UDON Asks Street Fighter fans to help save the comic

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by Dane E5R

Heh, you're right. The SVC comic is from Hong Kong. I've heard some of the madness that goes on in that book (Ryu getting beaten by everyone, even Dan) But I don't think anything can top the horribleness was Malibu comics' vision of Street Fighter, where in the first issue, Chun-Li kicks Ryu's ass, then they make out. Ryu claimed to be the street fighter champion AS he was defeating Sagat. And Ken was basically killed off in the second issue.

What the holy hell...?

Now I feel like I HAVE to read this series.

The art in SVC Chaos as actually fantastic, it's just the story, dialogue, characters and everything else is totaly rediculous. Is the art in the Malibu Comics a redeeming factor in any way?

[ThirdMarioBro]

Originally Posted by Dane E5R

But I don't think anything can top the horribleness was Malibu comics' vision of Street Fighter, where in the first issue, Chun-Li kicks Ryu's ass, then they make out. Ryu claimed to be the street fighter champion AS he was defeating Sagat. And Ken was basically killed off in the second issue.

What in the everloving fu*k?

[Serp]

Originally Posted by ThirdMarioBro

What in the everloving fu*k?

I read an issue of that. It was the crapiest thing ever. Sagat killed Ken, he ripped off his scalp and left it in his car, Ryu found it and was all like "noooo!!!! Buddy i'll avenge you." it was quite disgusting.

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

I HAVE that comic. I actually LIKED it until they killed off Ken. Anybody want a page-scan?

BTW I MUST read that messed up Chinese SVC comic!

[Dane E5R]

Heh, yea. If anyone wants scans, I can hook you guys up too.

[DrSpengler]

I'm debating whether or not I should break out those SVC comics and read off some of it's finer "gems" for you guys. Then I can watch your brains ooze out your ears. It's...just that stupid.

And yes, scans of this whacky Malibu comic would be appreciated.

[Anarky]

Yeah, scan away! I'd love to see that.

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

OK here we go...





I GOTTA give them credit for the Ryu / Chun-Li pairing. She's usually paired with Guile (who's married) or Ken (who has a girlfriend named Eliza), so at least here she's not a homewrecker!



Also, gotta give 'em credit for that page. It's one of the greatest moments in Street Fighter history.





Here's where it starts to suck! Killing of one of the two main characters of the game in the second issue is Trés Lame



This is the last page in the issue. It came a few pages after the previous two. It is SO wrong.

[Dane E5R]

Agh.. There it is.. In all it's horrific glory. Notice how Ryu's headband ties disappear then reappear during the Chun-Li bit?

[DrSpengler]

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

That reaction was lame 15 years ago and it's lame right now.

Thanks for the scans, that was..."educational". whew.

[Dane E5R]

Y'know what's hilarious, though? Malibu was very, very proud of this.

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by Dane E5R

Y'know what's hilarious, though? Malibu was very, very proud of this.

Ya know, I can honestly see it being considered pretty cool at the time when there wasn't much Street Fighter media outside the games-themselves.

The art's not bad, it's just a little too..."American". Typically, the Street Fighter characters are drawn in their Capcom/anime style. But then, back then anime-style wasn't all the rage so I doubt it garnered much criticism initially.

Personally, I'm interested in tracking down the issues, now. At the very least, this comic doesn't look to follow the standard Street Fighter formula, that all the tv shows, Japanese and American, tend to do. So hey, there may be a few surprises (Ken getting killed by Sagat while Chun-Li and Ryu make out for no readily apparant reason certainly qualifies as "surprising").

The SVC Chaos comics, on the other hand, are just utterly moronic.

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

I want to read the Chinese SVC comics! Please, post some scans or quotes.

And, I did enjoy the malibu comic (except for Ken's death). If I had more issues (these were part of a three-pack at a dollar-store), I'd read them.




I actually consider this the weirdest thing in that issue. And, here's why...



What is a SF-bashing MK ad doing in a SF comic?

[Dane E5R]

Heh! My copy of issue 1 also has a Mortal Kombat ad on the back, although that quote isn't there.
Anyway, I thought I'd expand a bit on just how proud Malibu was with this atrocity. This was on the back of the cover, written by the editor:

