Street Fighter II #3

Nov 1994. Cover price 95p.
40 pages. Full colour.
Manga Publishing Ltd.

Edited by Cefn Ridout.

Cover by Masaomi Kanzaki, finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color.
r: UNKNOWN.

Contents:

 2 Sounds Like a Rumble! competition to win Street Fighter II: The World Warrior CDs.

 3 Street Fighter II Battle 03: Carnival w: Masaomi Kanzaki, translated by William Flanagan; a: Masaomi Kanzaki, lettering and finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color. / Indicia

r: UNKNOWN.

 4 Ryu (one fifth page) fact file.

 6 Ken (one fifth page) fact file.

 8 Guile (one fifth page) fact file.

10 Zangief (one fifth page) fact file.

12 Dhalsim (one fifth page) fact file.

14 Blanka (one fifth page) fact file.

16 E. Honda (one fifth page) fact file.

18 Chun-Li (one fifth page) fact file.

20 Street Fighter II poster 3 (of 8); a: Masaomi Kanzaki, finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color.

r: UNKNOWN.

24 Balrog (one fifth page) fact file.

26 Vega (one fifth page) fact file.

28 Sagat (one fifth page) fact file.

30 M. Bison (one fifth page) fact file.

32 Po-Lin (one fifth page) fact file.

34 Wong-Mei (one fifth page) fact file.

36 Gouken (one fifth page) fact file.

38 Fighting Grounds heat up as Street Fighters compete to get into the Grand Fight. Next issue: Gouken will finally make his first appearance in the series (one fifth page)

39 Manga Mania - Now with full colour sections by popular demand in-house advertisement.

40 The Best Manga Since AKIRA in-house advertisement for Cyber City Odeo 808 videocassette.

An undercover DEA agent caught by Bison's men is given a hit of Doll, then handed a firearm and told to kill himself. While initially resistant, the drug works quickly on his system, and he is unable to keep from killing himself. Satisfied with the results of the test, Bison tells the assorted men that they will each select a fighter for the grand fight, with whoever selects the winner gaining the right to negotiate all the Doll they require.

Ryu prepares to battle Dhalsim, Zangief faces Guile, and Chun-Li is set to take on E. Honda - three concurrent fights, and Ryu is immediately taken with the fact that Dhalsim is seemingly able to stretch his arms and legs, but nothing can prepare him for what he must combat next - a fireball.

Dhalsim has developed his 'chi' to such an extent that he can project infernos like the 'Yoga Flame' and 'Yoga Fire'.

There's a wonderful dilemma for Ryu, and Chun-Li must overcome what appears to be a vastly more powerful fighter. The main issue with featuring three fights throughout the issue is that, between the decompressed storytelling and the ridiculous amount of talking throughout these fights, we aren't given much more than the briefest examples of these fights. While this is something that can't be helped in a translation, the formatting of the pages, leaving dead space below each page, doesn't assist the flow any.

For fans of the franchise, this >does contain some background motivations, and highlights the characters well, but it is difficult to really love the story in this form. Truly a strip which works better in collected form rather than in bite-size installments.

#02

Street Fighter II

#04