Kung Fu Komix

When a strange man stumbles into Kung Fu Town, he enlists the help of two locals on what seems to be a simple errand. But our heroes are soon to find out that this errand is anything but...

While reviewing Cloud Eagle, I thought I had read some of the most biff pow kung fu action I was going to see on DD.
Turns out I spoke too soon!

DOOOOOOOM!

Kung-Fu Komix definitely delivers on the title.
Muscle bound Kung Fu masters trade punches and insults with massive army hordes of ninja (that is how they are described) and an evil father and son team hell bent on doing all sorts of nastiness (and they haven't even used their full power yet!)

Kung Fu Komix is not about action.

Kung Fu Komix IS action!

These characters get more action in the simple act of pointing to the exit then most people would manage from a chainsaw death match!
http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=480391
If we look at this page, very little is actually happening (guy sees the panel and points to it, they all go over to it and look through) but even this potentially mundane scene comes across as a deadly encounter of daring martial arts!

I bet these guys could eat their breakfast and make it seem dramatic!

LOOOOOOOOM!

The greatest problem I have reviewing this comic is, is it supposed to be ironic, or deadly serious?
I really really hope it is supposed to be ironic because it is incredibly funny in places!
http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=470431
The dialogue in the bottom panel made me literally laugh out loud! (Not just type lol).
The way people talk come across as badly translated from some sort of Hong Kong martial arts epic. I can almost hear the overly butch or inappropriately high voices they might all have, and the extra "huh har!" noises at the end of their sentences.
Is this bad writing? Or on purpose? I am 70% it is on purpose, and heck, even if it is not, it is still REALLY funny!

BOOOOOOOOM!

The comic is in black and white and drawn in simple, hand drawn pen art. The lack of backgrounds and detail could be a criticism, but I think it is a wise design choice. The story is so very focused on martial arts action that a simple drawing style makes it far easier to show the characters beating the snot out of each other without things looking muddled or confused.
Less wise is that the original pencil lines are sometimes visible, making the comic sometimes look more like a sketch pad then a professional work. Also the way the characters are drawn is not always consistent.
Also the hand drawn text is at times unclear and sloppy. I don't want the comic to lose its awesome hand drawn charm, but keeping things a little neater would help in places.

Basically Kung Fu Komix delivers what it says it will. This is not about deep characters and subtle plots. Look else where for emotional story lines or insights into the human condition.
This is hardcore martial art action all the way!

Final thoughts-
Paraphrase from the comic itself-
"You down, Harkovast?"
To which one can only reply-
"Like a mamma-jamma!"

Final score- 8/10

Kung Fu Komix is a humorous action comic.

It is so awesome in two ways. One, some of the artwork is not only compositionally fitting and wonderfully simplistic but also carries with it a great sense of movement and action. Two, it uses this artwork, which draws heavy references to serious action comics, to deliver its humor. It is kinda like Kung Fu Hussle except that the humor is not in the action but in the dialogue and non-action panels. My favorite parts are conversations where the panels are drawn to LOOK like intense, suspenseful action panels, adding a sense of mocking seriousness to this halirious comic.

Critique: Most of the things that nees improving are in consistency of execution. The words in the speech bubbles can be written better or use some kind of font. Although there is no problem of telling which character is which, the faces can also be kept more consistent. Some of the panels' anatomical drawings also do need work, not in terms of acurracy but style. Some of the anatomy you've drawn are awesomely stylizxed, others are not. If it is applies to all, then this would be an awesome comic.

Also some suggestions: If you have photoshop, you can easily up the contrast of these pages to make the blacks solid. It will look much better. I think it will look better that way. You can also copy and paste your straight action lines to reduce the time to produce the comic.

Keep up the good work!

With fast paced stories, witty dialogues, and muscles, Kung Fu Komix deliver a non-fuss stories of hard-boiled Kung Fu.

The art is not the best out there, but it truly delivers. The panel compositions are good, and the sequences are clearly defined. Heck, the sequences are perhaps better than some of the things coming out from DC and Marvel. Kung Fu moves are delivered with explosive punches and accompanied with equally explosives dialogues and sound effects.

