SONS OF THE TIGER PART 11

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 29 and 30.

"FLESH OF MY FLESH!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Ron Wilson, Sonny Trinidad, Rudy Mesina & Pete Lijauco

"THREADS OF EVIL... WEB OF HATE!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Sonny Trinidad

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #29) On the handball court where the girl, Cheeky, was killed, a riot breaks out as the neighborhood citizens blame White Tiger for her death. With the help of Blackbyrd, D'Angelo, and the police, White Tiger fights the mob off, but is consumed in his fury until Blackbyrd punches him. Meanwhile, Jack of Hearts leaves the hospital to find White Tiger, while at the Ayala apartment, young brother Filippo reveals to Awilda that he was running drugs for Maris, the man killed trying to abduct Jack of Hearts at the hospital, and only Maris can deactivate a bomb attached to Filippo. Elsewhere, Lin and Lotus receive a call from Bob's agent regarding his estate, while Bob himself struggles to survive in the snowy Canadian wilderness. And in Africa, Brillalae tells Abe it is his destiny to wear the costume he carried in his suitcase, and to become... the Black Tiger.

(DEADLY HANDS #30) Jack of Hearts finds D'Angelo and Blackbyrd and learns that White Tiger has left them to continue his quest for "El Tigre". Jack next visits Daily Globe publisher Barney Bushkin to gather facts about his father's murder, and learns that El Tigre is a ship from Chile which the drug-runner, Maris, was going to meet before he died. Meanwhile, White Tiger sees hallucinations of those who have died since he became a hero -- but the moment is interrupted when he hears Awilda below, being accosted by a gang after Filippo. White Tiger saves his brother and sister, and Filippo reveals the bomb wired to his body. Elsewhere, Bob struggles through the wilderness and runs into a polar bear, while in New York, Lin and Lotus visit Bob's agent and refuse to take their friend's money. In Africa, Abe, wearing the black costume, leads the bedouins in an assault on a military convoy.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 10

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 24, 26, & 27.

"TIGER, TIGER... BURNING BRIGHT--"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Keith Giffen & The Tribe

"WHITE TIGER"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Jim Sherman & The Tribe

"...DEATH IS A GAME CALLED HANDBALL!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Ron Wilson & The Tribe

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #24) White Tiger, Detective D'Angelo, Blackbyrd, and Awilda rush the injured Jack of Hearts to the hospital. While the doctors examine Jack, White Tiger reveals his true identity as Hector Ayala to the others. Meanwhile, Abe Brown awakens in a bedouin camp, to find Brillalae, the woman who switched suitcases with him in New York, tending to him. The bedouins also have the hijacker, Mole, captive, and they want Abe and Mole to fight over the costume inside the case. From a dune above, Mole's compatriots, Scratch and Table-Top, watch. Back in New York, Lin Sun and Lotus have been unable to reach Bob Diamond by phone, so they send him a telegram. But up in Canada, Bob has been buried by an avalanche during the filming of his movie. At the hospital, Jack of Hearts' power goes out of control until White Tiger calms him down -- but moments later, costumed men arrive, demanding that Jack be turned over to them.

(DEADLY HANDS #26) At the hospital, the White Tiger, Blackbyrd, and D'Angelo fight the newcomers, eventually defeating them. In Africa, Abe fights Mole, somehow catching a bullet from the criminal's gun. Mole falls into a pit of snakes and dies as Brillalae crowns Abe winner of the duel. In New York, Lin and Lotus recieve word that Bob was lost in an avalanche, while in Canada, Bob emerges from beneath the snow to find the film crew has departed, and he is alone in the wilderness.

(DEADLY HANDS #27) Searching the South Bronx for the mysterious "Tigre", White Tiger, D'Angelo, and Blackbyrd meet a girl named "Cheeky" playing handball at the local junior high school. The group then heads on to a bar, where they question the patrons and get into a fight that leaves nearly everyone dead, save our heroes and the bartender, Whitewash. While Blackbyrd and D'Angelo question Whitewash, White Tiger leaves the bar and bumps into Cheeky. She has a handball someone asked her to get autographed by the Tiger, but it explodes in her hands, killing her.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 9

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 21, 22, & 23.

