Master of Kung Fu #28

Shang-Chi faces one of his most visually striking challenges in this May 1975 issue, as the cover — penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Frank Giacoia — erupts with a mid-air clash between the red-and-yellow-clad Master of Kung Fu and the hulking, golden-skinned Shadow-Stalker, chains flying as plate glass shatters around them in what appears to be a crowded arcade. The cover copy bills it as "the Son of Fu Manchu vs. the steel-smashing Shadow-Stalker" and promises "Death of a Spirit!" — a fittingly dramatic frame for the interior story, "A Small Spirit Slowly Shaped...," crafted by writer Doug Moench and a talented artistic team. It's a wonderfully kinetic snapshot of Marvel's martial-arts series at full throttle in the mid-1970s.