When not fighting, the story still move along finely, proving that the creator can fine tune the speed in his story delivery. Conflicts are built up nicely, although not quite in the height of conspiracies and such, but it does built up nicely, with rather non-existent expositions. It's all dialogues and actions.

Kung Fu Komix is that rare comic that is made with hearts and loves of the medium, and it delivers :)

Kung Fu Komix is delightful story told with all the stupid exuberance of the genre it parodies. The simplest gestures (POINT! LOOM!) are accompanied by mile-high lettering and bursts of speed lines. While the parodic effect becomes a little repetitive and grating, NickGuy (the author) commands it masterfully. His awkward dialog capture the queer charm of poorly translated Kung Fu moments, and his characters are hilarious cardboard cutouts. He works his gimmick gloriously.

My single greatest qualm with KFK is the art. Though he cleans up the pencil lines that spatter some of his earlier pages, he still skips the digital clean-up entirely. His pages are faded (as seen here: http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=484716 )and his lines are often uneven in their weight. A few moments to tinker with page contrast and to clean up lettering and layout would do him a world of good. He makes a one-time attempt to correct the contrast (http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=485914 ), but what I would hope to see would really look more like this Secret Santa fan art that Mutation did for him (http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=493287 ). Bold lines lose their effect when the scanner washes them out.

Neither the story nor the characters are particularly engaging, but I'll reiterate that it's the sheer enthusiasm of KFK that compels us to keep reading. Now and then the art pulls through and NickGuy shows us his skill with inks (my favourite pages were: http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=478395 and http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=481244 ). All things considered, Kung Fu Komix is FUN. Though it's often sloppily presented, it rushes through its weaker moments to fill your monitor with DOOM! LOOM! and BOOM! style action. I found it to be quite the enjoyable read.

Thanks alot for taking time to review my shit-rag, everyone! I will try to hit on points that everyone has mentioned, and i hope more people read and review and we can build some kind of discussion here! :)

HARKOVAST: thank you very much for that extremely kind (and fun to read!) review lol. The humor is something that i honestly didnt know if it would work or not. It works in Kung Fu Hustle, but i also wanted to bring the hya kick! feeling of the old kung fu flicks.

THREEEYESWURM: I agree that my lettering needs work. I am a crap letterer. The contrast thing is also a problem, I am not scanning on my old scanner, and the computer im scanning into doesnt have photoshop or any decent way to make the blacks darker without it looking like a shitty xerox. I also am doing this on just cheap typing paper, so to use really dark ink wouldnt be worthwile either as it would bleed through. obviously thats no excuse, and i have thought about moving to at leas small pages of bristol.

ZENSTRIVE: Thank you for noticing panel compositions! lol framing and placement is something i pay very close attention to, and its always nice to hear and see someone notice that!

THE REAL MACABRE: The story with the pencil lines goes like this...i bought some non photo blue pencils because i was told that when i scanned the inks in, I would never see the pencil lines, thus eliminating the boring, mundane and utterly rage-inducing art of erasing! however, my scanner still picked them up and thats why you see those ugly little gray lines.
The story and the characters are indeed cut-outs (Im surprised no one has commented on the fact that im blatantly using the "TOWER OF POWER" motif for this story lol) so i was aiming for a sheer visceral experience, and Im glad that that has worked! I hope you guys keep reading!

YOU KILLED MY MASTER NOW YOU MUST DIEEEE!!! Kung Fu Komix, I kid you not, is one of the best action comics I've ever read. The art is good and I see great influences from Frank Miller. The pages aren't exactly clean but it's forgivable. The panels and the sequences are superb, simple yet dynamic. VERY DYNAMIC. Heck, this is one of the most dynamic comics I've seen so far. I give Kung Fu Komix 5 out of 5 fireballs!

Where to start with Kung Fu Komix....

Kung Fu Komix is like the concentrated awesome of a Saturday morning watching action cartoons with a bowl of cereal. That's probably the best way I can describe it. Every so often you get a comic that grips you on the collar and pulls you along for the ride. The reason it took so long for me to review was because I didn't want it to end!