"TO CLAW THE EYES OF NIGHT!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Jack Abel

"WHO IS THE WHITE TIGER?"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Keith Giffen & Rico Rival

"REVENGE IS THE JACK OF HEARTS"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Gil Kane & Rico Rival

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #21) The police attempt to arrest Hector, but when he feels the tiger amulets beginning to change him into White Tiger, he runs and transforms in an alleyway outside his family apartment. Meanwhile, Abe Brown is aboard his flight to Morocco when a group of men attack him for the suitfcase that was swapped for his own at the airport. Abe fights the men off, but only after they kill the pilots and all flight attendants. As Abe opens the case and finds a black costume inside, the plane begins plummeting toward Earth. In New York, Bob Diamond decides to go do a movie in Canada, while the White Tiger eludes the police only to find himself up against the Prowler. Prowler and the Tiger fight to a standstill and the police arrive, informing the Tiger that both he and Hector have been cleared in connection with the death of young Manny Lopez. The vigilantes part ways and the Tiger changes back into Hector, who has once again blacked out and has no memory of his name being cleared.

(DEADLY HANDS #22) While Hector's mother and sister wonder where he is, Hector finally realizes that he is the White Tiger when he sees a newspaper photo of the Tiger wearing his amulets. Meanwhile, Detective D'Angelo and his boss discuss the Tiger when Blackbyrd interrupts them, looking for information about the vigilante as well. Elsewhere, Abe manages to land the plummeting airliner in the Sahara desert, while in New York, Lotus and Lin Sun look for jobs. Meanwhile, the White Tiger approaches Hector's father, Nestor, and tells him that Hector is okay. But as soon as he leaves, the Tiger is attacked by the costumed Jack of Hearts.

(DEADLY HANDS #23) Jack of Hearts fights White Tiger, claiming that the Tiger is behind his father's recent murder. Meanwhile, Abe leaves the crashed plane in pursuit of one of the men who attacked him -- Mole, who has taken the mystery suitcase. Abe and Mole are found and taken by a group of bedouins, while aboard the plane, two of Mole's compatriots, Table-Top and Scratch, come around and head out after the others. In New York, Lin and Lotus see a news report about the plane crash. Knowing Abe was aboard, they call Bob, up in Canada shooting his movie, for help. Meanwhile, White Tiger convinces Jack of Hearts that he didn't kill anyone, just as Jack passes out due to their battle. Detective D'Angelo, Blackbyrd, and Hector's sister, Awilda, then show up.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 8

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 19 & 20.

"AN ENDING!" | "THE BEGINNING"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Jack Abel
Additional Dialogue: Yvette O. Pérez

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #19) The Sons of the Tiger meet at their dojo, where Bob Diamond attacks Lin Sun over Lin's love for Lotus. Abe attempts to intervene and is knocked aside by Bob, leading Abe to remove his amulet and storm off. Lotus tells Bob that she and Lin are in love, then she, too, departs. Bob and Lin fight, with Lin ultimately gaining the upper hand and savagely beating his friend. Lin stops himself from hurting Bob further, and the men finally come to a sort of peace, leaving the dojo together. Lin discards all three tiger amulets in a trash can as they go. Soon after, the amulets are found by a young man named Hector Ayala, who dons them and transforms into the White Tiger.

(DEADLY HANDS #20) At a train yard in the South Bronx, White Tiger attempts to stop a street gang from murdering a night watchman, but in the ensuing chaos, the watchman winds up killing a young child running with the gang. White Tiger then departs and returns to the Ayala family apartment, where he reverts to Hector, with no memory of his nocturnal exploits. The next morning, Bob and Lotus say their goodbyes and Lotus leaves the Sons' brownstone with Lin Sun -- while elsewhere, Abe is leaving for a vacation when he bumps into a beautiful woman at the airport who distracts him and switches his suitcase for her own. The next morning at the Ayala apartment, a police detective arrives to arrest Hector in connection with the previous night's killing.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 7

As presented in MARVEL TEAM-UP nos. 39 & 40 and DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU no. 18.

"ANY NUMBER CAN SLAY!" | "MURDER'S BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorists: Don Warfield (issue 39) & Janice Cohen (issue 40)
Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: (MTU #39) On a New York City rooftop, Spider-Man evades an assassination attempt, while elsewhere in Manhattan, the Human Torch is captured by the Enforcers and their leader, the Big Man. That night, Spidey runs across the villains attempting to auction off the Torch at an abandoned warehouse, and intervenes to free him. The Torch and the Web-Slinger defeat the bad guys, but are surprised when Sandman and the Crime Master enter the fray.

