THE UNBOXING - NOVEMBER 2016

Three books, three publishers, one titanic Unboxing.

First up, from IDW it's STREET FIGHTER X G.I. JOE, collecting the mini-series from earlier this year. I'm kind of surprised to see a STREET FIGHTER comic from a publisher other than UDON, but I guess since IDW has the G.I. JOE rights, they were able to get a limited license to publish this thing. STREET FIGHTER and JOE have, after all, been tangentially linked for decades, ever since Hasbro produced toys for the 1994 STREET FIGHTER movie by lazily repainting a bunch of their existing JOE molds into new toys that bore no resemblance to the characters they were meant to represent.

DC brings us the long-delayed SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL volume 9, at long last completing John Byrne's tenure on the character in trade paperback format. It's taken them about thirteen years to finally finish this for some reason, but at least it's done and now I can finally read the Byrne run in its entirety.

Interestingly, it looks like DC plans to plug along past Byrne's run as well, with a SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW Book One having popped up for pre-order on Amazon, picking up directly after Byrne's final issues with an apparent goal of filling the gap between the final MAN OF STEEL book and the DEATH OF SUPERMAN, which is already collected (and which I reviewed in Omnibus format here a few years back).

And lastly it's the SHANG-CHI, MASTER OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS volume 2. I don't know why this was delayed so long -- it was supposed to release back in September -- but I've waited quite some time already to read this classic material, so a little longer makes no difference. And don't forget Volume 1 is still out there, with Volume 3 on the way next year; not to mention the DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS volume 1 and Volume 2 also available for pre-order! It's more martial arts mayhem in the mighty Marvel manner than anyone should be able to handle!

STREET FIGHTER V: THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF CHARLIE NASH

Story: Chris Sarracini
Art: Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz, Hanzo Steinbach, Edwin Huang, Rob "Robaato" Porter, Long Vo
Colors: Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz, Josh Perez, Espen Grundetjern, Rob "Robaato" Porter
Lettering: Marshall Dillon | Flats: Ludwig Olimba
Cover Art: Steve Mack w/Espen Grundetjern | UDON Chief: Erik Ko
Director of Publishing: Matt Moylan | Senior Editor: Ash Paulsen

UDON's first tie-in with the upcoming STREET FIGHTER V videogame is an original graphic novel released as a San Diego Comic-Con 2015 exclusive. UDON claims this book will not be rereleased elsewhere, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the story pop up somehow, in some other larger collection. In the meantime, however, since I was on a STREET FIGHTER binge over the summer of 2015, I opted to pick up the exclusive book and cover it here.

Apparently Capcom decided to bring back the long-dead Charlie Nash as a playable character in STREET FIGHTER V, leading to some consternation among fans. The guy had been killed off chronologically prior to the original STREET FIGHTER II, in the STREET FIGHTER ALPHA prequel series, and his death was a major part of the backstories of both Guile and Chun-Li. But with the character returning to life in the game's canon, that meant UDON would need to resurrect him as well for their ongoing stories. And, rather than regular STREET FIGHTER writer Ken Siu-Chong, this task fell to STREET FIGHTER ORIGINS: AKUMA scribe Chris Sarracini. Probably a good idea. As noted previously, Sarracini seems a much more adept writer than Siu-Chong, and a certain level of skill is required here to pull off Charlie's return.

SUPER STREET FIGHTER VOLUME TWO

"HYPER FIGHTING"
Featuring the Work of: Jo Chen, Julian Choy, Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz, Marshall Dillon,
James Ghio, Espen Grundetjern, Edwin Huang, Takeshi Miyazawa, Joe Ng, Ludwig Olimba,
Gonzalo "Genzoman" Ondonez Arias, Rob "Robaato" Porter, Kevin Raganit,
Arnold Tsang, Ken Siu-Chong, Hanzo Steinbach, Long Vo, Jim Zub
Chief of Operations: Erik Ko | Managing Editor: Matt Moylan
Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich

SUPER STREET FIGHTER volume 2 leads off with a really weird short story in which Akuma and Gouken duel as they discuss Ryu's recent challenges, and Akuma reveals his plans to use Sakura to unlock Ryu's dark potential. Buuut... isn't Gouken dead? Is this fight occurring in the afterlife or something? If so, does Akuma have the ability to teleport back and forth between the realms of the living and dead, a la DRAGONBALL Z's Son Goku? It's maddeningly unclear, and never gets explained in the rest of the book.

