Random Reads: "Coming of a Dragon!" by "Jim Dennis" and Leo Duranona

Hiiiii-YA, Groove-ophiles! Today we're trippin' back to January 1975 to dig on the premiere ish of DC's Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter! According to most sources, RD, KFF was adapted from a novel by Jim Dennis (aka DC writer Denny O'Neil and author Jim Berry). Writer/editor O'Neil had some fun with the fact that our new hero's "creator" was a pseudonymous creation in this "behind the scenes" article on the letters page...

As Ol' Groove has shared on other posts, RD, KFF ran for 18 issues, with a revolving door of artists on the early issues (Leo Duranona on the first ish, Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss, and Al Milgrom on the second, Jack Kirby and D. Bruce Berry on the third), with Ric Estrada (usually teamed with Wally Wood) for the rest of the series. As I said, earlier, though, today we're gonna focus on the first ish by Leo Duranona. Check it out...

Personally, I liked Duranona's style better in black and white (the Warren mags); the flat four-color palette just seemed to muddy his art to moi. What say you?

Groove's Faves: "A Dragon Fights Alone!" by O'Neil, Starlin, Weiss, and Milgrom

Hi-YAA, Groove-ophiles! It's time to revisit DC's martial arts master, Richard Dragon Kung Fu Fighter. "A Dragon Fights Alone!" by Denny O'Neil, Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss, and Al Milgrom from RDKFF #2 (March 1975) has been a fave of mine ever since I nabbed a coverless copy in a trade with one of my cousins on a rainy summer afternoon back in '75. I mean, it's got my favorite DC writer teaming with one of my all-time favorite Marvel artists (and at the moment this ish of RDKFF came out, Starlin was my number one fave, baby!)--what more could Young Groove ask for? You'll note that O'Neil's Richard Dragon is quite different from Marvel's Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu (who was first brought to four-color life by Starlin, Milgrom, and writer Steve Englehart, by the by). Dragon's more of a fighter and less of a philosopher...and I think he actually kinda got off on the fighting. And could you ever picture Shang Chi using the "index finger of pain" technique Dragon uses on page 13? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whooooooooooaaaaaaa...

Ol' Groove's Request Line: Kirby Fu!

HiiiiYA! Groove-ophiles! One thing that really grabbed a lot of ya during Kung Fu Week was the fact that none other than Jack "King" Kirby actually drew an ish of DC's Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter. The splash I shared left a lot of ya panting for more, and Ol' Groove never was one to hold out on his pals. So here for your viewing pleasure is Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #3 (May 1975) by Denny O'Neil and the King (inked by D. Bruce Berry). Prepare to have your mind blown by "Claws of the Dragon!"