Art:

Nick guy does an amazing job at capturing the spirit and overall style that comes from old Kung Fu movies. The angles, shots, sound effects, and moves are over the top and exciting! His style delivers a fresh and dynamic look that translates motion beautifully.

Story:

While it may not be insanely deep, it's nothing to shake at. It does what it needs to build up the fights and it does it well. While the story may be the weakest part of the comic, it's obviously intentional to stay true to the Kung Fu spirit so that's not a problem.

Overall:

The comic itself is presented in a way that's easy to the eyes. The panels layouts are simple and easy to follow, and the panels themselves are free of clutter. The art style is consistent throughout yet you can still see tangible improvement from earlier pages.

All in all, I'd give Kung Fu Komix a 9/10

It delivers the goods, in all areas.

Kung Fu Komix is a great story in the fashion of old school kung fu flix. You can sense a direct influence from Frank Miller's style.

Art:

Nick Guy does a great job on the art of this comic. His inks are awesome and he is always experimenting with new techniques. His action scenes are priceless and the DOOM in the background of some of them compliments it well. I really dig the characters designs, kind of reminds me of anime characters.

Dialogue:

There is no unnecessary dialogue at all in this comic. If it is there it is necessary for the story line. He does a magnificent job telling a story with just the art at some times. The facial expressions of the characters have a direct link with the story as well. The way the text is displayed could use a little help to make it a little more legible at times.


Overall I would recommend Kung Fu Komix to everyone on and off the duck. It is a kick in the face action comic that deserves it just dues. It reminds me of good old cartoons from when I was a kid. If you enjoy kung fu flix or old school cartoons you will definately enjoy Kung Fu Komix. I give it a 10/10

Kung Fu Komix

Story:

I thought this was a very entertaining and fun read, funny dialogue and some of the over the top characters kind of remind me of Mr. Satan and Tien from DBZ. Story is very simple and straight-forward as well as fast paced. I feel the dialogue could use some work here and there in terms of the way it comes across in certain areas. Though that could have been done on purpose.

Art:

Very expressive and dynamic and the Pen/Marker style adds a nice effect to it. However, I would like to see more backgrounds and cleaner line art. Some of the perspective seems a little off at times.


Overall:

This was quite a fun read, I enjoyed the crazy action and characters. Dialogue was really humorous. And like someone previously said it does remind you of those funny cartoons from your child-hood. 8/10

Makosuite's review of Kung Fu Komix

Working as primarily a writer, it's interesting to view comics that can stand on their own writing merit rather than stereotypical art. Let me say this before anything else: If Kung Fu Komix were a novel rather than a visual interpretation of the story, it'd still be great. The vocabulary and attitudes of each character are memorable. It bleeds style.

A plague of both mainstream and independent comics now days is sharing a common personality amongst two characters. What works is the separation of two heroic mainstream ideas into two heroes. We have the brash, loud, large man who will never back down from a fight, and the smaller, more cunning man who is more wise and skilled than he is brutal.

The art, which I admit is a terribly weak point on my part, has cleaned up over time. We are now presented with great examples of prowess and finesse with ink, such as this little gem: http://www.drunkduck.com/Kung_Fu_Komix/index.php?p=511100 It isn't over the top, and ( praise God! ) it isn't adorned with ugly amateur color. This man knows what he's doing.

Martial arts and art have blended well over the past few years, with Japanese mainstream art mixing with an American hip-hop vibe. This comic follows well in the fashion of terrific cartoons prior to its existence, such as Samurai Jack and Afro Samurai.

As a writer, I would give the book an 8 out of 10. And I'd say it is my favorite comic on DD.

On top of that, it's a comic that I'd pick up and consider buying if it were sitting on a store shelf.

Congrats on a great piece of art.

