Genre Action
Age Rating 13+
Price $18.95

Hero defeats Steel Bull and rescues the captured people in Steel Bull Valley. However, before dying, Steel Bull lets out a battle cry, calling a stampede of mad bulls charging into the valley and furiously attacking everyone. The crazed bulls are eventually defeated, but with tragic consequences... While Hero is trying to get back to China Tower, he meets a soothsayer who tells him that he is going to be lonely for the rest of his whole life. Hero sees this as a dark omen of more unfortunate events to come… Meanwhile, China Tower is attacked while Hero is gone, and Zhi, Qin and Ghost Servant fight for their lives as they desperately try to fend off the Black Dragon Gang. Will China Tower be crushed? And will Zhi, Qin and Ghost Servant come out alive? Find out what happens in this action-packed volume of Chinese Hero!

Chinese Hero is a full-color comic with Asian sensibilities both in art and storytelling. This is the first time I've picked up this graphic novel and from what I can gather, a community of Chinese migrants are being attacked from multiple fronts and it's up to Hero and his allies to protect them. Wing Shing Ma juggles a lot of perspectives and characters but astute readers will quickly catch on.

If you've watched kung fu movies, Chinese Hero draws inspiration from them as it's filled with pressure points, chi manipulation, and martial arts both wacky and superhuman. In this volume, we witness fights against bulls, soldiers in Roman armor, and even a swarm of mice. The art is impressive, especially with all the fighting going on. My only complaint here is that sometimes, text is inserted into the middle of a fight in a red font that's not readily readable. Aside from that, Wing Shing Ma showcases various impressive fight scenes in this graphic novel.

As for the plot, Chinese Hero has an interesting dynamic that's anything but simple. Numerous factions come into play and the main villain seems to be smart, pitting the other factions into fighting each other, our protagonists included. Many of the tropes from Chinese films can be seen here such as Chinese swords, books that teach martial arts, and lessons passed down from one generation to another. There's also an impressive array of interesting characters, both heroes and villains. Hero himself is far from the paragon of absolute morality and in fact is tempered by his other companions such as his son.

Overall Chinese Hero is an interesting martial arts comic that weaves familiar sensibilities into one neat package. If you're looking for manga-style artwork, this might not be the place to look as this is definitely drawn with a unique Chinese look that's nonetheless impressive, especially with the full-color presentation. The story isn't groundbreaking although the conflict in which our characters have gotten themselves into has caught my interest.

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