“I didn't come looking for love.
I didn't come to pick a fight.
I come here every night to work.
And you can grab an ax, man.
Or you can step aside.”
“Fighting Fish”. Dessa
Kung Fu is like a religious experience for me. It’s something sacred, transformative, and enriching. It changed my outlook on life and how I deal with adversity. It has a very special place in my heart to this day.
I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I could become a Kung Fu Instructor. But whatever belief I lacked in myself, I had the utmost faith in my Masters’ teachings. So when they encouraged me to teach Kung Fu, I did so, and have continued passing on the art to my own students for the last 20 years.
These days, I’m referred to as Sifu by the small circle of Kung Fu masters with whom I’m acquainted. But in decades prior I had several other noms de guerre including Geek, Nerd, and Fanboy. I am proud to be associated with those illustrious titles which are well earned from decades as a rabid consumer and creator of animation, comic books, and video games.
At the tender age of 15, I entered the comic book industry by way of the now defunct publisher, Malibu Comics. Throughout my high school years, I worked my way up from intern to editorial assistant, and eventually to the role of colorist at Malibu during the heyday of the 1990’s comic book speculator boom. Then I went off to art college while simultaneously working as a concept artist for various Sony Playstation games and studying Kung Fu in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In the years that followed, I continued my art career with further work in animation, video games, and film.
But I left that path behind as the calling of Kung Fu was far too strong. I articulated this to my parents when I decided to leave my commercially viable art career to open my own Kung Fu school during a global economic downturn by explaining:
“You know those characters I would draw as a kid doing amazing things? Well I can do those things now in real life because of Kung Fu. I don’t have to draw and pretend anymore.”
As the wise sage of excelsior, Stan Lee once declared:
“Nuff said.”
Shadow of a Doubt, Ghost of a Chance
Two decades passed and while I was able to keep a traditional Kung Fu school open with the assistance of a full-time day job to support myself, I noticed a disturbing trend.
Kung Fu’s popularity was plummeting.
It wasn’t just me, but other Sifus I knew in the United States, abroad, and even in Hong Kong who shared the sentiment. Young people preferred other styles of Martial Arts which promised quick results, fame, and had a modern outlook as opposed to the traditional methods and philosophy that I had fallen in love with and dedicated my life.
I kept hoping for a Kung Fu resurgence in pop culture like a comic book, film, or animation that Sifus like myself could point to as a beacon of inspiration for prospective students. But it seemed like Hollywood and pop culture in general was happy to draw inspiration from Kung Fu’s movements but not from its philosophy and certainly not from its culture.
Both my Sifus never made me swear an oath to perpetuate Kung Fu, its values, and its philosophy. They never said it was my responsibility. They didn’t need to. I knew it as a fact. I knew it from the precious nature of each technique, sequence, and breathing pattern they taught me. Perhaps this inherent sense of duty and passion for Kung Fu was the precise reason why they urged me to teach in the first place.
Rapidly approaching middle age, I realized that I could no longer sit on the sidelines and wait for a Kung Fu resurgence in pop culture. I had to get up. I had to do something.
Our Story
I decided if no one else would do it, I would do it myself. I would tell our story.
You know the story I’m talking about right?
It’s the story of knees trembling from the pain of holding a horse stance. It’s the story of the sweet, syrupy, acrid smell of Dit Dar Jow (healing liniment 跌打酒) caked on our sore arms after long sessions of 3-star blocking with that one classmate who is too big and strong for us. It’s the story of our Sifu looking away in disappointment and the story of that same father figure smiling at us proudly after we accomplished an insurmountable task that he knew we could accomplish.
That’s the story I’m referring to.
It’s not unique to me. It’s not unique to you. But it is unique to US.
That’s the story that needed to be told.
From Martial Hall to Drawing Board
After much deliberation, I decided to make a Kung Fu comic book. Of all the forms of storytelling I had experience with, this was the one that could be done by an individual with a small budget while maintaining a high level of production value.
The first step was to develop the idea of the comic along with a title. After some time, I settled on the concept of a young man whose search for the truth behind a legendary hero, leads him to study Martial Arts in Chinatown with a reclusive Master. There, he would learn the true essence of Kung Fu and through a bit of luck and twist of fate, become part of the legend himself. I gave the story the title of Shadow Ghost and was on my way.
