With the upcoming film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” on the way from Marvel Studios on July 9, 2021, Marvel Comics is looking to capitalize on the success of the hero in the publishing space. Newer Marvel writer Alyssa Wong is joining Andie Tong for a Shang-Chi one-shot. Shang-Chi is a beloved Marvel hero who first appeared in “Special Marvel Edition” #15 published in December of 1973. The thought of giving a voice to an underrepresented hero bursting with potential is an exciting prospect. Tong and Wong have only worked on a few Marvel projects at this point. “The Legend of Shang-Chi” #1 is the perfect outlet to see what this newer Marvel creative team can offer in a done-in-one story with the hero. Are Tong and Wong able to craft a platform for Shang-Chi to achieve greatness?
Written by Alyssa Wong
Illustrated by Andie Tong
Colored by Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettered by VC’s Travis LanhamDeadly Hands vs. Deadly Blades!
• Someone has been stealing artifacts of WMD potential.
• It’s up to Shang-Chi to find this person and stop them.
• But is he prepared to go toe-to-toe with Lady Deathstrike?!
Marvel’s Shang-Chi is a strong character with a celebrated history in comic books. Writer Alyssa Wong picks up on Shang-Chi having a conversation with an MI6 operative off the books. While I would have preferred a deeper story that used more elements of Shang-Chi’s anthology, Wong does a solid job stitching a relatively straightforward story that carries an urgent sense of pacing. While this title is a one-shot, Wong plants seeds for further continuity ramifications. This title introduces and resolves most of the conflict in this issue alone. Wong and artist Andie Tong tell a really compressed story that only takes off as much plot as the creators have the space to fill. The structure of the story itself has pros and cons.
The pacing in the issue is incredibly quick. Shang-Chi is introduced to his problem and dispatched into the field in three pages. Wong carefully crafts the issue telling a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. This rigid structure doesn’t allow for many nuances or plot developments. I wish that the story structure of the issue could be less linear to allow for more of those moments. One of my favorite aspects of the story is the ending because it takes a detail that seemed inconsequential and provides a sense of payoff. We’ve seen this technique used in shows like “Breaking Bad” and comic books like “Deathstroke” recently as well. This title also makes good use of The Marvel Universe. “The Legend of Shang-Chi” #1 never feels desperate to fit in with the greater continuity but there are tiny pieces that link the story to the Shared Universe.
Artist Andie Tong’s work is impressive here. Tong utilizes slick visuals that don’t lose a sense of personality thanks to angular lines and big expressions. Tong uses the page to build momentum with his nimble and exciting page layouts. One page breaks up the battle sequence by featuring a ton of small panels that keep the focus on Shang-Chi’s brawl with a mysterious Marvel villain! While the overall mechanics of the issue are solid, I sometimes wish tong drew each figure with more consistency. There are moments where characters look slightly different from panel to panel that can detract from the immersion Wong and Tong have been working so hard to craft.
Overall, I think this is a strong set of artistic set of interiors. My favorite moments always happen to be Tong’s fight sequences. Tong’s page layouts are the most imaginative during these sequences and a later moment in the title has a curious dose of body horror. Tong is not afraid to blend horror and action on the same page without making this sequence feel crowded. I find it fascinating how Tong is also able to blend a manga style at times to evoke the work of creators like Marco Checchetto who melds manga with a traditional comic book style. I wish Tong’s panels could be bigger to achieve a greater emotional reaction from the audience. I also would have preferred if Wong and Tong had the chance to make the final page one panel to capture all the emotion this solid script has built up to this point.
Continued belowThis is a great starting point that will ease new readers into this character. Wong’s script has just enough elements to stay interesting throughout the issue. Tong’s art is really elegant and captures action sequences well. While Tong lacks detail in some moments, he is able to find emotion from the page in others. If this team had the opportunity to craft more work at Marvel I would look forward to seeing their work and how they continue to develop as storytellers.
Going forward I hope to see Tong further experiment with the art form of comics with even more intricately designed layouts. The most impressive moments of this one-shot happen to be the battle sequences. I appreciate that readers are getting the chance to be exposed to Shang-Chi in this quick one-shot before the film. Readers with zero experience with the character and Marvel could even appreciate this comic. There’s a lot of potential in this one-shot and this is an interesting team that is on the rise at Marvel!
Final Verdict: 6.8 – “The Legend of Shang-Chi” #1 is a solid done-in-one martial arts tale to introduce readers to an underrated Marvel mainstay.