The second leadoff story, chronicling the Secret Society's absorption of STREET FIGHTER IV's S.I.N. organization, is at least a bit more satisfying from a continuity standpoint, as it reveals that in the years since Bison's tournament (remember, SFII TURBO and SFIV took place concurrently), with Shadaloo dissolved, S.I.N. has been operating autonomously -- until Bison, the Secret Society's envoy, arrives to take back the organization he founded for the Society's leader, Gill. I enjoy when these STREET FIGHTER comics acknowledge their own continuity trails, so I like to point out when it happens.

The majority of the remaining backup stories are inconsequential filler, chronicling a meeting between Ken, his apprentice Sean, and Chun-Li in Hong Kong; a goofy tale of Dan Hibiki's daily life, and a wrestling Match between Rainbow Mika and Hugo's manager, Poison. Then the final backup gives us a bit of backstory on the Secret Society and explains how Gill became their leader, taking his rival, Urien, as his second-in-command.

SUPER STREET FIGHTER VOLUME ONE

"NEW GENERATION"
Featuring the work of: Rob Armstrong, Andres S. Blanco, Jeffrey Cruz,
Steven Cummings, Marshall Dillon, Omar Dogan, Sean Galloway,
Espen Grundetjern, Andrew Hou, Edwin Huang, Joe Ng, Gonzalo Ordonez Arias,
Chad Porter, Rob Porter, Chris Sims, Ken Siu-Chong, Arnold Tsang,
Eric Vedder, Long Vo, Jim Zub
Managing Editor: Matt Moylan | Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich
Chief of Operations: Erik Ko

Note: Though it was published prior to STREET FIGHTER ORIGINS: AKUMA, I elected to cover SUPER STREET FIGHTER volume one after, in order to keep it together with volume 2.

UDON's first original graphic novel in the STREET FIGHTER world is a real mixed bag. But before we get to a critique of the content, a quick rundown of the story:

It's four years since Bison's Street Fighter tournament ended (putting this book's publication in something resembling real time, as STREET FIGHTER II TURBO began in late 2008 and SUPER STREET FIGHTER volume one was released in early 2013). The "World Warriors" have moved on with their lives, many leaving their adventuresome careers behind.

But Guile is the first fighter drawn back into the world of martial arts intrigue when he learns a group called the Secret Society, led by the mysterious Gill, is making a play to kidnap the world's greatest martial artists as part of their plan to inherit the Earth when mankind's time passes. Guile learns from Tom, his man inside Gill's organization, that Ryu tops the list of targets, and heads for Japan. There he finds a distraught Sakura and chats with E. Honda and Dan Hibiki in search of clues. Along for the trip is Alex, Tom's foster son. Guile learns where Ryu is being held and prepares to go save him, while Sakura works to harness the power of the Dark Hadou to go after her master herself, but her interest in that art draws the attention of Akuma.

STREET FIGHTER ORIGINS: AKUMA

Story: Chris Sarracini | Line Art: Joe Ng
Inks: Robert Armstrong & Kevin Raganit | Colors: Espen Grundetjern
Lettering: Marshall Dillon | Flats Assist: Ludwig Olimba
Project Editor: Matt Moylan | Chief of Operarions: Erik Ko

So -- Akuma. I've never quite got the appeal of this guy. He looks cool, I guess. I believe he was first introduced in one of STREET FIGHTER II's many variant games, as a hidden boss above even M. Bison. And he's appeared in a ton of games since then, to the point that he's considered a main STREET FIGHTER cast member. And, due to his apparent popularity, UDON chose him to headline the first (and so far only) STREET FIGHTER ORIGINS original graphic novel.

Published in 2013, AKUMA fills in the shared backstory of both the title character and his brother, Gouken. It begins with the men as children, living on a rice farm with their parents. In short order the farm is assaulted by a group of assassins who reveal that the boys' father was once a hired killer as well. As their father is murdered by these men, the boys escape with their mother. Gouken believes they should hide, but Akuma favors a bolder approach. He leaves their mountain hideout and is soon taken in by a dojo, where he trains under Goutetsu, the man who taught his father.

Years pass and Akuma grows restless. He leaves for Tokyo and soon after, Gouken arrives at the dojo to train with Goutetsu as well. Eventually Akuma returns and is sent to his final test, several days' meditation in the mountains where, unbeknownst to him, Gouken is undergoing the same trial. Each brother is then separately offered a chance to take revenge on the men who killed their father. Gouken refuses, having attained inner peace, but Akuma takes up the offer and razes the men's village, killing them as well as all the innocents in his path.

