Recommendable – July Prompt: Hee-ya!
Posted by: Sirui Huang on July 7, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Is that the correct spelling? Hee-ya? Hi-ya? Apparently all my schooling has not properly prepared me for this challenge of writing out kung-fu sound effects.
This month, in honor of the first Asian American ComiCon, I will be looking to you guys for martial art titles. Kung Fu, Karate (which apparently isn’t.. kung fu..), Capoeira, Boxing, the works. I am completely digging the Brubaker/Fraction run on Immortal Iron Fist, and am looking for more books with karate chop action and training montages. Maybe hadokens. Hadokens build character.
Now, as I am writing this, I am slowly realizing that many hero/action titles involve some kind of martial art– Batman, for one, is all up in arms with chopping action– making it ambiguous what qualifies as “martial arts”. So that will be part of your task: Explain how your pick presents “codified practices and traditions of combat” (ah, wikipedia) in an especially engaging manner. Maybe the writing really gets the culture of the specific combat style. Maybe the art makes for killer fight sequences. Think outside of the box– if you can make an argument about combat chess, please do.
July’s contest will have longer lead-in time, that’s more time for you to think and more time for me to read. Chime in by July 20th for the chance to win a $20 Midtown Gift Card—we take recommendations by email (sirui@popcultureshock.com) or posting. (Psst, we like it when you post, ’cause then everyone gets to respond.) I’ll be posting reviews as I read, and announcing a winner August 1st.
Round Two, fight!
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Recommendable is the comic blog where the readers choose the readings. Send in your two cents to our aspiring comic reporter and win some goodies. Special thanks to Midtown Comics for providing us with books and prizes.
5 Responses to "Recommendable – July Prompt: Hee-ya!"
1 | Shadowswimmer77
According to Urban Dictionary (.com) both hee-ya and hi-ya are exclamations commonly associated with martial arts. So there.
2 | Blammo2099
“A man might as well be a dead leaf, floating in the autumn breeze.”
One of the greatest books I have ever read is Musashi, a semi(mostly) fictional biography of the life of Miyamoto Musashi by Eji Yoshikowa.
So when I stubbled upon “Vagabond” Takehiko Inoue’s Manga based on the book, I was so excited that I launched into a giant rant about how amazing the book was to an obviously disinterested shopkeeper who responded coldly.. “I don’t like Manga.”
Vagabond follows Musashi as he grows from a troubled and violent youth, to the most famous Samurai of all time.
a secondary recommendation…
Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura
A story of revenge, redemption and friendship. Blade of the Immortal’s main “hero” is Manji, a Samurai who has been cursed with immortality.
To earn his respite into death he must kill 1000 evil men.
Maybe you were looking for a little more punching and kicking and a little less Samurai sword slashing action….. But it’s a martial art and, I think, a great way honor the first Asian America Comicon.
3 | alwayslurking
Infinite Kung Fu, by Kagan Mcleod, as seen here: http://www.infinitekungfu.com/ http://www.kaganmcleod.com/comics_infinite.html
Apparently being collected up by Top Shelf too: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=2&title=574
Created by someone who’s a **huge** fan of the kung fu, with an art style that really suits the material and crammed with enthusiastic, knowledgeable back-matter about films and actors I’ve never heard of. Like Criminal from a parallel world where Ed Brubaker prefers Sonny Chiba to Parker.
4 | chanzero
Vagabond is awesome, as is everything I’ve ever read by Takehiko Inoue.
Infinite Kung Fu, though — now you’re bringing it back! Kagan Mcleod (and IKF) were so good they got him doing work on one of favorite vid series, Kung Faux:
5 | chanzero
Brian Bendis just tweeted: “#bendisrecommends the elektra omnibus by frank miller and bill s. as groundbreaking as the day it was first published”. (Does this mean Bendis gets the gift card if Sirui picked it?)
Also I meant to say: Hee-ya and Hi-ya sound more like Kung Fu Cowboy… Maybe “Hai-ya!”?
