Book Review: Shang-Chi Vol. 2 by G. L. Yang et al.

Shang-Chi Volume 2: Shang-Chi vs. The Marvel Universe written by Gene Luen Yang, art by Dike Ruan, and color art by Triona Farrell

Shang-Chi has taken over his father's evil empire, the Five Weapons Society. He wants to reform it into a force for good. He trades on its reputation to get close to a lot of villains (better to take them down), making him look like a bad guy to the other Marvel heroes. He also recruits four other champions, his half-siblings, to help him lead the society in a new direction. They are less committed to transforming into good guys, making Shang-Chi's plans a lot harder to execute. He has run-ins with Spider-man, various Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, with some very mixed results. If that wasn't bad enough, some mysterious villain is gathering Shang-Chi's defeated foes for some undefined vengeful purpose.

The book has the classic blend of action, humor, and human drama from the best Marvel stories. Shang-Chi's reform plan is a little too complicated for everyone to be on board, creating a lot of friction and drama. Shang-Chi struggles to deal with his own family and with his superhero friends, forcing him to live a double-life different from the usual secret identity/hero identity tension of other characters. The change is fresh and interesting. The art is great. I can't wait for more!

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Shang-Chi Vol. 1 by G. L. Yang et al.

Shang-Chi Volume 1: Brothers & Sisters written by Gene Luen Yang and art by Dike Ruan, Philip Tan, and Sebastian Cheng

Hero Shang-Chi is laying low in New York City, working a job at a Chinese bakery during the Lunar New Year rush. Since he's a Marvel superhero, trouble finds him pretty quickly. His dad (in this version of the story) established a secret group of warriors called the Five Weapons Society. The dad set up five different houses across the world, each with a champion. The House of the Deadly Staff (outside of London) is attacked by Sister Hammer (from the House of the Deadly Hammer, naturally). Sister Hammer kills the Staff Champion who is leader of the Five Weapons Society. She assumes she will now be in charge, but the mystical wheel of the Five Weapons Society indicates the next leader is from the House of the Deadly Hand. The Hand champion is Shang-Chi, who has disavowed the whole Society as his dad's psychotic cult (which it kinda is). Sister Hammer comes to New York to challenge him for rulership, which he is reluctant to get involved in. Even so, he's pulled in to a huge, globe-travelling adventure. He teams up with Brother Sabre and Sister Dagger to put things right.

The story is exciting and moves along at a good pace. Yang skillfully blends the ancient, semi-mythic quality of the houses with very modern sensibilities (Sister Dagger is the quintessential wisecracking, no nonsense teenager). The family issues suggested by the title are also dealt with, giving a little more substance to what could have been a run-of-the-mill comic book story.

Recommended, though don't get hung up about continuity with the recent movie, because there basically is none.