Street Fighter II #4

By Hervé St.Louis

Street Fighter II #4
Udon Comics
Writer: Ken Siu-Chong
Pencils: Alvin Lee, Rey
Inks: M3TH, Rey
Cover: Sven

Master Gen tells Ryu about his past confrontation with Akuma and wants to train him so he can be prepared to face the martial arts’ villain. But Ryu is stubborn and doesn’t accept Gen’s teachings. Can Ryu still overcome Akuma without surrendering to his darker emotions and powers?

I don’t know what all those writers have been drinking recently with all their padded stories that go nowhere and introduce infinitely small details over the course of one issue. Granted Street Fighter is all about looking at cool fights and not fussing over the plot. I mean. It’s a lot like watching a porno film and hoping for a story. Well, there is a story and it doesn’t matter. It’s just a setup for a fight with master Gen and Akuma.

The artwork has the brilliance of a Japanese animated film with the foggy filters, blurred backgrounds and contrasted colours. It works for me. However, artist Alvin Lee is not the best martial art storyteller in the world. The choreography doesn’t look good as they borrow too much angles and shots from cinema and not enough from comics. It doesn’t make the best of the comic book format and makes us think we're reading anime cels taken from an animated series instead of a comic book.

6/10