The Four Constables Volume 1 - Softcover

Tony Wong; Andy Seto; Shawn Sanders; Kevin P. Croall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1588993833 ISBN 13: 9781588993830

Publisher: ComicsOne, 2005

Synopsis

Four of China's supremely skilled assassin/detectives serve only their Master Zhuge Zhen-Wo - The Little Flower, who in turn is head bodyguard and advisor for China's all powerful Emperor. Yet the Constables' reputation strongly precedes them. Wu Chen - The Emotionless cripple is a master of weapons and devices. Tie Sho - The Iron Hand possesses incredible chi and can stop the sharpest blades bare-handed. Zhue-Min - The Life Snatcher is highly skilled in lightfoot granting him undaunted legwork. Lastly Len Hsueh - The Cold Blooded was raised by wolves and since learned to transfer his pain when fighting to strength enabling him to defeat opponents much stronger than himself. Each of them is entrusted by the Emperor with the power to arrest and execute any corrupt officials or lawless criminals with the Chinese Empire. These Imperial Constables act as protectors. With their venerable skill they root out potential usurpers and discern the cause of many strange occurrences happening during Sung Dynasty! In ancient China the game is afoot!

About this title

About the Author

About the Author: Although of Chinese descent Wen Rui-An was born in Malaysia. He published his first literary piece when he was only 9 years old and organized his own literary group when he was barely twenty. He had completed more than 200 fiction and nonfiction literary pieces before he was 30. His 49 martial arts series have been published under Wang-Sheng Pub. The novels mainly deal with the final years of the Northern Sung Dynasty (ca. 1100 A.D.) under Emperor Huei.

Reviews

Featuring the incredible painted artwork customary in Hong Kong martial arts comics but also containing a more comprehensible story line than most, this comic may be attractive for people who've enjoyed movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and would like to see more uncannily graceful combat. The four heroes are a team of elite government secret agents. Each has a license to kill in his own distinctive way, one of the few things that makes it possible to tell them apart. Life Snatcher (who has brown hair) relies on leg kicks and fancy footwork. Iron Hands (purple hair) specializes in hand-to-hand mayhem. Cold Blooded (green hair) is a master swordsman; and Emotionless (purple hair) is confined to a wheelchair but has an array of hidden weapons. In this volume, they begin tracking down a gang of masked martial arts masters who may be the tool of corrupt officials. The plot is less significant than the stunning artwork that holds it together. Nothing sits still on any of these pages; everything is fluid, toppling or soaring and swirling in motion. Comics readers are used to seeing lines trailing behind an object to indicate motion, but here a swinging sword leaves arcs of radiant gold as it cuts through the air. As the characters leap impossibly high above buildings to wallop each other, readers may be struck by the absurdity of what they're watching. Then again, they may be too dazzled to worry about it.
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Edition details

• Publisher: ComicsOne
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1588993833
• ISBN 13: 9781588993830
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128