Funky Friday Meets The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu-high flying kicks, villainous mayhem and a smorgasbord of talent! Martial arts action from the 70's…
Click this link below to have an immersive experience while reading this article … a treat of streaming music featured in several kung fu films of the 70's
Here we are again-another Funky Friday. This time we explore the world of Martial Arts- the films, TV series, the music, and a very special magazine of the times — Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.
The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine came smashing on the scene in 1974, kicking down doors and taking numbers. It was a b/w magazine which featured comics as well as articles/reviews on Films and Television productions that displayed martial arts and latching onto the craze that was sweeping the country at the time. The previous year saw the release of what would prove to be one of the greatest martial arts movies ever made Enter The Dragon(Warner Bros-1973) starring Bruce Lee. It made him an overnight an international superstar. One other film that generated a buzz and impressive ride at the box-office was Five Fingers of Death featuring Lo Lieh as a martial arts student that has his hands crushed by an opposing karate school and is forced to learn the Iron Palm technique to exact vengeance for himself and regain respect for his school…these two films introduced kung fu or chop socky films to the American audience and paved the way for explosion like none other. Everyone wanted to learn some form of martial arts..be it Judo, Karate, Tae Kwan Do or Kung Fu… Celebrating the early days of the martial arts explosion that was sweeping the world and changing the very fabric of our society and in some cases our way of life. Marvel Comics was keen to jump on this cultural phenomena and produce one the most successful combination of articles mixed with supporting comic series titles all under one roof.
Above : one of our favorite songs at the dojo during the mid 70’s and one that we listened to as we were traveling to Camp Olympus during the summer of 75'- Magic by Pilot…
I was no exception when it came to being caught up in the Everybody was “Kung Fu Fighting” era that would add a new wrinkle in the realm of pop culture. I was training in Judo at not one but 2 clubs and president of one at the age of 12 and spent more time at the dojo than at home and when I was home I was either in my basement working on my kick bag, practicing with nunchaku or on a mat in my backyard. Even with all this going on I surely still could not get enough. I would go barreling out the back door of our club as soon as class was over and with my friends, hoof up to the local drug store to pick up the latest issue of what to us was the bible of kung fu, the all knowing and all entertaining Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.
Left: The Black Dragon trailer — Ron Van Clief-Jason Pai Piao this film has some of the greatest action scenes and is unique for featuring an African American in a co-starring role. Ron is an explosive martial artist.
Presently it is a very rare and heavily sought after collectible of 70’s pop culture. Marvel comics has put together the first of 2 Omnibus housing the complete magazine series and yeah! to Marvel for doing that. To try and find, let alone pay for collecting these mags would cost a small fortune and many hours scouring the internet, flea markets, comic book shops and garage sales.
Deadly Hands was one of a few new bold moves for Marvel into magazine size adventures. A slightly different layout than Sword of Conan or Kull or even the properly titled Monsters featuring tales of the Living Mummy and the Zombie. For Deadly though it not only offered the comic adventures of Iron Fist and Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu but martial arts instruction, articles & reviews of the current world craze- Kung Fu or “Chop Socky” films (this term to be used only this once as it was a reference point in the 70’s by some entertainment critics and reviewers). I personally went right to the sections dealing with the films and stories relating to the actors such as Bruce Lee, Tom Laughlin(Billy Jack) and Sonny Chiba or one of my favorites-a piece discussing the great sword films. From Lightning Swords of Death to The Yakuza which starred *Ken Takakura(Black Rain).
Left- the trailer for The Street Fighter-1974 — this film introduced Sonny Chiba to American audiences. It also was the first martial arts film to receive an x rating when it opened in New York City. Now available from Shout Factory the entire film franchise- The Street Fighter Collection
- Ken Takakura(Black Rain -1989) had starred in numerous films in Japan dealing with the Yakuza and the Japanese crime families. Honor and family-traditions that all make for strong stories that were full of emotion which would lead of course to unprecedented amounts of mayhem & violence in the form of karate, gunplay and the sword.
- Honor is such a revered notion that there was a whole series of movies with honor in the title. This element was not all too unfamiliar to the western audience when it came to organized crime along with their families giving us box office hits like The Godfather(Marlon Brando), The Valchi Papers/The Stone Killer both starring Charles Bronson or The Brotherhood(Kirk Douglas).*
Shang Chi was the son of the notorious Dr Fu Manchu. The Dr was constantly plotting against the world for domination and control. He wanted to prove to the great countries that the asian mind was far superior.. This stemming back his times as a young adult. not being taken seriously at what he could accomplish. But he did not care at what cost to the innocents lives that would be placed in jeopardy for his world vision. Branching out into crime .. and espionage-bacterial warfare, laser beams, melting the polar ice caps if necessary. Shang Chiu did not shares his fathers views and each issue he would, along with Dr Nayland Smith thwart Fu Manchu and try to stay one step ahead of nasty ninja assassins and traps. Having Shang Chi a son of a diabolical, world class villain made for a so large in scope that the reader was treated to an action-adventure series with globetrotting across the entire planet.
