I bet not a single person planned to see this when they woke up this morning. Even in Japan.
Shogun Warriors #11
Marvel (December, 1979)
“The Hand Of Fate” WRITER: Doug Moench PENCILER: Herb Trimpe INKER: Jack Abel COLORIST: Carl Gafford LETTERER: John Costanza EDITOR: Allen Milgrom
Genji, in Combatra V, battles a giant hand whose fingers are monsters that can split from the hand. Genji uses some strategy (and the fact that her robot splits into five vehicle, the other four controlled by AI robots) to defeat the monster but it escapes before she can deal the final strike. Meanwhile, Illongo tries to piece together why a monster attacked him while Richard and Deena are wondering about the strange man who tried to attack them. With Genji accused of being a traitor and no foreseeable way to prove herself she decides to leave in Combatra to stay with her friend in America (I only own two issues but I’m assuming Richard), also thinking about her relationship with Kosei. And the Followers Of The Light track a mysterious meteor heading for Earth.
What they got right: A monster that is a giant hand whose fingers split into little monsters. Between this and Godzilla I can see why Moench is called upon to do the Japanese licensed comics. (It’s disappointing that this is the same guy who wrote JLA: Act Of God.) Trimpe, Abel, and Gafford did a good job bringing him to life.
What they got wrong: All I have is why Combatra needs to have only one human pilot? To keep the cast list down?
Recommendation: Giant hand monster whose fingers become smaller monsters. I have to tell you to get this? Really?
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