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Graphic Literature

From “King-Ma Has Come”

By Wei Tsung-cheng
Translated from Chinese by Nancy Tsai
King-Ma Has Come (Ma Huang Jiang Lin) is a product of the hugely popular kuso culture in Asia. Also known as egao in Mandarin Chinese, the genre is known for its campy humor and outrageous parodies of the politically correct media portrayal of reality. King-Ma, Wei Tsung-cheng’s kuso martial arts take on political culture in Taiwan, pokes fun at everyone from Taiwan’s current and former presidents, Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Shui-bian, to the reigning figures of modern Chinese history, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, neither of whom, if alive, would have ever allowed the publication of such a title. In regards to this latter fact, not only is King-Ma a satirical piece on the absurdity of celebrity politics, it is also a testimony to how far the “Republic of China” has gone from censorship to freedom, where the artist is free to ridicule the powerful, via hyperbolic kung-fu graphics et al., and the reader is free to enjoy whatever entertainment value, political or not, such mockery offers. Panels should be read from right to left, top to bottom.
Current Date : March , AD 2008 .

Ilha Formosa . The beautiful is land discovered by the Portuguese is now but a sight of wrack and ruin , a living hell on earth .

Argh !

A dark force leaps forward . His iron fists slash through the wind , creating a blast equivalent to 50,000 tons of TNT !
Celestial Tower 101 , the spiritual symbol of the endeavors and hopes of the people of Taiwan , crashes to the ground , powerless against the blast . This was the work of one man , of one damned pair of fists . Ah , the terror !
Franc Hsieh: Behold my green flames of fury ! All flesh will be reduced to specks of poop , I say ! SPECKS OF POOP ! HA HA HA !

Just then , his strong man instincts told him something was wrong ...


Dark Force: Huh ?

....the enemy had not yet been vanquished . Involuntarily , one cold bead of sweat rolled down his forehead . ...
Who was this person ? What powers did he possess ? How could he withstand such a blow , so unequivocal in power and force ?

(?): Elder brother , is that all you've got ?
Mow Zedong aka Merciless Mow

Chiang Kai - shrek aka Chainsaw Chiang


China , 1950. The battle between the two heirs of the School of Infernal Fire and the School of the Impenetrable Palm drew to a bloody end . Though the Palm was mighty , the Fire proved mightier : Merciless Mow emerged as the ultimate winner , forcing Chainsaw Chiang to retreat to a puny island in the eastern seas . The island was Taiwan . And now our story begins ...
Hong Kong , Pearl of the Orient .

It was here that a great man was born . At the moment of his birth the Qi of the Dragon emanated from within . All creatures bowed to his majestic aura and all was harmonious around him .

Several months later , a thief sneaked into the family's home looking for valuables .

But once in side , an over whelming force closed in on him . Curious , he searched for its source .

His family named him King-Ma . Soon after his birth they moved to Taipei .
A red dragon covered in scarlet scales emerged before his eyes . Wild - eyed and menacing , the 10 - foot - long beast was ready to pounce on its prey .

And thus to this day , the death of the thief remains a mystery .

With that , he plunged to the ground and died .

Awestruck , the thief gouged out his eyes in reverence . As he jumped out the window , he shouted :

Thief: Your Majesty , not even death can atone for the offense I have committed against you !
Several years went by and King - Ma , true heir to the Dragon Throne , grew up and went to school .

Sports like running and swimming came just as easily . He was never short of trophies .

King - Ma was a model student from day one , placing first on every exam in school .

They agreed to beat him up after school . But just then ...

But the students he reported on were not the least bit remorseful . Instead they were extremely resentful .

As he was also a righteous boy , he would leave no bad deed unreported .

King - Ma: Teacher, he was speaking Taiwanese in class behind your back !

Kid: Fuck you .
A man suddenly lunged forth and crushed the skulls of the two children . They were left brain dead for life .

For fear of upsetting His Majesty , he decided to kill himself .

It was not his wish to harm the innocent children . But offending His Majesty was a crime of unpardonable proportions.

Two streams of tears trick led down the man's cheeks . But his sense of duty overcame his guilt .
After several rounds of fierce battle , he succeeded in getting into the best high school of the day : Jian Guo High School .

This incident had no effect on King-Ma whatsoever . Several years later , he participated in the joint entrance exams for the strong and powerful.

Chunghwa Electronics Bazaar was the commercial center of all imaginable high - tech electronic products in the universe . Another scion of a great family was also there searching for his purpose in life .