STREET FIGHTER IV

"WAGES OF SIN"
Story: Ken Siu-Chong* | Pencils: Joe Ng* | Inks: Crystal Reid
Colors: Espen Grunderjern | Lettering: Marshall Dillon
Chief of Operations: Erik Ko | Managing Editor Matt Moylan

I don't know if it's Capcom's "canon" that STREET FIGHTER IV takes place concurrently with STREET FIGHTER II, but that's the route Ken Siu-Chong has gone here, and it works pretty well. It seems that while the world's eyes are focused on Bison's tournament on Shadaloo Island, as covered a few weeks ago in STREET FIGHTER II TURBO, Shadaloo's R&D division, S.I.N. (the Shadaloo Intimidation Network) is conducting its own secret operation.

S.I.N. is headed by Fifteen, another aspect of M. Bison's plan to live beyond his mortal span. Killer Bee was the first, a girl infused with Bison's DNA, awaiting the day he could transfer his consciousness into her body. Fifteen is also a spawn of the mad dictator, in this case one of several such numbered clones. He craves free will, but was programmed to serve Shadaloo unquestioningly. And here he serves by kidnapping several powerful fighters in order to drain them of any traces of the Dark Hadou in order to harness that power for Bison.

Carrying out the kidnappings is Crimson Viper, a renowned spy-for-hire. I seem to recall that at the time STREET FIGHTER IV was released, Viper seemed positioned to be the breakout character. Certainly she was all over Capcom's marketing for the game. Here she's more or less the co-headliner of the series, as we quickly learn that she's infiltrating S.I.N. on behalf of some (hopefully) more benevolent force.

STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: IBUKI

"AMBUSH!" | "WAY OF THE NINJA" | "INTERLUDE: MAKOTO"
"FIGHTING WORDS" | "INTERLUDE: ORO" | "THE CHOSEN PATH"
"CLASH OF NINJAS"
Story: Jim Zubkavich w/Ken Siu Chong (Interludes)
Artwork: Omar Dogan w/Alan Wang & Gary Yeung (Interlude 2)
Lettering: Marshall Dillon | Chief of Operations: Erik Ko
Managing Editor: Matt Moylan

Let's start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about STREET FIGHTER 3. I think I played it once in my life, at a casino arcade at Lake Tahoe. I'm unfamiliar with the plot and the characters. Its probably the STREET FIGHTER area where I have the very least amount of knowledge. And since this mini-series focuses entirely on SF3 characters, I have to admit to being a bit lost among these pages.

Which isn't to say Jim Zubkavich isn't a good writer -- in fact I would rate him higher than Ken Siu-Chong in terms of grammar and exposition (this is especially evident when the first "interlude" crops up and Siu-Chong guest scripts a few panels of painfully constructed exposition).

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The story here follows a girl named Ibuki, a Japanese high school student who also happens to be a ninja trainee, living among a group of ninjas in a hidden glade. Ibuki and her classmate Sarai befriend a new student named Makoto who is also the heir to a karate dojo. The group is rounded out when African exchange student Elena, also a powerful fighter, arrives as well.

STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: CHUN-LI

"EASY CATCH" | "MEAN STREETS" | "EYE FOR AN EYE"
"DEADLY ACQUAINTANCES" | "HARSH LESSONS"
Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork: Omar Dogan | Lettering: Marshall Dillon
Chief of Operations: Erik Ko | Managing Editor: Matt Moylan

(Not to be confused with the beloved motion picture, STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI.)

The first STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS mini-series was lighthearted and went for broad comedy across the board. But CHUN-LI takes a different route, playing pretty much entirely straight and reading like an action movie. The story is a prequel to everything we've covered thus far. We meet Chun-Li and her partner, Po Lin, as rookies on the Hong Kong police force. They stumble onto a plot by Shadaloo to steal several Terracotta Warrior statues on display at the local museum and, working with Chun-Li's father, Officer Dorai, thwart the plan.

The story is rife with guest stars from the STREET FIGHTER universe. Besides the obvious ones for a tale set in Hong Kong -- Fei Long and Gen -- we also see Sagat as the leader of the Shadaloo task force, as well as M. Bison and, on the story's final page, "Killer Bee" in cameo appearances.

