Doug Moench

This is where this series caught its second wind. After Paul Gulacy left as artist, the series seemed to flail around for a bit, but once Mike Zeck and Gene Day came on, it found its footing again.

And while the art is spectacular and absolutely compliments the words, it is absolutely the writing of Doug Moench that is the highlight here. It's interesting, because the martial arts action is virtually all Zeck and Day, but the lead ups are all Moench who is careful to set up the philosophical show more framing at the beginning of each issue, then carry it through as the theme.

It's rare to find any popular comic book series from one of the Big Two companies that went this introspective. It's fascinating to explore the inner world of Shang-Chi's thoughtful mind as much as it is fun to watch him kick ass. And it's something that I feel every writer since Moench has either ignored, or has been incapable of carrying on. It's a shame, because it truly elevated the quality of this series head and shoulders above much of the other product Marvel was producing at the time. show less

Back when I was a regular comic reader, going out dutifully on Mondays and Wednesdays to hit three different variety stores to ensure I got my requisite haul (this was before the days of comic shops, kids, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Stan Lee still had some non-grey hair), the two comics I got most excited about were the Uncanny X-Men, and Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu.

Yeah, I liked the Kung Fu angle, but the creative team on MOKF, Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy, were wizards. show more Moench was writing brilliant stuff, weaving James Bond spyworks with ancient mysticism and somehow tying Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album into the mix. And damn, it worked.

So when I saw Marvel had put out a new MOKF story, I was intrigued. When I saw it was a Moench/Gulacy collaboration, I was excited.

And when I read it, I was underwhelmed. The magic just wasn't there anymore. This was more of a paint-by-numbers MOKF. It had all the ingredients, well, besides Fleetwood Mac. There was the Wu/Chi romance, there was the mysticism, there was the Bondian action. But, I don't know, maybe it was stirred, not shaken.

I was really disappointed when they fell back on a tried and true villain instead of breaking new ground. And, I guess, while it was enjoyable enough, this was the fundamental problem. Where MOKF had been new, and exciting, and edgy and, above all else, broke new ground...this felt safe.

Which is a shame. As a reader, I want to see a once-revered creative team go out in a blaze of glory, not a fizzle and pop. show less

For a sci-fi story from the 80's, this story really stands out, even among the ones currently published. It's just that there's such a fun array of characters, a fascinating plot with surprise twists and turns, and some very thought-provoking matters about life and immortality and humanity, and I honestly can't complain about the art. I have my dad's old one from the 80's, and would never have known of it if he hadn't held onto his magazine collection. I absolutely loved this story, and the show more surprise ending - I shan't spoil it for you - is truly worthy. I also loved Phaedra's make-up, it might seem retro, but within the comic it was actually very lovely. It's a really creative story and though some people might consider it dated, it's honestly a classic. show less

The first thing to note is that the issue I read was the original Curtis Magazine (Marvel's magazine format, black & white line of slightly more "mature" comics). So, screw this Kindle edition crap, and screw the Dynamite reprints. I'm going back to the source comic, that I happily paid my entire $1 for at the counter of Braemor Variety, back in 75 when I wasn't quite 13 yet.

But still, at the tender age of 12, I was already a Doc Savage fanatic, having discovered him two or three years show more before when I stumbled across the Bantam reprints with those amazing James Bama covers.

I mean, this was as close to heaven as I'd experienced in a dozen years. Doc Savage...in his own comic.

And you know what? 45 years later, the damn thing holds up, and holds up well. Doug Moench and John Buscema and Tony De Zuniga may not have necessarily totally captured how I saw Doc and his crew, but they were close enough. And Moench, while obviously having to appease the comic book crowd by tossing in some costumed villains, overall captured the spirit, tone, and most importantly, the sense of adventure of the original Lester Dent (writing as Kenneth Robeson) novels. Something that somehow seems to be missed in most of the graphic novel adaptations and original stories I've come across.

Honestly, Marvel, I think, deserves a lot of credit for their work on some of the licensed characters they had, especially Doc Savage, and the Robert E. Howard characters of Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn.

This was a blast, and I can't wait to revisit the next seven issues. show less