I am not american or western person so I have bit diffrent thinking so don't feel too bad about my review

Art:

You are not a bad drawer.Pretty realistic drawing and it is kind of hard work that you have drawn this by hand only.....Maybe you should try to use photoshop or other thing to make your drawing better.you have to improve in balance.the character look little unbalanced body shape.

story:

pretty typical storyline.A hero save the day with his awesome power.Maybe you can put really surprise ending like the girlfriend is the evil guy and she is actually "he" or something.That would be really interesting ending.

overall:

nothing realy bad.Just make your story little unexpected would make it cool.

mamaya94
I am not american or western person so I have bit diffrent thinking so don't feel too bad about my review

Art:

You are not a bad drawer.Pretty realistic drawing and it is kind of hard work that you have drawn this by hand only.....Maybe you should try to use photoshop or other thing to make your drawing better.you have to improve in balance.the character look little unbalanced body shape.

story:

pretty typical storyline.A hero save the day with his awesome power.Maybe you can put really surprise ending like the girlfriend is the evil guy and she is actually "he" or something.That would be really interesting ending.

overall:

nothing realy bad.Just make your story little unexpected would make it cool.

thanks for the review! I have a few surprises up my sleeve with this book, I hope you stick around long enough to watch it play out!

Kung fu Komix is like a 24 hour comic that was just too good to stop after it was done. The story is about some Kung fu masters that are basically fighting an evil overlord, his son and the horde of ninjas they control. The story is light but fast paced, in fact the newest comics are mostly just 1 panel action shots.

The art is very simplistic. The artstyle works for the comic overall, but there are a few things I would like to see improved on. Backgrounds or the lack thereof to start. It doesn't have to be too complex or anything but they always seem like they are in a void of nothingness. And there are some serious anatomy issues sometimes.

Overall this is a good read for anyone into action or wants to reminisce about Saturday morning Kung-fu movies.

Wow, what to say about Kung Fu Komix?

Its one of those comics you look upon and want to laugh at, dismiss, ignore, etc, but you just can't. You can't because somehow through all the utter nonsense, it actually works in a twisted sort of way.

If the creator of this strip could clean up the art a bit and make it look a bit more professional, this comic could really be something. Unfortunately the art really hurts the overall product and makes everything seem cheap. When I can actually shee the strokes from a sharpie on my computer monitor, something is wrong.

Also the sheer lack of intelligent dialogue though understandable, really wears thin after awhile. I need some stronger motivation for all this action, or this comic becomes nothing more than several pictures of guys beating each other. Also what's up with nearly every page being a splash page later in the strip?

People oftentimes ask me how I can enjoy something complex like Neon Genesis Evangelion, yet equally enjoy something like Bobobobo. Its simple; I don't need everything to be complex, sometimes I need something simple and ridiculous because I want to be entertained. Kung Fu Komix entertains me, and frankly that's all I want it to do. Unfortunately I can't make it a fave because of the issues discussed earlier.

If the creator can fix some of the flaws holding this comic back, it can become a real classic, and something that I wouldn't mind reading regularly. Unfortunately as it stands, this comic is held back by the limitations of its creator. Whether those limitations are lack of skill, lack of seriousness, lack of graphic/imaging software, or a lack of focus, its up to the creator in the end to fix these issues, and take KFK to the next level.

5/10

thanks for that review! About the page contrast...I found a way to fix it, but drunkduck does not allow the uploading of bitmaps, so when i scan it in in stark b&w it gets fuzzy.

EDIT: Actually i Believe its GIFs that dd doesnt allow.

NickGuy
thanks for that review! About the page contrast...I found a way to fix it, but drunkduck does not allow the uploading of bitmaps, so when i scan it in in stark b&w it gets fuzzy.

EDIT: Actually i Believe its GIFs that dd doesnt allow.

I'm glad you fixed the imaging issue Nickguy. I look forward to seeing your future updates.

Your comic is a lot of fun. Keep at it.

When i saw this for the first time, i said that it'll be great to read during my free time, as I did. It blew me away, as the dialogs and the action it has.

I mean, this comic should be very very well known so everyone can see how good this comic is.

The art is perfect, way better i can do.
Shows the details on whats going on and such.

The writing is good, even gives the event and action more meaning and details.

I can say is keep it up! *thumbs up*