Stories and Art By: Erik Larsen, Bruce Timm, Adam Warren, Tom Scioli, Ryan Ottley, and Andy Kuhn
Pin-Up Art By: Arthur Adams
Publisher: Image
I would first like to say that this is not, in fact, a collection of stories about Jesus fighting sin with the power of kung fu. Kung Fu Bible Stories is instead a collection of superhero shorts created by various well-known animators within the comic book world. It premiered at this year’s San Diego Comic Con and after much hype and great reviews, Image has decided to release it in all of its giant-size glory for those of us who couldn’t attend SDCC.
Bruce Timm is probably going to be the most well-known artist featured here, mostly due to his well-known and much-loved work on Batman: The Animated Series. His story kicks off the collection and it was a great choice as his art is instantly recognizable and his story is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek poke at the comic industry. His story is essentially about all the various universes melding together into one ultimate universe that could have catastrophic results. The fun in this is that we get to see some pretty hilarious satirical superheroes that no one will have any trouble determining who they represent. I thought that a Luke Cage knockoff proclaiming himself to be Linc Chain (complete with jive talking) was funny but panels later we’re introduced to this new version of Batman that basically had me in tears. In the hands of someone else it could’ve easily been interpreted as mean but considering Timm’s long list of achievements, it comes across more as someone who’s able to recognize how ridiculous the comic world can be while still loving what they’re doing. The list of heroes that get spoofed is a long one and there’s sure to be everyone’s favorite somewhere. And the trio of women who kick the story off are reminiscent of the great girl power we found in Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in Batman: TaS that that was a nice little nod for me.
Ryan Ottley’s “Snowman Slaughter” was another highlight within this collection and was actually my favorite. It’s a fun, funny, action-packed short and his artwork works amazingly well for a story about evil snowmen. It also has some really nice character to it, with some pretty well thought out characters, and is ultimately the most well-rounded story. I would legitimately read a whole series based around this premise and these characters and the end had a neat little twist. Timm’s story relied almost solely on satire while Ottley’s was the most fully-realized and these will probably be the two fan favorites for these reasons.
Erik Larsen’s story is also pretty good and is probably the story that feels the most “superhero”. It’s a neat little story about some kids discovering super suits and fighting evil with their new powers. Considering Larsen is well known for his Spider-Man run, it’s something that feels nostalgic and familiar and is going to make purists pretty happy with the art and ideas he brings out. It almost feels like a fresh new series starting and that’s a great thing to be able to pull off within a few pages.
Unfortunately, not every story in here is that great. Frankenstein of Mars is beautifully drawn and quite interesting but the short length doesn’t do it justice. It feels more like a preview. Don’t get me wrong, it’s something I’d definitely read and it was thoroughly enjoyable, but whereas Ottley’s and Larsen’s stories had a definite arc to them, Andy Kuhn’s “Frankenstein” feels like a preview before the real thing hits.
Tom Scioli’s stories are both the low points of the collection. They’re extremely short and both rely on somewhat of the same setup. His art is pretty good in both, and 8-Opus has some really neat scenes to it. They just unfortunately don’t stack up in terms of story with the others, especially as they appear in the same issue and both rely on somewhat of the same trick (mainly a bunch of people who are ungrateful for heroic acts).
Adam Warren’s story is going to be the most hit or miss with people. He’s chosen to do a one-shot of Empowered. It’s a bit of an odd choice as there’s not much there to get people who are non-fans familiar with the characters or the premise and since its largely a series that relies on boob jokes, female insecurities, and skimpy clothing; we’re essentially just presented with nothing but these things in the form of the short. Within the actual series of Empowered we get a lot more character interaction and can see the different friendships but most of that is missing here. Warren focuses here on Emp training with Ninjette, and I absolutely love their friendship, but I imagine that only fans will really enjoy it.
Arthur Adams’ pinup works are pretty nice in here and they run through just about everything from sci-fi to mythology to fantasy. I absolutely loved his Medusa one and his mermaid one was adorable as well. These are placed throughout the collection as breaks between stories and it makes for a nice shift between stories.
Overall, Kung Fu Bible Stories wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as great as the SDCC hype made it out to be. I’d recommend it if you’re a huge fan of the artists featured, especially as the art is beautifully displayed on larger pages. However, I also find it hard to suggest to most people because it runs a steep price of $20 for 68 pages worth of content. This is really only for superfans, everyone else can probably skip it.
