Customer Reviews

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Vol. 1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Contrary to what most people seem to think, this comic is not based on the movie of the same name. The movie was based on the fourth in a series of five novels by Wang Du Lu. The comic begins with by adapting book three and, if I've heard correctly, will adapt all the way through book five.
Anyway, the comic itself is definitely a sight to behold. There is so much detail and the art is so fluid and the colors are so vivid it just demands a second read to take everything in. The story is very interesting, beginning with two thieves attempting to steal the Green Destiny (a sword with great power) which of course results in some truly beautiful fight sequences. The pacing is perfect. It never seems rushed or too slow. Once you sit down and start reading, you won't stop until it's finished. And that leads me to my only complaint: it's too short, especially for the price. Though it is a very entertaining read and the production values seem to be pretty high (it is in full color) the story itself is only about 80 pages long, and those 80 pages go by really fast. I finished it in only about 20 minutes, maybe less.
Overall, an excellent and entertaining graphic novel. I'm highy anticipating the next volume.

Beautiful.. Delicate work...

In what I hope is going to be a long run of books, Andy Seto takes Wang Du Lu's classic martial arts series "The Iron/Crane Pentalogy" and transfers them into some beautiful Chinese manga.

If you ever wondered what happened before and after the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" this will be the series to watch.

Up until now Wang Du Lu's books have never been translated into English. Seto does an excellent job with the translation and captures the look, romance and spirit of the film with his outstanding delicate art.

This is a MUST buy for anyone who loved Crouching Tiger and would like to know more about the characters and story.

Excellent read. Flawless art.

The translation was melodramatic at best. The cultural note stating that an ancient chinese coin was worth about $1.40 was painful. My question was: "Is that in Ancient American Dollars?"
The artwork was good, but could not compensate for the piss poor narration and atrocious dialogue. I did not find the action to be particularly imaginative.

This is a stunning example of Andy Soto's dedication to both his art and the material. The result is profound, inspiring and a delight to read.

Mr. Soto excels under the pressure from meeting the Author's wife to research the book. This dynamic approach to interpreting the material provides a fresh story. Soto's illustrations create an intricate level of character design and rendering.

This is only book one. I greatly anticipate book two, but worry that this isn't being marketed to the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon movie fans.

If you have friend who's a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fanatic, manga/comic book lover, this would be a great gag gift. Page after page of hilariously bad dialogue. Spitting out horrible line after horrible line. The drawing isn't the greatest either. the characters have huge foreheads and bodies sometimes out of proportion. If nothing else, the only redeeming quality about this horrible exploitation of a movie franchise, is the main male character proclaims something along the lines of: 'She is sixteen, She is Perfect!'