STREET FIGHTER II TURBO #8 - #12

Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork & Color: Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz
Guest Artists: Arnold Tsang, Skottie Young, Chris Stevens, Kevin Yan, Mark Lee, Sven
Lettering: Marshall Dillon | Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich
Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

The time has finally come for the Street Fighter Tournament, the event to which Ken Siu-Chong has been building since the first issue of the first STREET FIGHTER series. This tournament is based upon the original, beloved STREET FIGHTER II video game, and features all the same contestants (plus the additions from SUPER STREET FIGHTER II): Thunder Hawk, Cammy, Guile, Blanka, Dhalsim, Dee Jay, Ken, Zangief, Chun-Li, Fei Long, Ryu, and E. Honda, as well as the "bosses", Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison.

Siu Chong groups the fighters into brackets and, after an opening speech from Bison, the action begins. T. Hawk is the first to go, defeated by Cammy. In short order, Blanka loses to Guile and Dhalsim defeats Dee Jay, freeing him from Bison's control (Dee Jay was captured by Shadaloo way back in the first series, rescued by Delta Red near its end, recaptured in the second series, and brainwashed in the third). Ken then defeats Zangief as the tournament's first day comes to an end.

But there's more happening on Shadaloo Island besides the Street Fighter Tournament. Cammy reveals to Guile and Chun-Li that she's only pretending to serve Bison, and helps the two concoct a plan to free Delta Red from captivity and take out Bison's protective force field. Meanwhile, Bison is troubled by Dhalsim's abilities and attempts to assassinate him between rounds, but Dhalsim defeats Bison's Dolls and withdraws from the tournament.

STREET FIGHTER II TURBO #0 - #7

Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork & Color: Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz | Lettering: Marshall Dillon
Guest Artists: Arnold Tsang, Skottie Young, Chris Stevens, Kevin Yan, Mark Lee, Sven
Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich | Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

At last it's time for the Street Fighter Tournament. STREET FIGHTER II TURBO presents UDON's take on the storyline of the classic STREET FIGHTER II video game. In that game, a mysterious organization called Shadaloo organized a tournament of "World Warriors" and set them against each other in single elimination format. At this point in UDON's storyline we already know plenty about Shadaloo, so there's no real mystery this time: Bison is holding the tournament so he can gauge the world's greatest fighters and eventually brainwash the best of them to serve him.

The volume's initial issues provide quick check-ins with the cast, and let us know just how long it's been since this whole thing started. According to Chun-Li, six months have passed since the start of UDON's first STREET FIGHTER volume. I'm not sure if I think that's too short or not. I generally like ultra-compressed timelines, but in this case a whole lot has happened, including Ryu traveling the world, and six months feels a bit short. But it doesn't not work, so I'm okay with it.

STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA

"TARGET: SAKURA" | "SCHOOL DAYS" | "TAG TEAM!"
"THE HOT DOG EATING CHAMPIONSHIP" | "SAKURA VS. DAN"
Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork: Omar Dogan | Lettering: Marshall Dillon
Chief of Operations: Erik Ko | Managing Editor: Matt Moylan

Note that I've made a slight change to my originally advertised order. I was unaware at the time I planned this all out that STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA was published more or less concurrently with STREET FIGHTER II and ties loosely into its events. Now, with that disclaimer out of the way...

STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA is the first in a trio of LEGENDS mini-series, all spotlighting female characters and drawn by Omar Dogan. It's interesting to me that UDON chooses to lead off with a mini spotlighting Sakura rather than the higher profile Chun-Li or Cammy. But Cammy's story is one of the major threads in the ongoing STREET FIGHTER comics, so it's likely there wasn't much that could've been done with her here that wouldn't have stepped on the ongoings' toes. And Chun-Li will spotlight the next mini-series, so her time isn't far off

But the question remains, if you're going to do a Chun-Li story, why not start with it? My best guess is that Sakura is completely sidelined from the main action in STREET FIGHTER II and UDON wanted to keep the character in circulation. Which works out fine, because this is a fun little series that never takes itself too seriously; something nice to see when compared with the STREET FIGHTER ongoings, where, for the most part, melodrama is the order of the day.

STREET FIGHTER II #0 - #6

Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork: Alvin Lee | Inks: Crystal Reid
Colors: Espen Grundetjern | Lettering: Simon Yeung
Guest Artists: Arnold Tsang, Skottie Young, Chris Stevens, Kevin Yan, Mark Lee, Sven
Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich | Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

After a break of a year or so, UDON's ongoing STREET FIGHTER comics returned with a six-issue STREET FIGHTER II series. Though named for the classic video game, STREET FIGHTER II does not, in fact, feature the tournament which comprised that game's storyline. Instead, the series is more of a direct continuation of the previous volume, laying additional groundwork toward the tournament. If anything, both this series and the last seem to be more like the STREET FIGHTER ALPHA videogames, which served as prequels to the original installments.

