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 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.

SHATTUCK

About three years ago, I wrote about Wally Wood's CANNON comic strip, which was published by the Overseas Weekly some decades back. Wood also furnished two other strips to the Weekly back then: the very well-known SALLY FORTH, and the much more obscure SHATTUCK. Last year, Fantagraphics Books, who published the CANNON collection in 2014, issued a hardcover for SHATTUCK as well. I had enjoyed CANNON and SHATTUCK's price was right, so I went ahead and picked it up.

SHATTUCK is a western strip, and while the division of labor isn't perfectly spelled out, it seems that it was masterminded by Wood and produced by his studio: written by Nicola Cuti and drawn at various points by Howard Chaykin, Dave Cockrum, Syd Shores, and Jack Abel, with contributions from Wood himself as well.

The book's afterword notes that the story behind the strip's creation, and the people who worked on it, is probably of more interest and importance than the actual strip itself, and that may well be true. SHATTUCK isn't awful by any means; but it's not exactly groundbreaking, either. It tells the story of Merle Shattuck, an outlaw who kills the sheriff of a town called Sundown and then goes on the run.