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. (Feb.)