(MTU #40) The villains decide to team up and capture the Human Torch, forcing Spider-Man to surrender. But next door to the warehouse, the Sons of the Tiger are practicing in their dojo. They leave to investigate the sounds of battle from the warehouse, and free Spider-Man and the Torch. The villains escape, and the Torch departs for a date, leaving Spider-Man to search for the bad guys -- and he finds them, but only after they've captured the Sons of the Tiger. Spidey breaks in to save his new friends, and Crime Master shoots the Big Man during a scuffle. Eventually the heroes win the day and Spidey unmasks both crime lords, revealing Crime Master to be the son of the original, deceased Crime Master, and the now-dead Big "Man" to be the daugther of the original, deceased Big Man.

"FISTS OF DARKNESS, FISTS OF DEATH!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Pat Broderick & Terry Austin

The Plot: At a subway station, the Sons of the Tiger and Blackbyrd team up with Danny "Iron Fist" Rand to save a woman's life and stop a hitman from escaping New York. The group goes to a bar afterward, where Blackbyrd follows a hunch and is attacked by a gangster named Snake Eyes and his men, the Black Hand, in an alleyway outside. The Sons and Iron Fist come to Blackbyrd's rescue, and during the fight, Snake Eyes reveals he is a cyborg. Iron Fist kills him in battle, and the group heads back into the bar.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 6

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 16 & 17.

"CHAPTER I: THE RITES OF EVERY CITIZEN!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Stan Gan

"CHAPTER TWO: POLITICS OF DEATH!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Jack Abel

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #16) Blackbyrd recruits the Sons of the Tiger to assist a prisoners' rights watchdog group in investigating an upstate prison rife with corruption. The Sons go to the jail under cover of performing a martial arts exhibition for the inmates, with Blackbyrd as their "manager". It quickly becomes apparent that the entire prison staff is corrupt, and a fight breaks out between the Sons, Blackbyrd, and the prisoners on one side and the guards on the other -- resulting in the warden calling in the National Guard.

(DEADLY HANDS #17) The National Guard fires tear gas into the prison, leading the Sons to separate, taking prisoners to the infirmary for treatment while also going after the guards. When an elderly inmate is killed saving Lin Sun's life, Lotus kills his murderer with a machine gun. Abe tries to call the governor, while the National Guard enters the prison and meets up with the guards' leader, Ryder. Ryder leads the soldiers into battle, resulting in a bloodbath that kills several inmates and some of his own men. When Ryder snaps and kills the soldiers' colonel for ordering a ceasefire, Blackbyrd kills Ryder. The governor calls off the National Guard, and everyone leaves the prison.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 5

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 12 - 14.

"THE CRACK OF THE WHIP"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & The Tribe

"DEATH IS MY CO-STAR!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Jack Abel

"THE VALLEY OF ANCESTORS"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Dan Adkins

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #12) Abe Brown witnesses the murder of a woman while walking through Times Square, and soon finds himself teamed up with the man who had been hired to protect her, a private detective named Nathaniel "Blackbyrd" Byrd. Blackbyrd explains that the woman worked at a nuclear site in New Mexico, where she was contaminated. She turned whisteblower, so the company killed her to keep her quiet. Abe and Blackbyrd eventually avenge the girl, bringing the corrupt company's misdeeds to light.

(DEADLY HANDS #13) Bob Diamond, working on a movie in New York's Chinatown, comes aross a murdered man on-set -- the second death since production began. Bob and Lotus Shinchuko investigate the killings, antagonized at every turn by NYPD officer D'Angelo. Eventually, Bob find that the killer is Mr. Curtis, who wrote, directed, and starred in the original version of the movie from 1925, and who wants to stop production on this remake because it might bring to light the fact that the original film was created as a cover-up for Chinatown's illicit black market. In the end, Curtis dies trying to escape from Bob and D'Angelo.

(DEADLY HANDS #14) While meditating, Lun Sun finds himself in the astral plane, wandering alongside a samurai. Lin helps the samurai fight off a group of bandits, then follows him to a village which has been razed by the forces of Death. Death confronts Lin and the samurai, but Lin takes Death's life and then leaves the astral plane, returning to Earth with a physical gift from the samurai: his sword.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 4

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 9 - 11.

