Street Fighter II #10

Jun 1995. Cover price 95p.
40 pages. Full colour.
Manga Publishing Ltd.

Edited by Dck Hansom.

Photo cover (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 Street Fighter II Presents the Official Movie Adaptation of Street Fighter credits. / What Has Gone Before recap (uncredited). Indicia

 3 The Battle for Shadaloo painting by Sonia Hillios.

r: cover from Street Fighter: The Battle for Shadaloo (DC) #nn (1995).

 4 Street Fighter, part two, w: Mike McAvennie, based on the screenplay by Steven E. de Souza, based on the Street Fighter video game series, produced by Capcom; p: Nick Napolitano, i: Bob Downs, lettering by Tim Harkins, colouring by Lee Loughbridge.

r: Street Fighter: The Battle for Shadaloo (DC) #nn (1995).

20 Street Fighter II poster

22 The Truth is Out There in-house advertisement for The X-Files.

38 Win the Book of the Movie of the Game competition to win Street Fighter novelisation by Todd Straser, based on the screenplay by Steven E. de Souza (Boxtree; 04 May 1995).

39 Patlabor Mobile Police in-house advertisement for videocassette.

40 Street Fighter. Unplugged. advertisement for Upper Deck trading cards.

Wisely placing Chun-Li (Ming-Na Wen) and Cammy (Kylie Minogue) on the cover, this is an overall more attractive proposition, while maintaining a strong link to the film. While there isn't a free gift this time round, the rather good cover to DC's original printing of the strip is included. Also included, finally, is a recap of prior events, though there's still no reader interaction. It is almost as if the title doesn't need to acknowledge the existence of its following, given how long it has survived already.

Chun-Li introduces herself to Ryu and Ken, warning them that they have ten minutes to flee before explosives go off. Slipping away, she encounters Cammy, who informs Chun-Li she is still under arrest. Sagat discovers that Bison has paid him in money bearing the general's face, angering Bison with his refusal to accept the notes. Guile prepares to launch an all-out attack on the fortress. Blanka is freed from the process which is designed to turn him into the ultimate weapon in Bison armoury, immediately attacking those he discovers.

The story may be filled with holes, characters with paper-thin personalities, and a sense of realism slightly lower than in the average Simpsons episode, but there's one thing the film did well - the explosions are gloriously large and very, very loud. Transposing the film to a comic strip was never going to yield a high quality product, but the conclusion is simply awful. Rushing through the story, in order to get it done and over with as quickly as possible, isn't the best way to handle a problematic narrative.

This issue's lack of feature content is a problem - when the main attraction is so feeble, there is nothing left to latch onto in the hopes that improvements are forthcoming.

#09

Street Fighter II

#11