July 2oth marks the thirty-sixth anniversary of the death of Bruce Lee. In his honor, I will be doing a short series of posts to commemorate the legendary martial artist and cinematic icon.
The first entry involves one of my favorite superhero storylines of all time, a breezy, fun tale that posed the question, “What if Bruce Lee was still alive…and hanging out with Elvis?”
In the mid-1990s, the comic book industry was undergoing a serious creative downturn. The industry was still choking under the glut of poor Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld clones that had entered the business in the early 1990s, and draftsmanship and storytelling were suffering under the occupational forces of this clone army. One of the few bright spots was an artist named Rodolfo Damaggio. Damaggio was sorely underappreciated at the time, partly because he happened to inherit the art chores of DC’s Green Arrow at the exact time the company chose to replace Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow with his previously unseen son, Connor Hawke. Fans were so incensed/befuddled by the decision, that they overlooked the brilliant art Damaggio was generating and the clever storylines that writer Chuck Dixon was producing. Remember, this was at a time when comic book deaths were a little more permanent than they are now, so fans didn’t care how well the book was drawn or how well it was written, they just wanted the original Green Arrow back. However, I was immediately enamored with Damaggio’s brilliant staging; his natural, distinct characters, masterful anatomy, and the sense of place and realism he brought to each page, so I didn’t care if Oliver Queen ever came back, as long as they kept Rodolpho Damaggio around.
My favorite storyline from their run was a two-parter that ran from Green Arrow #106 and #107. The story built on an overarching plot that involved Connor’s ongoing efforts to raise enough money to save the Buddhist monastery where he spent his formative years from the clutches of a greedy theme park developer. After winning a toughman competition in Las Vegas, Connor is hired as the bodyguard of The Grand Rahfi Ali Ben Khadir, the 12 year-old heredity leader of “a tiny suzerainty in the peaks of the Hindu Kush.” Ali readily admits that he must one day assume the full mantle of leadership among his people, but until then, he just wants to have a good time.
Connor saves the Rahfi from the clutches of terrorists sent by Arghulian, a mullah from his native land who is attempting to usurp the Rahfi’s throne from the hands of its pre-pubescent heir. After their escape, Ali introduces Connor to his other two bodyguards whom he had given the night off; two “bonecrushers” who bear an uncanny resemblance to Bruce Lee and Elvis Presley! (Although Dixon never uses their names…c’mon! I mean, C’MON!)
It is implied that Lee and Presley faked their deaths to find peace and spiritual renewal under the tutelage of the boy’s late father, the original Rahfi. They serve their debt by acting as the Race Bannons to Ali’s Jonny Quest. Dixon crafted a remarkably simple and pleasurable high concept storyline that begs to be explored further. (I’d love to see the further adventures of Bruce Lee and Elvis Presley as bodyguards for hire, traveling the world and kicking ass under the watchful eye of an unseen handler who is eventually revealed to be Tupac Shakur. Since I don’t think that’s likely to happen, the closest you’ll probably ever come to that sort of action is this.)
In the climax of Dixon’s story, Arghulian sends back-up to the surviving terrorists in the form of Seljuk, a madman whom even the other terrorists fear. The final throwdown between Bruce Lee, Elvis, Green Arrow, and the katar-wielding terrorist is a thing of beauty, with Seljuk handing out bladed backfists like Skittles.
You can probably find these two issues in the back issue bin of your local comic shop for a pretty low price. I’d highly recommend the whole post-death of Oliver Queen cycle for Damaggio’s gorgeous art, and some nice straightforward action stories by Chuck Dixon.
Happy Friday!
- JEP
