{"id":10803,"date":"2026-05-19T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/?p=10803"},"modified":"2026-05-15T14:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T21:19:26","slug":"looking-back-at-the-master-of-kung-fu-comic-covers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/looking-back-at-the-master-of-kung-fu-comic-covers\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking back at the Master of Kung Fu (comic covers)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Earlier this month I was approached by some friends who are working on an art book; sort of. They’re also working on promoting an art book – THE MARVEL ART OF MIKE ZECK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most comic fans might recognize his work either from his work on Marvel<\/strong> comic titles The Punisher<\/em> or Secret Wars<\/em>. But those who know, know that Mike Zeck started drawing comics in 1977 as the penciler of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu<\/em>. Starting with issue #55 (May 10 1977), 49 years and a couple of days ago, if my math is correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a little known bit of history that many readers\u00a0of Kung Fu Magazine (and many martial artists of a certain age) started a lifelong martial arts journey inspired by Marvel’s\u00a0Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu<\/em>. While much of this credit is rightly attributed to writer\u00a0Doug Moench<\/a> and artist\u00a0Paul Gulacy<\/a>, Mike Zeck took over Gulacy’s 50 issue run on the book after 5 issues of retaining artists. He would move on to more notable projects before Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu<\/em> completed its first volumes with issues #125 (March 15th 1985).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now this friends I mentioned earlier offered me some exclusive cover art postcards curated specifically for my readers – How cool is that!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI first met Mike at the Chicago Comicon in 1986 right after his Punisher<\/em> was released, and he left such a positive impression on this very impressionable kid. I had the privilege of working with him on a couple of projects over the years, and I am thrilled that in retirement, he\u2019s agreed to be a part of our prestigious The Marvel Art Of\u2026<\/em> line of art books.”\u00a0<\/p>\nClover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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THE MARVEL ART OF MIKE ZECK<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Clover Press and Marvel are collaborating for the tenth book in the The Marvel Art Of\u2026<\/em> book series; THE MARVEL ART OF MIKE ZECK<\/em>. <\/strong>This will be a high-end coffee table book featuring a portfolio, prints, and more that celebrate Zeck’s career. A career that includes designing the iconic black costume for Spider-Man, providing art for Kraven’s Last Hunt<\/em> and work on the first Punisher<\/em> mini-series in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Marvel Art Of\u2026 <\/em>books are a series of high-end, boutique artbooks that showcase legendary Marvel Comics\u2019 artists, featuring iconic images alongside rare and never-before-seen artwork. The Marvel Art of Mike Zeck <\/em><\/strong>collects Zeck’s most stunning, most action-packed, and most well-loved Marvel illustrations from Marvel titles like Captain America, Spider-Man, Punisher <\/em>and more in a 200+ page 9\u2033 x 12\u2033 high end coffee table book. The campaign will also feature 11\u2033 x 17\u2033 prints, stickers, a puzzle, signed books, and more. The Marvel Art Of\u2026<\/em> series debuted in 2023 with The Marvel Art of David Mack<\/em> and The Marvel Art of Alex Maleev<\/em>, followed by stunning art books for Michael Allred, Russell Dauterman, Mike Del Mundo, Dan dos Santos, Tyler Kirkham, David Nakayama, and Michael Turner.<\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month I was approached by some friends who are working on an art book; sort of. They’re also working on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3egHU-2Of","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8212,"url":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/unlocking-kung-fu-skillz\/","url_meta":{"origin":10803,"position":0},"title":"Unlocking Kung Fu SkillZ","author":"PLUGO","date":"March 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This essay was originally posted on aTigersTale.com but merits inclusion here on PLUGOarts. 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Along with talking Venom and comics of the 90's, Special Guest Sifu Jos\u00e9 Figueroa took us on a journey that ranged from the birth of Hip-hop and break dancing through independent production to behind the scenes at Shang Chi. #kungfu #hiphop\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "comics"","block_context":{"text":"comics","link":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/category\/comics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1920x1080_TheComicsFuShow.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1920x1080_TheComicsFuShow.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1920x1080_TheComicsFuShow.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1920x1080_TheComicsFuShow.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1920x1080_TheComicsFuShow.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7540,"url":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/the-comics-fu-show-returns\/","url_meta":{"origin":10803,"position":3},"title":"THE COMICS FU SHOW returns!","author":"PLUGO","date":"January 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE COMICS FU SHOW Is about to come out of hiatus for the it\u2019s 2023 season. 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