To the uninitiated, comic book creation can be confusing. However, with some knowledge of how it is put together, the picture becomes clearer. Comic Book creation has five components just as Daoism has the five elements of Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood. In the world of Graphic Novels, these five aspects are the script (story), pencils (initial drawings), inks (refined ink lines over the initial drawings), letters (the words, sound effects, and word balloons), and colors (shading and coloring). Oftentimes these are handled by five separate individuals who specialize in a specific task with the corresponding titles of writer, penciller, inker, letterer, and colorist.
My plan was that I would handle the duties of writing and penciling the series and assemble a team of creators for the inking, lettering, and coloring portions. With this in mind, the first step was to come up with the look and feel for the book before moving headlong into production as I had always been a fan of properties with unique and thoroughly developed worlds like those of J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and Wuxia (martial hero fiction 武俠) novelist/luminary, Jin Yong (查良鏞).
The challenge was that decades of focusing on the speed of my fists as a Kung Fu master came at the expense of my skill in drawing as an artist. So, I decided to use the opportunity of designing all the characters and settings of Shadow Ghost in full color illustrations to not only flesh out the expansive world, but to bring my art skills back to prominence. It took a lot of time, but with diligent effort, things came back to me. This resulted in a visual design to the series which is equal parts American comic book and Manga (Japanese Comic Book 漫画).
As things progressed, I reacquainted myself with comic book colleagues and moved forward with production while simultaneously serving as the Creative Director at Silverline Comics under my comic book mentor and former Malibu Comics boss, Roland Mann.
After several unsuccessful attempts to assemble a team of creators to take on the remaining aspects of assisting me in producing the book, I decided to go at it alone and take on every aspect of its creation. Additionally, I decided to self-publish the book without the backing or support of any publishing house. While initially very disappointing, this turned into a unique feature of the comic as every aspect of its creation would come directly from the hands of a Kung Fu master.
With Great Power, Comes Great Effort
As authenticity was of paramount importance in the depiction of Kung Fu in Shadow Ghost, considerable effort was made in its creation. Fight scenes are carefully choreographed in sequence much like a Hong Kong action film and not the montage-like fight scenes so commonplace in mainstream comics. As a result, the sophistication of Kung Fu’s pugilism is showcased alongside its refined strategies while simultaneously depicting each character’s unique personality by not just what they say, but how they fight.
Kung Fu’s cultural aspects are rarely covered in Martial Art comic books. However, in Shadow Ghost, traditions like Wu De (Martial Ethics 吴德) and the Jin Pen Xi Shou (Washing Hands in Golden Basin 金盆洗手) ceremony are depicted accordingly.
Arguably the most important thing depicted in the series is that martial prowess takes time and hard work. This contradicts the common fantasy of comic books which often depict that by proxy of a radioactive spider bite, a mutant gene, or extraterrestrial birthright, a hero is immediately imbued with superpowers. If misinterpreted, this part of the common narrative in and of itself can be problematic for youth who aspire to be like the heroes they read about in print.
In Shadow Ghost, just like in real life Kung Fu, we earn our superpowers and it’s hard. Real hard. The main character begins his journey with the painful strain of stance training and graduates to forms and sparring, and eventually, to the iconic weaponry of the grand tradition. This will hopefully serve to inspire rather than dissuade aspiring Kung Fu students to push through these arduous phases of training rather than giving up before their goals are achieved.
A very conscientious decision is that while all the Kung Fu techniques in Shadow Ghost are based on my real-life Kung Fu knowledge, the various fictionalized styles the characters practice are not named after any real-world styles or even the specific styles with which I am associated. The goal here is that all Kung Fu styles will be promoted in this fashion and not one style in particular. In this way, a rising tide truly does lift all boats.
The first issue of Shadow Ghost is currently on course for funding via the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform for a limited time and all interested parties are encouraged to take a look and back the project.
Legends inspire people in the real world to do amazing things. And with the strength and support of those who have followed the path of Kung Fu over the years, a new generation will be inspired to look forward to their own bright future as the Kung Fu masters of tomorrow, far beyond the temporary pains and aches of a resolute horse stance in the here and now.
SUPPORT THE SHADOW GHOST KICKSTARTER HERE
