Good morning,
Today's focus is the seventy-eighth issue of The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover depicted the titular character breaking through the door of what appeared to be someone's game-hunting trophy room, as a person in purple shadows stood before him with a bow and arrow ready to fire. The story was named "Tread the Night Softly." The issue had a cover date of July 1979.
The tale began with Shang carrying the unconscious Leiko Wu and walking toward the nearest town. Inside a tavern, he asked the bartender for medical assistance before placing Wu on a table before him. Shang-Chi explained that they had been in a car accident to the proprietor and his wife before asking if they'd heard of a man named Zaran.
The owner was familiar with the self-styled weapons master and informed Shang that Zaran had a lodge out in the woods. Shang-Chi hired a car to take him to Zaran's dwelling. He asked the driver to stop before approaching the front door. Shang found a secluded spot to rest and watch for Zaran's arrival.
Meanwhile, at Sir Dennis Nayland Smith's family castle in Scotland, the captive Black Jack Tarr said that for all they knew, Fu Manchu was presumed dead. His captor and former MI-6 associate Sarsfield begged to differ. He thought that the evil warlord was very much alive, and that Tarr and his friends knew more about that than they'd divulged thus far.
Back at the tavern, a doctor was examining Leiko. She was diagnosed with a concussion, but nothing more serious than that. The doctor called for an ambulance to pick her up and take her to the local hospital.
At the same time, Shang-Chi was still waiting patiently outside of Zaran's lodge, ready for a rematch. While Tarr and Reston were making silent plans, Shang finally saw his foe outside his lodge. He was speaking with another person who was hidden by shadows. After the stranger left by car, Shang-Chi made his move. He crept into Zaran's lodge in his quest for the stolen tape (that could help his former foe, Shockwave, whom Zaran stole last issue).
Back at the tavern, Wu was awake and refused further medical assistance. Her one goal was to find Shang, who was busy with his rematch with the weapons master. Zaran eventually fled by boat, but not before he dropped a small orb. Shang-Chi inspected the orb and found that it was a glass eye. It matched the one in the animal head above him. In its traditional place was the missing tape reel.
At Smith's castle, Sarsfield disclosed that their intelligence had reports that Shang's father, Fu Manchu, may have established himself somewhere in South America. Shang-Chi had no sooner retrieved the tape when he heard another car approach. This one had been driven by the weakened Wu, who wanted them to head for Smith's Scottish castle.
Tarr was still trying to free himself from his bonds when a visitor arrived at the castle. It was none other than Zaran himself. Sarsfield was surprised to see his ally, who informed him that their plans had changed before plunging a knife into Sarsfield's stomach. Zaran announced that he was under new employment, but that change would not affect the fate of the three captives, whom Wu and Shang were headed toward at that very moment.
Zaran proved to be one of Shang-Chi's more competent opponents. He actually seemed to know what he was doing, and I appreciate the fact that he wasn't blindly loyal to any specific person, cause, or organization. This was another well-crafted issue by Moench, Zeck, and company.
Well, that's all for now. Later today, I'll recap the seventy-ninth issue of Master of Kung Fu. We'll learn more about Zaran's role in this mystery and see his rematch with Shang. We'll also find out just what was on that tape reel. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment