Kagan
McLeod deserves a standing ovation. Why you ask? No, he's
not the guy who discovered the polio vaccine. He's NOT one
of the many Hollywood suitors who have laid claim to conquering
Winona Ryder's virtue. (Well, at least at press time he wasn't.)
And, he's not the brainiac who came up with the mathematical
BCS system that currently determines college football's national
champion. Well, for starters he's Canadian. And if that's
not enough to get ya clapping, he deserves your applause because
not only is he an excellent artist who's style will remind
you of the paintings J.J. from "Good Times" used draw. But,
he also writes, plots & self-publishes one of the better independent
comic's out today: Infinite Kung-Fu.
The story
takes place in a (cliche) not too distant future, where the
Earth has been ravaged and overrun by technology. Man has
abandoned all-forms of technology and now lives by more simplistic
means and the age old creed, "Only the strong survive." The
hero/main character (Yang Lei-Kung) is an AWOL soldier who,
while fending off some scavenging raiders, accidentally kills
a meditating hermit by the name of Li-Chuan. Unbeknownst to
Lei-Kung, Li-Chuan just happens to be a mystic martial arts
master of the highest order. Struck with the guilt of killing
an innocent bystander, Lei-Kung makes a deal with the ghost
of Li-Chuan. He becomes his student and is sent on a mission
to find one of the Eight Immortals, who can help restore Li-Chuan's
physical form.
Infinite
Kung-Fu offers the key storytelling elements of suspense,
intrigue, colorful side characters and climax. There's a secret
city that hasn't been effected by the outside technologically
depraved world. His two closest allies, the Parliament Funkadelic-inspired
Moog Joogular and the pistol-packing hot mama Thursday Thoroughgood,
assist him on his action-filled journey. Lei Kung's primary
nemesis comes in the form of an evil martial arts general
who commands a legion of highly-trained soldiers. He also
keeps his hands full with the at-large populace, which happens
to be composed of the living dead. And if ya know anything
about zombies, they're hard to get rid off and can be as irritating
as cockroaches.
Infinite
Kung-Fu is like classic kung-fu theater meets "Return
Of The Living Dead," minus the bad overdub! Lei Kung's mission
is to find one of the Great Immortals, but along the way he
learns lessons of humility and honor. It's a definite good
read.
|
