In 1993, Malibu Comics published a short-lived series that adapted the Street Fighter video game. The series, which lasted just three issues, was pretty disastrous in its content and seeming lack of consideration for its characters. As such, Capcom, the video game developer and publisher, was phased out fairly quickly.
In October 1994, Malibu Comics, undeterred by an unfortunate situation with Capcom, began publishing its first miniseries based on Street Fighter’s arch-rival, Midway’s Mortal Kombat.
This arcade game was an absolute sensation in 1992 and was ported to home consoles the following year. The game was shocking at the time (not to mention highly controversial), with digitized visuals in which real actors performed the in-game moves, and blood and “deaths” where characters were torn apart from each other. became well known for its extreme violence (inflicted by , is quite graphical by the standards of the time.
At the time, it was arguably one of the most popular properties in video games, and Malibu may have learned some lessons from the Street Fighter fiasco, and the game’s designers (video game co-creators) Tobias was credited as a consulting editor in adapting the game to the comics medium.
It shows exactly that. This first issue goes much further than the wreckage Malibu churned out for the Streetfighter. While it may hardly be considered a masterpiece of comic book storytelling, the first issue of Blood & Thunder does a great job of introducing the concept of Mortal Kombat Tournament and all the major players. The writer does not understand who everyone is and what their place in the story should be.
Considering Mortal Kombat II had already hit arcades, the game’s cast had also grown considerably by the time the comic was published. This comic was perfectly timed to coincide with the release of Mortal Kombat II on consoles, so Malibu Comics was even more motivated to get it right this time around.
Thankfully, it looks like they did. Their Mortal Kombat comics, including this issue of Blood & Thunder, seem to have held their value well and are still highly collectible, which again shows their high quality. It tells a story.
If you’re a fan, you might be surprised by some of the slightly weird turns this manga takes, but overall it’s a good fit for the characters. Writer Charles Marshall doesn’t do anything controversial with it, and penciler Patrick Rollo creates some very impressive visuals throughout. That’s exactly what the doctor ordered after reading Malibu’s inexplicably bad Street Fighter comics.
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