The Street Fighter Blog Reviews Udon's Street Fighter II Turbo #3

Street fighter 2 Turbo issue 3 is now out and available on comic book stores shelves, the comic features the continuation of the Street Fighter Storyline as well as a back up story featuring Street Fighter IV's new lucha libre El fuerte. How good is udon's latest street fighter issue?, keep reading to find out (be advised few spoilers ahead):

Story: The Story of the udon's Street Fighter series is really the highlight that made the book so popular and this issue is no exception, in fact this issue looks so far to be the best in the turbo series. The book starts by giving us a look at Fei-long's movie star life as well as his origins, then goes on to the main tournament storyline where the tournament qualifiers are now taking place in Hong Kong. We are then treated to a great fight between Adon (yes he is back) and Dhalsim as well as a batlle royal featuring Fei long against a bunch of martial artist. 

Although from my description the issue sounds more like an action one it really features quite a lot of story telling compared to the previous issues. The storyline is going forward faster than before and the fact that there are no more flashbacks of previous issues really helps with overall progression of the story.

This issue also features the fan favorite Cammy and gives us a hint to her future role in the Street Fighter Tournament which looks pretty interesting.

As mentioned above, Street Fighter II Turbo #3 features a back up story of El fuerte. The story is four pages long but really fun to read. without spoiling anything let's just say El fuerte has a connection to another street fighter character from ssf2 and that he is a fan of a street fighter alpha character.

The Art: If you have read my two previous reviews you would remember that i have mentioned that Chamba's art has improved from issue 1 to 2. I would have to say the same about Street Fighter II Turbo #3. Chamba is really improving with each new issue, its easily noticable that he is now paying more attention to details, backgrounds are not empty anymore and the fights action never looked this good. 

An exemple of how good Chamba is at drawing action sequences is the fight between Adon and Dhalsim, the way the fight is drawn makes you feel the different styles of the two fighters, you can feel Dhalsim fighing while being very calm while adon is irritated and enraged. It is difficult to express the feeling you get from that fight but if you get the chance to read the issue you will understand. 

A fun thing to mention is the ammount of cameos Chamba has drawn in this issue, just to name a few: Rufus, Q, and Guy. Make sure to look in every crowd within the book to find them all ;-)

The back up story is as usual drawn by Joe Ng, the main artist of the upcoming Street Fighter IV mini series, and he really delivers again with this el fuerte back up story. Great drawings as well a great coloring makes this bonus story easily fit within the udon Street Fighter comics continuity.

Closing Comments: The latest Issue of Street Fighter 2 Turbo is simply great. The story is moving forward and getting more interesting, Chamba's art is on its way to be in level with Alvin lee and Arnold Tsang and the back up story is too much fun to read. If you have not picked up this issue yet i suggest you do so immediatly and let me know in the comments section what you think of it.

Final Score: 9/10   

Street Fighter II Turbo #3 Comic in Stores now!!!

Udon's latest Street Fighter Comic is now in your local comic book store. Street Fighter II Turbo Issue 3 continues the story from the last month's issue by showing us the begining of the Street Fighter tournament prelimenary matches. 

The issue also includes a 4 page Street Fighter IV bonus story showcasing El fuerte. Head on to Udon comics website for a preview of the issue.

Check back later for a full review of Udon's Street Fighter II Turbo #3.

source: Udon Entertainment

Official Press release of Street Fighter Legends: Chun-li Comic by Udon

Looks like 2009 will be Chun-li's year. The fan favorite is not only getting a full featured movie but a 4 issues comic miniseries as well.

The Comic will debut next month and is written by Ken sui chong and drawn by Omar dogan, the same artist who drew the excellent Street Fighter Legends: Sakura.

In addition of featuring a younger chun-li and her father dorai, sf legends Chun-li will the first medium to ever show Dan's late father Go Hibiki!

The official Udon press release :

"SHE’S THE STRONGEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD... OF COMICS!

Street Fighter® Legends: Chun-Li Spin-off Series Arrives in January

Toronto, ON – Dec 2, 2008 – Having appeared in dozens of video games, and landing her own live action feature film next year, Chun-Li is undeniably among the most recognizable and popular girls of gaming. Beginning in January 2009 UDON will explore the roots of this high-kicking martial artist in Street Fighter® Legends: Chun-Li, a 4-issue miniseries by the Street Fighter Legends: Sakura team of Ken Siu-Chong and Omar Dogan.

The series focuses on a younger Chun-Li and one of her earliest assignments for the Hong Kong police. Along for the ride will be her partner Po-lin, a young woman who has a very personal score to settle with the terrorist Shadaloo organization. Expect this pair of lovely ladies to get into car chases, shoot outs, and plenty of fisticuffs as they fight their way to the truth about Shadaloo’s latest scheme.

But the cast isn’t made up exclusively of sexy female law officers! Fans will also get their first real looks at the lives of rarely-explored characters like Dorai, (Chun-Li’s father and fellow police officer) and Go Hibiki (the surprisingly competent father of everyone’s favorite walking joke, Dan). And, as always when dealing with Shadaloo, some well known boss characters will likely turn up to cause trouble!