"Translating a hit video game into a full color comic book is no easy task. A number of companies have tried in recent years to do that and just as many have failed. How many of you have been disappointed by seeing a red-hot in-your-face game turned into a bland, lackluster comic book?
Okay, now put down your hands and turn those frowns upside down. Street Fighter is here. (And no, I'm not going to break into song!)
If you don't know what Street Fighter is, you must have spent the last few years in a cave on some dark, dank island in the south Pacific. SF and it's sequel, SF 2, are without a doubt the video game phenomenon of the decade, a success story that rivals that dot-eating putz, Pac-Man and his chubby little wife, the Ms.
Capcom came to Malibu because we know how to do it-we've handled licensed properties before and done very well. One of the first tasks when I got the assignment was to find the right writer. Len Strazewski popped into my mind. Len had been visiting the Malibu offices on a regular basis-his other business interests bring him from Chicago to California several times a year. I knew from hanging with the Len-meister that he had a background in computers and computer games and comic books. Len has been writing comics for several years and doing a darn good job of telling a solid story.
Len hadn't played Street Fighter yet when I first talked to him about the assignment, but he soon latched onto a SNES system and one of my extra cartridges, he spent two months playing the thing before he had to put pen to paper.
Chris Ulm and I spent six hours around a Capcom conference table in Northern California talking about the various backstory elements to Street Fighter and what they'd like to see in a comic book. Shortly thereafter, one of Capcom's game experts and one of their editorial hands flew down to Malubu offices to meet with Len and myself to teach us the innermost secrets of the game. In a hastily devised tournament between us, Len kicked his new editors butt and yet still managed to keep the writing assignment. Who says that editors don't have golden hearts? Between the four of us that afternoon and a seperate meeting between myself and Len we hammered out the first six issue story arc.
The next job was to find the right artist. Don Hillsman was one of my first choices. He has a real in-your-face style that leaps off the page. (Wait until you see Blanka, when the green Brazilian makes his first appearance in issue #3.) His samples won the approval of everyone who saw them and a couple of his try-out pages have been turned into bonus pin-ups that you'll be seeing in future issues. Jeff Whiting was chosen to add the ink to Don's pencils and his expert pens and brushes give the drawings added depth.
And that's it, game players and comic fans-It's taken us since July 1992 to put this comic book together. If you enjoyed what you've seen here, drop us a line at Street fighter [Malibu's address] People who get their letters published will receive a free Street Fighter poster by Don. (In upcoming letters pages we'll also have an indepth discussion of Sagat's eye patch!)
See you in 30 days!
"Ya tai!"
Tom Mason"

[Dane E5R]

Sorry for the double post.. But it's too much to add to the other one.
And here's what was written in issue 3, when the book was cancelled. Have a look at just how truly horrible it could've been:

"What Could Have Been: A Street Fighter Epilogue ~Kara Lamb
As many of you might have heard, due to complications with Capcom and their dislike of our adaptation of the most popular game in the world, concluding with this issue, Street Fighter the comic book has officially been cancelled. We formally apologise for the dissatisfaction and disappointment we know this news can and will generate. We are true fans of Street Fighter, so even though we will no longer be publishing it, we sincerely hope someone else does! For the meantime, however, we hope to ease some of your Street Fighter withdrawals with a little epilogue. As far as we know, no other comic book company has ever offered this kind of epilogue to its readers, but we here at Malibu want you to know just how committed we are to Street Fighter and to you! If you care to read on, we will tell you what kind of tales writer Len Strazewski would have spun. It's a character break-down, so you can look up exactly what would have happened to your favourite Street Fighter:

Balrog:
This boxing bad guy has been roped into M. Bison's evil ring of Street Fighters. As featured throughout the first issue, we have witnessed how Balrog helped prepare for the (unfair) defeat of Ken and how Bison keeps him on hold as his right hand man.

Blanca:
Last time we saw this South American mutant man in issue #3 he had just found out about Ken's apparent tragedy: that he was presumed dead. To make matter's worse, ken's body is missing and no one knows who is responsible, although everyone has an idea. Blanca is sworn to revenge ken's death because, along with Ryu and Chun-Li, Ken was one of the few people kind enough to take the time to teach Blanca how to read.

M. Bison:
Bison has appeared as the ultimate evil man in the Street Fighter community. He has carefully put together a small army of corrupted Street Fighters including Sagat, Balrog and Vega to destroy the rest, beginning with Ken. But that was all only an introduction to a much more sinister plot: M. Bison had made a deal with dark forces to create evil twins of every Street Fighter, so the ultimate battle would have been every man and woman against his or herself, literally. Which poses the question: are the three Street Fighters working for Bison evil twins? If so, where are the real Sagat, Balrog and Vega?

Chan-Li:
The strongest woman in the world has several problems. First, she must avenge the mysterious death of her father. She knows he was murdered by M. Bison, but she cannot prove Bison’s guilt, she has joined investigative forces of the police chapter. One fan asked why the strongest woman in the world would need to be a cop. Answered Len Strazewski, “Because she needs legal clearance to investigate. Plus, there is a life outside of combat for all the Street Fighters. Most don’t want to have to fight every day and would like to make a decent living. That is why Ken became an actor.” Second, Chun-Li must now avenge Ken’s death. And third, she is beginning to fall in love with Ryu, and is not quite sure what to do about it.

Dhalsim:
The yoga Street Fighter was last seen set off balance by the presumed death of Ken. He was to become part of the Street Fighter alliance to bring down M. Bison.

Guile:
We left the big and bad American Marine with the sonic boom in issue #3 after he blew up a bar upon his notification of Ken’s death. Guile was upset by the unfair fight and his chance to usurp Ken himself. He suspects Bison to be behind the whole thing and swears vengeance as it was bison who was responsible for the death of Guile’s close friend, Charlie. Now Guile has two reasons to go after Bison.