Right off the bat we get an issue 0 which provides possibly the best look inside Ryu's head that we've seen thus far. Through first person narration, he clarifies the purpose of his trek around the world. He's seeking strong fighters to test his abilities, but more than that, he's looking to master the darkness within him -- the "Dark Hadou" -- so that when he fights Akuma he will be able to keep that darkness in check and win their battle on his own terms. Given that, until this point, Ryu's motivations (other than simply avenging his master Gouken) were a bit unclear, this explanation makes a lot of sense and is greatly appreciated.

STREET FIGHTER #7 - #14

Writer: Ken Siu-Chong | Art & Color: UDON Studios*
Assistant Script Editor: Marina Siu-Chong | Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich
Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

STREET FIGHTER's second story arc delves a little deeper into the series' mythology and characterizations, presenting what I would consider to be a much more enjoyable whole than the previous set of issues. Interestingly, the main thrust of this arc focuses on the two distaff members of the STREET FIGHTER II cast, Chun-Li and Cammy, to nice effect. Where previously Chun-Li's role in the story was as a liaison and partner to Guile, here she strikes out on her own, investigating Shadaloo activity in Hong Kong. She works alongside action movie star Fei Long and her former teacher, an assassin named Gen who was close with her father, to thwart a Shadaloo plot to control the Triad gangs. This puts her onto a new lead which sends her to Brazil to investigate Shadaloo activity there.

But Chun-Li isn't the only fighter bound for South America. Cammy, the girl known previously as Shadaloo's Killer Bee, has joined a British special forces organization called Delta Red. Delta Red also crosses paths with Shadaloo and captures one of their "doll" agents, the same female warriors previously led by Killer Bee. The amnesiac Cammy unexpectedly gains the girl's trust and learns that Shadaloo is developing a new weapon in Brazil. In short order, Delta Red arrives in South America to pool their resources with Interpol. There they encounter Chun-Li, who recognizes Cammy as her father's assassin and the two get into a fight.

STREET FIGHTER #0 - #6

Writer: Ken Siu-Chong | Art & Color: UDON Studios*
Assistant Script Editor: Marina Siu-Chong | Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich
Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

UDON's inaugural STREET FIGHTER story arc sees young martial artist Ryu returning to the Japanese dojo where he lives with his master Gouken, only to find Gouken murdered. Ryu travels to the United States to enlist the aid of Gouken's other pupil, Ken Masters, to find their master's killer. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Forces officer Guile is investigating the disappearance of his old partner, Charlie Nash, who vanished while on the trail of a sinister organization called Shadaloo. Guile teams up with Charlie's Interpol contact, Chun-Li, to look into Shadaloo's apparent interest in Ryu.

From that starting point the two duos travel independently to Japan and eventually cross paths. Along the way, Shadaloo's top assassin, Vega, duels with Ken while Guile and Chun-Li find Charlie, now brainwashed to serve Shadaloo commander M. Bison. When Bison himself appears, Charlie regains his senses and sacrifices himself to apparently kill the despot. Elsewhere, Bison's agent codenamed "Killer Bee" is spirited away by a mysterious gypsy named Rose and given a new life, free of her memories of Shadaloo.

THE SUMMER OF STREET FIGHTER

Last summer I decided to fill my time with what I called "...the comic book equivalent of a big, dumb summer popcorn blockbuster" in the form of DANGER GIRL. This year I'm doing much the same, taking a look at the STREET FIGHTER comics from UDON Studios.

UDON picked up the license to produce American comic books based on the STREET FIGHTER video game franchise (and a few other Capcom properties) way back in 2003. I didn't bother with the ongoing series at the time, but when it was released in a very large trade paperback called STREET FIGHTER: THE ULTIMATE EDITION, I picked it up. I had been a fan of the video games in the nineties and was somewhat familiar with the characters' backstories and world thanks to various adaptations into other media over the years (most notably the animated film which, it seemed, literally everyone on Earth had somehow seen when I was in high school). It was safe to say I was a fan of STREET FIGHTER, but more of the characters than of the video games, which I was never particularly adept at playing.

I read the ULTIMATE EDITION in 2006 and decided that, as far as I was concerned, this was the only definitive STREET FIGHTER continuity I needed to worry about. UDON borrowed elements from the games and various other media interpretations to create a unified storyline. It was a bit rough in places, but it was usually beautifully drawn and colored, and almost always entertaining.