So he glanced up and saw ...

It was Chiang Ching - quo . But just then he felt an overwhelming force close in on him .

Man: Here ... here you go .

Chiang Ching-quo: Can you give me this comic book of Silang and Zhanping ? My grandson would like to read it .
... a red dragon charging towards him amid a storm of fire and dust . He took a step back . This force , this power , was like nothing he had ever seen .

He looked past the dragon and all he could see was an un usually bright high school student .

He had only one thought : I must report this to Father immediately .

Shilin Residence . Home of the defeated Chiang on the island of Taiwan .

Father: Ching-quo , my son , is this true ?

Ching-quo: It is , Father .
Kai - shrek: It seems that the future of my children and grandchildren will only be to wait on this boy hand and foot .
This is also the first time I've heard of the Dragon . It has been a hundred years now. Could this boy be the one true heir to the Dragon Throne ?


Kai - shrek lowered his head in pain . The Chiang family will be no more , he thought .

{Tap !}

{Tap !!}

But it was also during this time that he encountered his most powerful rival .

Time flies and waits for no one . King - Ma grew into a dashing young man and entered the number one university in Taiwan .
King Bian: Hey you , from that other class . Word is you carry the Qi of the Dragon . Don't get too full of yourself , you know . Because you're not the only one . I have it , too And the world can only have one King : ME .

King-Ma: Really?

King Bian: You asked for it . Now have a taste of the dark side of the Dragon .

King-Ma: Enough talking . Let's see what you've got right here , right now .
The clash of two powers can only mean one thing : War .

Was he not afraid of being killed by the lethal winds of war the two kings had summoned ?

But suddenly a figure emerged between the two and forced them apart .
King Bian: Professor !

King-Ma: Professor !

Professor: I was passing by and saw you two ignorant boys trying to engage in a fight . Life is short . Do you want to spend it fighting for nothing ?

Professor: Is the Qi of the Dragon to be wasted like this ? Can you do nothing more worthy ?
Professor: What if you really did fight and I found out and I flunked you ? The road to kinghood would be forever denied to you . Have you thought about that ?

Professor: And there are but a handful of us who command the Qi of Kings . And you want to squander it on a petty fight !

Professor: We humans are but tiny sperm swimming in the vastness of this universe . Think

Professor: So you should listen to the advice of your professor .
Professor: Shake hands and make peace . Go back to class now . It is not yet time for battle .

As their professor he did have the power and status to stop them from battle .

Though their hands were locked in a handshake , their minds were not at peace .
The time had not yet arrived ...

Thus ended their first encounter . But it would not be the last . Their destinies would clash again and again ...

King-Ma Has Come (Ma Huang Jiang Lin) is a product of the hugely popular kuso culture in Asia. Also known as egao in Mandarin Chinese, the genre is known for its campy humor and outrageous parodies of the politically correct media portrayal of reality. King-Ma, Wei Tsung-cheng’s kuso martial arts take on political culture in Taiwan, pokes fun at everyone from Taiwan’s current and former presidents, Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Shui-bian, to the reigning figures of modern Chinese history, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, neither of whom, if alive, would have ever allowed the publication of such a title. In regards to this latter fact, not only is King-Ma a satirical piece on the absurdity of celebrity politics, it is also a testimony to how far the “Republic of China” has gone from censorship to freedom, where the artist is free to ridicule the powerful, via hyperbolic kung-fu graphics et al., and the reader is free to enjoy whatever entertainment value, political or not, such mockery offers. Panels should be read from right to left, top to bottom.

English

King-Ma Has Come (Ma Huang Jiang Lin) is a product of the hugely popular kuso culture in Asia. Also known as egao in Mandarin Chinese, the genre is known for its campy humor and outrageous parodies of the politically correct media portrayal of reality. King-Ma, Wei Tsung-cheng’s kuso martial arts take on political culture in Taiwan, pokes fun at everyone from Taiwan’s current and former presidents, Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Shui-bian, to the reigning figures of modern Chinese history, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, neither of whom, if alive, would have ever allowed the publication of such a title. In regards to this latter fact, not only is King-Ma a satirical piece on the absurdity of celebrity politics, it is also a testimony to how far the “Republic of China” has gone from censorship to freedom, where the artist is free to ridicule the powerful, via hyperbolic kung-fu graphics et al., and the reader is free to enjoy whatever entertainment value, political or not, such mockery offers. Panels should be read from right to left, top to bottom.

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