Retro Comic Recap: Master of Kung Fu #103

Good afternoon all, 

Today's focus is the one hundred and third issue of The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. The cover showed Shang locked in hand-to-hand combat with his opponent. Behind him were the statue of an eagle sitting atop a swastika and a bevy of people in scuba gear swimming around. The story was called "A City Asea." The issue had a cover date of August 1981.

The tale began in Hong Kong, where several boats, also known as junks, were seen sitting in the waters next to a harbor. Many of these vessels serve both as homes and storefronts for their occupants. They usually arrive at the same place at the end of the day. What was unusual here was that not a single junk had moved in the last two days.

This was something that Black Jack Tarr found to be rather suspicious. He and Shang set out to investigate. On their way, Shang-Chi thought about his love, Leiko Wu. He was happy to know that they'd both found their own identities, but was stunned several days before when he went to check in on her at the hospital (where she was recovering from injuries sustained in issue #100) only to find that she'd checked out two days before.

Curious, Shang then went to Leiko's London flat, where her upstairs neighbor was taking care of the Siamese cat. She noted that Leiko had left for a while, and that she'd gone to meet with Tarr at the Savoy. By the time Shang-Chi got to the Savoy Hotel, Wu had already come and gone. Tarr told his friend that Leiko had been there, but had asked him if there was a solo mission that she could embark upon. He told her about an upcoming meeting with an agent, and she volunteered to be the agent's contact. 

Tarr gave her the code words, along with the meeting time and place. He planned to be her backup, but hadn't expected Shang-Chi to tag along with him. The two friends quietly made their way across several boats, encountering only mild resistance until they reached their contact.

The contact was a person in a green hooded robe, who led them down into the bowels of her ship. Once there, they lit a lamp to reveal that it was none other than Juliette, an old associate and former love interest of Shang's. She had previously also been linked with Shen Kuei (the man also known as Cat) and the villain Skullcrusher. 

Tarr went to check on the guards, leaving Shang-Chi and Juliette alone to talk. When he'd seen her last, Juliette was comforting Skullcrusher after Shang had defeated him inside a monks' temple. She explained that she was there to help retrieve cargo from a German supply ship that had been sunk during the Second World War, which had been on its way to assist their Japanese allies. 

Juliette had no sooner finished her explanation when Tarr returned to inform them that ropes were being tossed between boats to bind them together. It appeared that they were being towed away from the harbor. Shang and Tarr went out to investigate and encountered more enemies. They then followed some of them to the lead vessel and borrowed some scuba gear to follow more of their opponents underwater.

Tarr and Shang-Chi observed several divers retrieving items from the sunken German boat and watched as they surfaced near the tugboat. They then jumped on board, taking out resistance along the way. Shang-Chi walked along the deck and was stunned to see Leiko locked in an embrace with another man.

Just then, waves increased as the sunken freighter rose to the surface after many years. The ship's captain was annoyed by the fact that the boat had resurfaced too quickly, and we then saw that the leader was none other than Kuei himself. When we saw him last, he'd joined forces with Shang-Chi, which left him wondering just what his old ally was up to now. 

This was Gene Day's first MOKF issue as both penciller and inker, and I was impressed by the results. I loved the title segment on pages two and three, and his art continued in the fine traditions of Paul Gulacy and Mike Zeck before him. I was happy to see the return of both Juliette and Kuei, but I wondered if they were working together, knowing that they were previously both lovers and business associates.

That does it for this article. Next time, I'll discuss the one hundred and fourth issue of Marvel's Master of Kung Fu. We'll learn what Kuei is up to and how he became involved with Leiko. We'll also learn why the sunken German freighter was so important. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.