"SLAUGHTER IN CENTRAL PARK!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: George Pérez & Mike Esposito

"THEY WHO DWELL WITHIN!"
Plot: Bill Mantlo & George Pérez
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Mike Esposito

"GLADIATORS IN THE CRYPT OF TOMORROW
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Tony DeZuniga

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #9) The Sons of the Tiger escape from the collapsing 59th Street Bridge with the mystery woman who triggered the explosion in tow. Bob Diamond rents space in a brownstone for the group, and they head there to recuperate. Bob and the woman, Lotus, head into Central Park for a walk, and some time later, Bob returns, badly beaten. Abe Brown runs into the park to find Lotus waiting in ambush. She nearly kills him, but Lin Sun comes to his rescue, defeating Lotus and vowing an end to the Sons' feud with the Silent Ones.

(DEADLY HANDS #10) Lin removes the device which the Silent Ones have used to control Lotus. The group returns to their brownstone, where Lotus goes to stay with the landlady while Lin, Bob, and Abe use the tiger amulets to enter another plane of existence. There, they battle aspects of themselves and eventually arrive at the stronghold of the Silent Ones.

(DEADLY HANDS #11) The Silent Ones reveal their plan to inhabit the Sons' bodies and return to Earth with intentions to conquer it. The Sons fight back, and ultimately defeat the Silent Ones, then return to Earth.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 3

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 6 - 8.

"THE WAY OF THE JACKAL!"
Story: Jim Dennis | Art: George Pérez & Frank Springer

"TIGERS IN A MIND-CAGE!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: George Pérez & Bob McLeod

"STORM OF VENGEANCE!
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Al Milgrom

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #6) The Sons of the Tiger enter a New York martial arts tournament in order to draw attention to themselves as bait for the Seven Silent Ones. During the Tournament, Lin Sun humiliates a student of a large man named Paan. Later, Paan lures Bob Diamond into a trap and captures him, then uses Bob to bring Lin and Abe Brown into his clutches. Paan forces Lin to fight several of his students at once, while Bob and Abe watch. But eventually the Sons of the Tiger unite to defeat the villains.

(DEADLY HANDS #7) In their hotel room, the Sons are visited by a man named Harrison Budge, who gases and abducts them. In an undisclosed location, Budge sends the Sons separately into three chambers where they face their inner demons. After overcoming these fears, the Sons reunite to confront Budge. He sets robots against them, but the Sons defeat the mechanoids and capture Budge.

(DEADLY HANDS #8) Back at their hotel once more, the Sons attempt to interrogate Budge -- but their efforts are interrupted by a gang of ninjas. Budge escapes during the fight and the Sons pursue, finding a clue that leads them to Welfare Island beneath the Queensboro Bridge. There, they fight and defeat Budge again, and then are attacked by a massive sumo warrior. The Sons claim victory over this new foe as well, and a mystery woman appears, triggering a bomb that blows up one of the bridge's supports.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 2 - THE MASTER PLAN OF FU MANCHU

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU SPECIAL No. 1.

"TITLE PAGE" & "EPILOG"
Script: Tony Isabella | Art: John Buscema
Featuring supporting characters created by Sax Rohmer.

"CHAPTER 1: IRON FIST"
Script: Doug Moench | Art: Frank McLaughlin & the Crusty Bunkers

"CHAPTER 2: THE SONS OF THE TIGER!"
Script: Chris Claremont | Art: Herb Trimpe

"CHAPTER 3: THE HANDS OF SHANG-CHI, MASTER OF KUNG FU
Script: Doug Moench | Art: Mike Vosburg & Dan Adkins

For its first "Summer Special", DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU presents a serial starring all of of Marvel's 1970s martial arts characters in a "non" team-up, pitting them against the insidious Doctor Fu Manchu, archenemy and father of Shang-Chi. The story begins with a one-page prologue, a pin-up showing the Sons of the Tiger, Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi, with Fu Manchu's face hovering above them, as narration briefly explains who all our our protagonists are. From there, we move into the serial proper, starting with Iron Fist:

The Plot: Iron Fist is wandering the back alleys of New York when he comes across a Chinese U.N. delegate on the verge of death. Befor the man expires, he tells Iron Fist that his five compatriots were abducted. Iron Fist battles two of the kidnappers, who show up in search of the now-deceased delegate. One of the villains escapes, and Iron Fist pursues him to a warehouse, where he battles the kidnappers' master, a sumo warrior named Tsu-Gamo. Iron Fist defeats Tsu-Gamo and his men, but finds that the delegates have been spirited away.

Subsequently, Abe Brown, Lin Sun, and Bob Diamond arrive in New York for a martial arts tournament, but find themselves attacked at the airport by agents of Lo Chin and the Seven Silent Ones. The Sons defeat the men and escape, and the next morning see a news report about the missing Chinese delegates. When China's deputy foreign minister appears onscreen from the United Nations, Lin's tiger amulet tingles. He leads Bob and Abe to the U.N. to investigate, where they attempt to stop Chinese agents from kidnapping the American delegation. But the Sons fail, and the Americans are taken, leading the president to demand their return, lest China face the consequences. And unknown to all, the "Chinese" are actually agents of Fu Manchu's Si-Fan organization.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 1

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 1, 3, and 4.

"THE SONS OF THE TIGER!" | "THE TRAIL OF THE NINJA!"
"NIGHT OF THE DEATH-DREAM!"
Author: Gerry Conway | Editor & Advisor: Roy Thomas
Artists: Dick Giordano & Frank McLaughlin (pts. 1 & 2) | Don Perlin & Dan Adkins (pt. 3)

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #1) One night in San Francisco's Chinatown, on his way home from a martial arts tournament, a young man named Lin Sun is attacked by a group of ninjas. He fights them off, but upon entering the dojo where he trains, finds his Master Kee dying thanks to the ninjas. Kee tells Lin to take the three jade tiger amulets that he keeps in the dojo, and to go seek out the school's two other best students, Abe Brown and Bob Diamond -- then Kee dies in Lin's arms. Lin takes the amulets and locates Abe first, helping him to fight off a group of drug dealers. The two move along to the penthouse apartment of Bob, a movie star, and save him from a ninja attack as well.

Bob and Abe each take one amulet and the trio sets out for the only ninjutsu school in San Francisco, where they fight its master, Sui Tu Kama. Using the mystical amulets to triple their individual fighting skills, the "Sons of the Tiger" defeat Kama and his ninja followers, and discover a hidden opium den in the dojo as well. Abe believes Master Kee has been avenged, but Lin states that Kama had a master, and vows to find him.

(DEADLY HANDS #3) Following a lead, Lin Sun arrives at Janto Imports on the San Francisco waterfront. He is attacked by ninjas and holds his own, but is eventually defeated. Meanwhile, Abe and Bob, who abandoned Lin to continue his mission alone after they felt they had sufficiently avenged Master Kee, have a change of heart and go after their friend. They find Lin about to be killed by an old man named Lo Chin and his minions. Abe and Bob rescue Lin and the group fights together once more, defeating Lo Chin's men and destroying his stolen sonic cannon -- but in the aftermath of the fight, Lo Chin has vanished.

(DEADLY HANDS #4) Following yet another lead, the Sons arrive at the airport, where they try to stop Lo Chin from boarding a plane. But the craft takes off with Lin having chased Lo Chin aboard. Bob and Abe hitch a ride as it rises into the air, leading to a battle aboard the plane. Eventually it crashes, apparently with Lo Chin aboard, but the Sons bail out to watch the wreckage burn.

THE SONS OF THE TIGER

Okay, this is something I've wanted to read for decades. Back when I was a kid, Marvel used to cram every year's annuals with backup stories. In Spider-Man's case, that usually meant short tales starring characters in his orbit. Not necessarily always members of his supporting cast, but sometimes other heroes he ran into, but who didn't have their own series. One of these was the Prowler, who featured in two or three annual backups in the late eighties/early nineties. And one of the Prowler backups, "Jaded Perceptions" from 1993's SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #13, featured the Prowler's brother, Abe Brown, who co-owned a martial arts dojo with his friend Lin Sun -- and who, it turned out, had been a hero-type himself years earlier, alongside a group of his fellow martial artists.*

See, the Prowler's real name, long establsihed since Stan Lee and John Romita introduced him in the sixties, was Hobie Brown. And in the seventies, Marvel published a serial in their DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU magazine called "The Sons of the Tiger". (Bear with me here; this will all make sense in the end. I hope.) That serial starred a trio of martial artists: Abe Brown, Lin Sun, and Bob Diamond. So eventually, circa 1989, somebody at Marvel realized that they had this character named Hobie Brown and they had this character named Abe Brown. Both were black men. They had the same last name. Why not make them brothers?