If one is to stay close to the source material. one would have to convey Fu Manchu’s beliefs and thoughts on the “modern” world. He had a great distaste for guns and preferred other more physical methods like thuggees, dacoits and additional members of nefarious secret societies. His implementations were more arcane- pythons, spiders, natural bacilli/chemicals along even stranger, exotic animals or a knife.sword & poisons. Anyone of these possible death scenarios would send a shiver down any ones spine. Iou just the thought. So imagine all the cringing going on in the audience or in your own home if you were doing some late night reading.The character itself had many incarnations either via the novels, radio, serials( one of the best-The Drums of Fu Manchu with Myrna Loy as Fu’s daughter-1940) film and TV. There have been many actors to have portrayed such a sinister villain/anti-hero-to name a few- Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Henry Brandon and even Peter Sellers. So big shoes to fill both with a rich script and an actor who can project both menace and at times a father’s love for a son.
Above : it was inevitable that there would be a team up of this magnitude and only in DHKF in b/w splendor.( When it comes to black and white comics pencils are key-s).
Marvel currently is looking at this franchise with the intent to make it either part of it’s cinematic universe or possibly even Television. Maybe part of Disney + which launches in November of this year… now no matter which way this is green-lit it will be an important task for Disney/Marvel to obtain the rights to Sax Rohmer’s Dr Fu Manchu. At least to this fan. Several years ago the license for this character lapsed. So I hope they pursue it. I would not like to see a rewrite on who Shang Chi’s father is. If you have ever read one of these stories you’ll know why- instantly. Rich in character and teeming with suspense. Edge of you seat plots an scenarios.
Other recurring characters in DH included the White Tiger *created by George Perez* a spin off to Sons of the Tiger( an original series created especially for the magazine) and Daughters of the Dragon(which evolved from the Iron Fist series).
right: Sons of the Tiger
There were many writers and artists involved in making this a great magazine. The talent assembled included Marv Wolfman, Doug , Roy Thomas, Tony DeZuniga, Martin Sands aka novelist John Frederick Burke-cover art by Neal Adams
- currently Deadly Hands of Kung Fu is available in a hard copy 2 volume omnibus-each sold separately or as a digital version via Amazon and single issues have also been recently released also in a digital format.
- *Link below for Marvel has released two collected volumes of this highly influential magazine in beautiful Hardbound Omnibus -see link to Amazon…
- George Perez popped on the comic book scene in 1974 with Astonishing Tales # 25 as a penciler giving life to Deathlock in a parody of same. This led to his involvement with Deadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine and the action series Sons of the Tiger which ran for several issues. Deadly Hands was a b/w magazine which featured comics including Master of Kung Fu and Iron Fist as well as articles/reviews on films and Television productions that displayed martial arts and latching onto the craze that was sweeping the country at the time. (Doesn’t everyone remember the hit tune Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas).
Then with Bill Mantlo he co- created White Tiger the first Puerto Rican superhero. White Tiger made his way into the 4 color comics via Spider Man. I never missed an issue. I would run up to the town drugstore right after judo practice(back then there were very few stores dedicated to solely selling comics and the related merchandise that we have today). From there came his involvement with Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and Man Wolf as an illustrator.
George had a lengthy run at Marvel thru the mid 80’s and then branched over to DC for a while working on the New Teen Titans and Wonder Woman where he breathed new life into a character that at the time was not only very underrated but just did not get the recognition she deserved. His brilliant work really drew attention to one of the most iconic women superheroes of all time.
And then a return to Marvel in the early 90’s to pump some life into the Avengers… and he since then has continued to create flights of fancy and inspire new and up and coming artists and writers of today…so thanks George for making this “kids” life a little more complete and giving us all a chance to dream. Something we all need to from time to tie.
Deadly Hands run lasted thru 1977. It produced 33 issues of pure entertainment. Hopefully through these 2 omnibus that Marvel has released new fans will be drawn to it like I was. Plus with Netflix’s Iron Fist series churning out 2 seasons and a special crossover series featuring said character in The Defenders as well as featuring 3 other series- Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Cinemax’s brand new epic show -Warriors. A lengthy process to get this to materialize. Based on Bruce Lee’s original concept, one that was thought at the time by the powers that be-That America was not ready for a series starring an Asian actor in the lead role. Look how far we have come and yet, still we could move a lot farther in this direction. Deadly Hands legacy will shine forever in the hearts of all those lives that were forever changed by the martial arts craze and spirit of one man, Bruce Lee. Both were it’s sources of inspiration and what guided that stories and comic adventures that entertained and informed us to the very end.
- ** to note during Deadly Hands and actually continuing beyond it’s run there were several other magazines devoted to martial arts news with in depth articles, just not the comic stories- Blackbelt(still being published and in circulation as of today), mostly focusing on all forms, usually leaving out the entertainment side of the business.
Fighting Stars another publication with pretty much an even split now between coverage on “Hollywood” (domestic and international films/TV series and competitive side plus as a way of life. During the worlds introduction to “kung fu” , the cinematic appeal was favored a little bit more. And understandable. Especially when comes to what produces the most sales.
For I can say I have broaden your minds and definitely entertained you for several minutes. At the same time hoping that I have made you a little ore curious=so much so that you will do some researching on your own or maybe just ask your parents for the ones that had yet to make an appearance on this great big planet of ours to get a better perspective on another era in time and pop culture.
UP Next-
Mill Creek Entertainment and MVD Entertainment bring us two delicious slices of late ’80s kung fu cinema and an early ’90s slice of scifi horror view on a not too distant future of very water logged London under siege from ???-we delve into who was/is Rutger Hauer, all the while reviewing some of his work from Blind Fury(1989) to Split Second(1992) in the darkened aisles of the cinema…I leave you with a little teaser -
so join us here weekly for Funky Friday meets the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu-
Ciao …
