Master of Kung Fu #48
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMaster of Kung Fu #48 marks the first full appearance of Shaka Kharn — an ancient Chinese warrior and ancestor of Shang-Chi resurrected by Fu Manchu to replace his own son — a concept that deepened the series' mythology by tethering Shang-Chi's lineage to a figure of almost supernatural martial legend. The issue arrives at the climax of the sprawling 'Death-Day of the Golden Dagger!' arc, representing the creative peak of Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy's Bronze Age collaboration, a run that Comics Bulletin later ranked sixth on its 'Top 10 1970s Marvels' list and that comics historian Les Daniels credited with bringing the series 'new life.' The Moench–Gulacy arc encompassing issues #48–51 won the 1977 Eagle Award for Favourite Continued Comic Story, making this issue the opening chapter of a formally recognized landmark in Bronze Age storytelling. Its cinematic page layouts — particularly a celebrated double-page spread on pages 2–3 — exemplify the film-influenced visual grammar that made the series a touchstone for later writers and artists.
In "Part IV (Black Jack Tarr) City in the Top of the World," Black Jack Tarr infiltrates Fu Manchu’s high-tech fortress, where he discovers an uneasy alliance between Larner and Fah Lo Suee—both working against Fu’s apocalyptic scheme. As Tarr joins forces with Chi, Leiko, and Reston inside the mountain stronghold, Shang-Chi battles through a relentless horde of minions before facing the shocking return of Shaka Kharn. Written by Doug Moench and illustrated with dynamic precision by Paul Gulacy, with inks by Abel and Marcos, colors by Janice Cohen, and lettering by Gaspar Saladino, Denise Wohl, and Irving Watanabe, this 1977 Marvel classic features a cover by Marie Severin and Dave Cockrum.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By late 1976, Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy were in the final stretch of their collaborative tenure on the title, which had run together from 1974 through issue #50. Editor Archie Goodwin oversaw this period, and the issue was released in October 1976 (cover-dated January 1977) as the fifth chapter of the eight-part 'Death-Day of the Golden Dagger!' storyline. Gulacy's visual approach — consciously drawing on cinematic framing techniques, reportedly influenced by his admiration of Jim Steranko's work — gave the arc a scope and sophistication unusual for a Bronze Age genre title, and the pair's imminent departure lent the closing issues an almost valedictory intensity.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First full appearance of Shaka Kharn (in the final panel), an ancient legendary warrior of China and purported ancestor of Shang-Chi whom Fu Manchu resurrected using biological and alchemical means, including the Elixir Vitae.
- Written by Doug Moench, penciled by Paul Gulacy, inked by Pablo Marcos and Jack Abel, colored by Janice Cohen, lettered by Gaspar Saladino and Denise Wohl, and edited by Archie Goodwin.
- Cover credited to Marie Severin, Dave Cockrum, Frank Giacoia, and Dan Crespi; released October 12, 1976, with a January 1977 cover date.
- Fifth chapter (of eight) of the 'Death-Day of the Golden Dagger!' story arc (issues #40–51), in which Fu Manchu — operating from an Arctic mountain fortress — schemes to knock the moon from its orbit and rule the survivors of the resulting global catastrophe.
- Black Jack Tarr serves as the narrator for this issue, dispatched by Denis Nayland Smith to locate and support the MI6 agents as Shang-Chi closes in on his father.
- The Moench–Gulacy arc anchored by this issue (#48–51) won the 1977 Eagle Award for Favourite Continued Comic Story, one of the earliest major fan-voted honors for a Marvel Bronze Age title.
- Shaka Kharn's skull and scattered remains had already appeared in issues #46–47, but #48 contains his first appearance as a living, restored figure confronting Shang-Chi.
- Collected in the Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Omnibus Vol. 2 (collecting issues #38–70 and Annual #1) and in the Epic Collection: Fight Without Pity (issues #29–53 and Annual #1).
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Reprints
↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #12 (1977)
Reprinted in Eclipso #77 (1981), Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Omnibus #2 (2016), Master of Kung Fu Epic Collection #2 (2019), Μάστερ Κούνγκ Φου [Master of Kung Fu] #35, Shang-Chi Maestro del Kung Fu #38
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