies for today, so let’s start with Bruce’s trip to Purgatory… oh yes.

Book Review - The Hound of the Baskervilles

My final post for this weird Batman month will be another one that inspired Batman and one of the coolest literary characters of all time: Sherlock Holmes. What’s there to say about the detective? Apparently, there’s a lot but I’ll touch the broad strokes. He was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and first saw print in 1887. He’s been in four novels and a crapload of short stories that were written by Doyle and other later writers. He’s also been featured on radio, TV, film, video games, and stage plays. If you can name the piece of media, he’s probably been there. He’s also been played by a lot of notable actors and they include Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Caine, Ian McKellen, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Baker, and shockingly Charlton Heston.

Batman and Holmes share a lot of things. Their most powerful weapon is their mind. They are both masters at deducting crimes and motivations. They both are really good at disguises and they use forensics to do their detective work. They both are pretty skilled in different forms of combat. Yes, Holmes can get down and fight if he needs to. I think Guy Ritchie’s movies have definitely shown that and a lot more. They also have weird personalities but Holmes is less “darkness, no parents” and more dispassionate, logical, and a little egotistical. The two have actually met in the comics and on TV (Batman: The Brave and the Bold).

I’ve really only been exposed to the character through TV and movies. I tried reading A Study in Scarlet a couple of years ago but I never finished it. A couple of years ago, I picked up The Hound of the Baskervilles at my high school band’s yard sale. It was the third novel Doyle wrote for the character. I haven’t read it until now. I vaguely remember wanting to do this book for a report back in high school. Basically, we had to read it and then give a quick summary of it in front of the class. My teacher said to pick something a little easier. To Mrs. Childers’ credit, I now see why she said that. By the way, I ended up picking up War of the Worlds… not the best idea for a guy who kind of sucked at that public speaking thing.

Told ya they met.

 The Hound of the Baskervilles

Writer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

BRIEF BLURB: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are asked to help solve the mysterious death of Charles Baskerville. When his nephew, Henry, enters the picture, the two must make sure Henry doesn’t meet the same fate as his uncle.