We’re about a half-dozen issues into Shang Chi’s existence, and his book so far has been pretty different from anything else Marvel had on the market in 1973. So Marvel decides to clarify that it does take place in the Marvel Universe by throwing in a Man-Thing appearance.
It’s fun! And the very next month, Shang Chi gets his own Giant-Size issue, with five standalone stories (some are reprints). Marvel is clearly investing in this character for the long haul.
Fu Manchu continues to send messages to Shang Chi that aren’t exactly cryptic.
And Shang Chi continues to battle against his father’s corrupt actions. The stories are gradually creating a complex set of family relationships and alliances. None of this ever crosses over into the main Marvel Universe, so I won’t go into a great deal of detail, but it’s definitely good stuff.
Also…
…The book continues to attempt to research and present concepts central to the development of Chinese culture. Of course it’s simplistic and relies on some big generalities, but who else was publishing a book starring nearly exclusively people of Asian descent?
Shang Chi’s adventures mostly involve stopping his dad from doing bad stuff like blowing up Mount Rushmore, preventing Fu Manchu from allying with Nazis hiding in South America, fighting corrupt British soldiers who seek to partner with Fu Manchu, etc.
Lots of detailed kung fu fighting, and very, very interesting art.,
Mazes!
Also, shark punching.
Issue #19 is written by Steve Englehart, #20 by Gerry Conway, and then Doug Moench comes aboard as full-time writer. The art is mostly by Paul Gulacy, and it’s magnificent. But there’s also a lot of fill-ins by the likes of Walt Simonson, John Buscema