DEAD LEGENDS II Escalates the Martial Arts Mayhem on August 11th! Writer James Maddox, artist Gavin Smith, letterer Ryan Ferrier & color assistant Milena Deneno continue their grindhouse epic in the wake of volume one’s catastrophic tournament.
From publisher A Wave Blue World: The Dead Legends Saga continues, unleashing a new fury of fists and feet! Following on from the original 5-issue mini-series, writer James Maddox, artist Gavin Smith, letterer Ryan Ferrier, and colour assistant Milena Deneno escalate the action to epic levels, embracing the legacy of Kung Fu and Wuxia cinema history.
Maddox discusses the approach to creating a martial arts comic: “This comic is ultimately a challenge in balancing emotional storytelling with the action of classic martial arts movies and Kung Fu comics. The resulting approach offers relentless action that punctuates a story of loss, perseverance, and found families.”
This volume continues the story of Yan, trained by her Grandfather Jee-Sin - one of the most deadly and experienced martial arts experts in existence. When we last saw Yan, she’d emerged victorious from the last Dead Legends tournament and taken revenge on her husband’s killer. Now she must flee the competition’s self-destructive overseer and his army of merciless followers. Luckily, she has friends like Red Death and Stalk to aid her and the child. But new adversaries, including the unhinged Tigress, will resort to sinister tactics that Yan and her fellow refugees couldn’t fathom.
The resulting comic should resonate with fans of iconic cinematic martial arts films, including Riki-O: The Story of Riki, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, Bloodsport, The Raid: Redemption, Kill Bill, and the seminal oeuvre of Bruce Lee.
Gavin Smith, probably one of the few artists who holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do talks about making this second chapter in the story: “This second outing allows me to dive deeper into both the technical roots of martial arts, as well as its more fantastic extrapolations. I can’t wait to show off the intricate web of issue four and some of Red Death’s most savage fight scenes. James and I were able to amplify the sheer chaos and brutality of the first volume.”
Check out our preview of the first issue below!
About James Maddox
With titles that include Dead Legends, Metaphorical HER, Clown, The Dead, and Eccentrix, writer James Maddox has created a range of the most dynamic stories in indie comics. Maddox lives in Louisville, KY with his wife Mary and son Miles, and enjoys biking, playing music, and drinking good bourbon.
About Gavin Smith
Gavin Smith is a freelance artist who lives in Indianapolis, IN. Alongside the Dead Legends saga, he is currently drawing Star Trek: The Mirror War for IDW and has drawn for Ghost in the Shell (Kodansha Comics/Penguin/Random House), Heavy Metal Magazine, The Accelerators (Blue Juice Comics), and "Have you any Fear" (Webtoon). Smith has also worked on motion comics for AT&T. He's a 2011 graduate of the Joe Kubert School and is represented by Modern Mythology Comic Art.