Ang Lee's film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a delight for American audiences not used to seeing martial arts handled as a serious manner in a big budget film. His visual style was flamboyant without overshadowing the story. Comics One is an company that is specializing in translating comics from Hong Kong for American audiences. Their books are thick in size like Japanese manga but are usually in lavish color, which American readers are more used to. One of the prettiest projects that they have released thus far is also the one with the most general appeal; a continuing comic version of the characters from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
After an introduction, the first volumes story is split into two even sections. The first deals with Yu Shu Lien as she protects her father from bandits. She is drawn beautifully, with lavish attention paid to her hair and clothing. Although there is little attention given to her character, it is revealed that she is highly skilled in Kung Fu. The second section deals with Li Mu Bai, who is told of a beautiful young woman (she is 16) in the Deer Country that is available for marriage to anyone who can defeat her in friendly battle. This, of course, turns out to be Yu Shu Lien. After meeting her, Li Mu Bai learns that she is actually betrothed to the Head Guard Mong. This sets up the deep mutual attraction that can never be acted upon wihich was played so beautifully in the movie.
The book lists artist Andy Soto as the author, crediting original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon author, Wang Du Lu with the story. The book is beautifully rendered. Every page seems to have been given a tremendous amount of care, with the colors perfectly complimenting the line work. The faces are expressive, although their regal bearing makes them occasionally seem somewhat detatched. Many of the characters, especially Yu Shu Lien, look far too Anglo Saxon in appearance which is a little surprising, but understandable for a work with such international appeal. Sadly, while the visual aspect of the book is virtually flawless, the same cannot be said for the story. Perhaps much is lost in translating the work, but the dialog is mostly of the painfully simple type. It bears none of the grace in language that the movie showed. Mostly the characters make obvious statements in the most simple manner possible. The additional captions are also of the painfully obvious variety, merely stating what can be clearly seen in the panel. Example: On page 44 Yu Shu Lien battles the bandits who attacked her father. The captions read: "After snatching the weapon from one raider, she skillfully attacks the other with all three swords." If you cannot see this in the panel, you have no business reading this comic. The page ends with the caption, "Building up speed, she lets the blades fly..." with art that clearly shows her (you guessed it) letting the blades fly. It is a shame to see such beautiful art paired with writing that make ABBA lyrics seem bold and clever by comparison.
The art alone makes Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon worth a look. The panels tell an adequate story, despite being hampered by the text. Hopefully in future issues the translations will provide dialog that better matches the poetry of the visuals. Until that time, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will provide the best example yet of stylish art struggling to overcome banal writing.
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