E. Honda:
The sumo-wrestler from Japan was scheduled to test new applicants to the Street Fighter programme. After meeting on a plane trip Ferret of Protectors fame, decided to try out himself. As we saw in this issue, he was definitely defeated by E. Honda.

Ken:
All throughout issue #1 and #2, Ken was in a battle for his life against first Balrog, and then Sagat. Both were teamed up against Ken by M. Bison as part of his sinister plan. At the end of issue #2, a car burst into Ryu’s private garden with the scalp and bloodied clothes of Ken inside. As several of you reader’s pointed out, during the game Ryu and Ken were bitter enemies. But after the Championship they were able to recultivate the old commaradirie they used to share during training. Now Ryu believes Ken is dead. However, this is not the case. Unbeknownce to all, Ken is alive, not well, but recovering. He is bald and in bad shape, but living under care. Unfortunately due to the cancellation of the series, we do not get to see his gallant return or the battle of the allied Street Fighters trying to take Bison down in the name of Ken. But this, at least, solves the mystery of Ken’s missing body.

Nida:
Nida is the unknown character. We were going to introduce her as the newest member of the Street Fighter team, but we never got the chance. She is an adolescent young lady from the Phillapines who, unlike the other Street Fighters, uses weapons. Her involvement with the Street Fighters begins when her father, a law enforcement officer, is killed during a drug bust by the evil Ryu look alike. Now she is out for Ryu with a vengeance. For the time being, she is nursing shen-Long back to health after he was posioned by M. Bison.

Ryu:
Ryu is the central hero in the story so far. He was meditating peacefully in his private garden when a car came crashing through with ken’s scalp and bloodied clothes left inside. However, there was no body. Ryu has become enraged and horribly saddened as he remembers all the times he shared in training with ken and Chun-li. The three of them have a lot of history together. Had the series continued, we would have seen Ryu organise the Street Fighters into a temporary alliance to take out M. Bison. But before the battle, we would have seen the bitter fight between Ryu and Sagat, the man he scarred during the Championship. Unknown to Ryu, Ken’s death was only part of a master plot to play him right into Bison’s hands. Things would have turned grim perhaps. Except for the unexpected, and not necessarily friendly ally Ryu comes to find in Guile. They become…partners, if only for a little while. Meanwhile, there is always Chun-Li, and Ryu knows he has fallen in love with her for sure. “Their relationship would have definitely been resolved,” said Len S. So don’t worry all your romantic hopefuls; somewhere out there in the possible future Ryu and chun-Li finally got together.

Sagat:
The first and second issue show us what a bitter enemy Sagat can be. He was certainly bitter enough to kill Ken, or at least assume he killed Ken. But there is still something honorable in Sagat as we can see in these early issues where he is not happy to have declared victory after an unfair fight. In fact, Bison is well aware that Sagat might start having second thoughts and tells Balrog to keep Sagat fighting so he doesn’t have to think about the guilt. I asked Mr. Strazewski if Sagat was just a victim of Bison’s evil and he replied, “In the first series of the book, Sagat would have no opportunity to redeem himself, but if we could have continued further…”

Vega:
The masked man with the knives on his hands was last seen in issue #1, preparing for battle at Bison’s hidden estate. What Bison was planning to use him for remains unclear, but it was nothing wholesome, that is for sure. Handsome fighters never lose a battle!

Zangief:
The Russian Street Fighter was last seen in #3 fighting bears to prepare his revenge against Ken’s killer. Zangief was determined to beat Ken and claim the Street Fighter title. So now, like Guile he is mad that his chance has been taken away from him.

And that, fans and readers, in a pinch is what would have been if we were allowed to continue the series. And don’t forget that we are also offering a keepsake for this series that never was, just so you remember Malibu’s version of Street Fighter It’s our very special Gold Editions of #s1-3. Thanks for all your cards and letters of support, everybody."

[Barkworm]

"MY OLDEST FRIEND!"

[Anarky]

It would have been even better if he went like this: "Noooo, Ken, my oldest friend whose scalp I am holding right now in my own garden... I will avenge your death by using my superior martial arts skills!"

[Serp]

Originally Posted by Tetsu Deinonychus

I want to read the Chinese SVC comics! Please, post some scans or quotes.

And, I did enjoy the malibu comic (except for Ken's death). If I had more issues (these were part of a three-pack at a dollar-store), I'd read them.




I actually consider this the weirdest thing in that issue. And, here's why...



What is a SF-bashing MK ad doing in a SF comic?

lol man!!! what the heck? The early ninties were more off than I remember.

[Serp]

I gotta say that Scene is pretty hot. It doen't make sense to me though!!, if they were makeing a Street Fighter porn that scene is perfect.





This scene wins the award of being the most violent, most cheesy and most lame scene I can think of. even cheesier than I remember.

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by Dane E5R

"Ya tai!"
Tom Mason"

Surely he meant "Yatta!".

He spends an entire backpage masturbating over his own company and how accurate they can portray the Street Fighter franchise, and then goes and gets one of Chun-Li's catch-phrases wrong.

Very good.