It's hard to believe that this beautiful, original, truly far-out example of comicbook magnificence was created as "just" filler material...but it was. When Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #25 (May 1976) was to have gone to press, the Dreaded Deadline Doom had left editor Archie Goodwin with nary a Shang Chi, Iron Fist, Sons of the Tiger, or White Tiger job in his files. In the Groovy Age, comics came out on time, baby! (Usually.) Even if it meant filling pages with reprint material, which was hard to come by for a mag that was barely a couple years old and featured a genre that had rarely been seen on the comicbook page. Fortunately, Bill Mantlo and Pat Broderick had completed a furious fist-filled fantasy called "Samurai". Twenty eye-popping pages of martial arts and magic were just what the editor ordered. Sadly, most fans have probably forgotten (or worse, never seen!) this gem, and that's a shame, 'cause writer Bill Mantlo and artist Pat Broderick turned out one of the most original and magnificently illustrated stories in the history of DHofKF. Can you dig it?
I knew ya could. Ol' Groove's gotta lay it on ya straight, dudes and dudettes, Broderick and his Groovy Age art are criminally underrated. Perhaps this example of his awesome artistry will help rectify that situation!