Yeah, it seems weird on its face. Brown isn't exactly an uncommon last name that would make you think two characters of the same ethnicity sharing it simply had to be related. But if that hadn't happened, I never would've learned about the Sons of the Tiger. That story I mentioned, "Jaded Perceptions", features Abe and Lin explaining their backstory from DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU. And I don't know why, but twelve-year-old me just thought the Sons sounded really cool. Three martial artists with magical jade amulets doing kung-fu on the mean streets of San Francsico and New York (among other places) -- what's not to love? (It should be noted that I have long been a fan of "exploitation" cinema, but apparently I was a fan of it in comic book form before I even knew what it was!)

THE UNBOXING - JULY 2017

The Spider-Man party continues this month with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION: KRAVEN'S LAST HUNT from Marvel. This book includes a notable chunk of Spidey stuff from the eighties, from the unmasking of the Hobgoblin to the SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE one-shot to wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson to the eponymous storyline featuring Kraven the Hunter. I have mixed feelings about this era. Partly it's due to a lot of substandard artwork, but more than that, the stories often feel too dark for Spider-Man -- especially SPIDER-MAN/WOLVERINE and "Kraven's Last Hunt". But still, if I collect every installment of no other Epic Collection line, I will collect all of Spider-Man because -- it's Spider-Man!

In addition, this month Marvel also brings the DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS volume 2, a black-and-white volume completing Marvel's collection of the magazine series that starred, among others, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, and the Sons of the Tiger. As I mentioned when volume 1 was released, I've had a weird love of the Sons for many years without having read any of their actual adventures, and I'm pleased to finally rectify that. (That is to say, I'm rectifying my not having read the issues, not my love of the characters! That will endure even if I don't enjoy the stories.)

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Amazon has a "ghost" listing up for the 2018 release of the MASTER OF KUNG FU EPIC COLLECTION volume 1. I had previously speculated, based on statements from Marvel collected edition editors, that the Omnibuses might be the only way to get this material. I'm glad to see that's not the case; in addition to the fancy hardcovers, MASTER OF KUNG FU will also be available in a nice paperback format as well.

THE UNBOXING - DECEMBER 2016

The final unboxing of the year is an all-Marvel extravaganza. First up is LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST, AND THE HEROES FOR HIRE volume 1. This mouthful of a title reprints the first half of the late nineties series that was originally called simply HEROES FOR HIRE. I seem to recall this series was advertised as being written by Roger Stern, but John Ostrander eventually stepped in instead and, with Pascual Ferry on art chores, provided a very fun, often funny eighteen-issue series spotlighting several of Marvel's B- and C-list stars. This was one of my favorite Marvel series as it was coming out and it's great to have it collected (in full as of next month, as the second volume was fast-tracked for release in January).

DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON: DEADLY HANDS

"DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON" | "SWORD OF VENGEANCE"
Writer: Chris Claremont | Artist: Marshall Rogers
Letterers: Irving Watanabe w/Karen Mantlo | Editor: John Warner

In early 1977, Chris Claremont was at possibly the most diverse phase of his career. He had not yet become the man known exclusively for writing mutant titles. Instead, he was the regular writer on UNCANNY X-MEN and IRON FIST; he had just added MS. MARVEL to that same résumé, and within a few months, MARVEL TEAM-UP would include Spider-Man's adventures among his monthly credits as well.

Marvel was pretty diverse at the time too, publishing, among other things, a line of black-and-white magazines alongside their color comics. The magazines were not restricted by the guidelines of the Comics Code Authority, allowing creators greater freedom with the content of their stories. One of these periodicals was DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG-FU, which had, over the years, been a showcase for characters like Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, and the Sons of the Tiger. Finally, for the series' last two issues, Claremont teamed up with artist Marshall Rogers for a series about Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, supporting characters from his IRON FIST series now striking out on their own.