Street Fighter Legends Chun #1 goes on sale January 2009, featuring covers by Omar Dogan and Kevin Lau. For more updates stay tuned to capcomcomics.com. "

Check out more interior art here

The Street Fighter Blog reviews Street Fighter 2 Turbo #2 Comic

Street fighter 2 Turbo issue 2 came out last Wednesday, the comic is the first in the series to feature a back up story of Street Fighter IV's new Comer Abel. How does the whole issue stands up against issue 1, lets find out (be advised few spoilers ahedd):

Story: The Story picks up right where the last issue ends with The main cast getting ready for their grand fights. Ryu and Ken are on their way to enter the tournament, Chun-li is training with yun and Yang to improve her skills that she will soon need to fight her way through the tournament. It is also important to mention that this is the first Udon Comic to show bison's true power and why he is a threat to the world, as he destroyed a whole island with his Psycho Drive just to announce the start of the tournament and shows how powerful it is. The issue ends with a big WTF moment (spoilers ahead) as Bison tells his 3 henchman to supervise the qualifying matches that will be held in Japan, China and …... Metro city (home for the Final Fight Series) the last panel of the issue is great surprise but I will not spoil it for you, all I will say is that it marks the comic debut of a Street Fighter Alpha character.

The story was really enjoyable and really sets the mood for the starting of the tournament. It was definitely better that last issue which was a re-introduction of the main characters. Still, nothing majored has happened during the issue. As For the back-up story it is also well written but way too short, it was more of an appetizer for the upcoming Street Fighter IV comic series.

The Art: It is not unknown that I am not a big fan of Chamba's style of drawing the street Fighter world. And if you read my review of the first issue, you will notice that it was the main drawback of Issue#1. If you happen to share the same opinion then I have a good news for you as I was very surprised when I read through the second issue, Chamba's style has greatly improved, it is still not perfect but way better that issue 1, the lack of inking problem has been resolved, the backgrounds are not as empty as they were in the first issue, and character's faces are now better (for the most part) I do hate though the way he draws chun-li, she looks too manly for our sexy big thighs lady and I hope that this will change with future issues.

Chamba's style big Plus are the action scenes and he does deliver in this issue with an amazing looking fight between Evil Ryu and Ken where we see the Shoryu Reppa (ken's super) for the first time in the Comic.

The back-up story was illustrated by Joe Ng (another new comer to the street fighter world). Joe Ng Style is so close to Alvin lee's and Arnold Tsang's style that if no one had told me it was Joe who drew the comic I would have thought that Alvin lee is back to finish what he started. Joe's Style has the anime/Manga feel we have gotten used to from the previous Street Fighter Comic series made by udon and would have suited best for the Street Fighter 2 Turbo Series.

Closing Comments: The Second Issue of Street Fighter 2 Turbo is with no doubt a page turner. With good writing from ken sui Chong, and more than decent art By Chamba cruz as well as the welcome addition of the Street Fighter IV back-up stories illustrated by Joe Ng, Issue #2 is definitely better that #1 and is, indeed, A MUST buy for any Street Fighter fan.

Final Score: 8.5/10    

Street Fighter Blog reviews Street Fighter II Turbo #1 Comic

After almost a year and a half of absence from the comic stores shelves,  the Street Fighter comics made by Udon are now finally back!

Udon has started publishing Street Fighter II Turbo series which is the direct continuation of their main street fighter storyline that has left off when the various street fighters around the world received an invitation from Bison to participate in the second street fighter world tournament.

It is also worth mentioning that Street Fighter Turbo #1 is the first issue fully drawn by new comic artist Chamba Cruz. How does his art holds up against veterans like Alvin lee and Arnold Tsang? Keep reading to find out

The Story: The Story for Issue 1 is more or less a re-introduction of the main cast of the series, we see Ryu fighting various people during some kind of street fights, Chun-li getting ready to to enter the street fighter tournament as she sees is the only way to get closer to Bison. We see Guile exploring military options to destroy bison, and then finally Ken who is training while worrying about his pregnant wife Eliza we also witness the four heavenly kings (bison and his 3 henchmen) reunite for the first time after quite some time. 

While the story in Issue 1 does not really move the story forward it does help to set the mood for things to come. Ken Sui Chong, writer of the street fighter comic series since its debut, makes you feel right at home with the smart way of re-introducing the characters without using flashbacks of things that happened in the previous issues of the series. So many writers have tried interpreting the street fighter story into a book and only few of them have succeeded and Ken sui chong is really in top of the list with Masahiko Nakahira (writer of the street fighter alpha and Ryu final Mangas)

The Art: As i previously Mentioned, This is the first issue fully drawn by Chamba Cruz. Chamba's art style is quite different from his predecessors and is, unfortunately, the only drawback i found in the issue. If you prefer the anime style Alving Lee and Arnold tsang used for the previous issues i am afraid you will be disappointed. Chamba's style is a more of an artistic style, the panels looks more like oil paintings than comic book drawings.

While the action scenes are wonderfully drawn, the characters themselves do not look quite appealing, there is a lack of inking that i couldn't help but notice. The backgrounds of the panels were the biggest problem as they were most of the time consisting of couple colors and really empty. I would not say that the art is horrible, not at all it is actually good, but in my opinion does not live up to Alvin lee and Arnold Tsang's art style. Good news is his drawings seems to be improving as we will see with issue#2

Closing Comment: The Street Fighter Comics are back and i cannot be happier, even if Chamba's drawings are not as good as what we got used to from Udon the the Street Fighter 2 Turbo series does look very promising and this issue is a must have for any Street Fighter Fan.

Street Fighter Blog Score: 7.5/10

look for issue#2 review that will go live tomorrow.