Get over here, it’s time for So You Want to Read Comics.  This is our weekly feature where we take a look at a single topic or genre, then give you two comic book recommendations, perfect for new readers, based on that topic or genre.  This week we’re taking a look at comic books for fans of fighting games.

Among the world of video games, fighting games have some of the most storied legacies, and represent some of the most popular titles out there.  Typically featuring two characters facing off in melee combat, the genre is beloved by casual gamers and hardcore pros alike.  The first instance of hand-to-hand fighting in video games goes all the way back to a Sega title called Heavyweight Champ released in 1976.  From there the genre would slowly transform into the format we’re familiar with today.  In 1985 a game called Yie Ar Kung-fu would become the unofficial starting point for modern fighting games.  Afterwards, titles like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat would bring massive attention to the genre.  Fans of the genre often cite the intensity of the martial arts, the competitive nature of the games, and the colorful casts of characters as major reasons behind the success and continued popularity of the genre.  Fighting games and comics have had a long history of collaboration with Marvel Vs. Capcom and Injustice (which features DC characters and we discussed specifically here) are some of the most popular series out there.

Here are a couple of comics that will be perfect for any fighting game fan looking to get into comic book reading.

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST

Writers: Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction
Artists: David Aja and Travel Foreman
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Iron Fist has been around since the 70s, but it wasn’t until this series that his popularity really took off.  Part of this is due to, rather than focusing on him as a superhero or crime fighter, the focus is on him as a martial artist.  And what better way is there for a fictional character to show off their awesome martial arts skills?  A tournament of course.  Over the course of the five volumes that make up this series, readers are introduced to the titular Iron Fist, Danny Rand, his friends and allies, but also a whole slew of colorful characters who are also participating in a big tournament in a mystical land, with some pretty big stakes.  One of the highlights of this series is how between a combination of the writing and the art, the creators are able to convey not only martial arts techniques effectively, but also differences in styles, which is a bit of an accomplishment.  This series definitely gives off the feel of early Street Fighter and Tekken with such a focus on different styles, with just a bit of supernatural elements to spice things up.

DEADLY CLASS

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Wesley Craig
Publisher: Image Comics

Imagine a school, and in that school was the next generation of the world’s most dangerous assassins.  They hone their skills; all the while being surrounded by violence and those who want to see them all dead.  If that doesn’t sound like the set-up to a fighting game, I don’t know what does.  Deadly Class is set in the 80s and focuses on a boy named Marcus.  Marcus has a pretty tragic and violent past which is how he ends up mixed up in this whole ordeal in the first place.  As the series goes on, Marcus and his friends become deadlier and deadlier as they face increasingly dangerous enemies, as well as friends turned into enemies.   Also, as time goes on each character’s story gets more and more intricate and interwoven with each other in ways that feel very similar to the types of stories you see amongst fight game rosters.  While this series has all the violence and fighting you’d want to see in a comic book about assassin teenagers, this is also in some ways a sort of love letter to the generation of kids who grew up with arcades, who were refugees of the Reagan era,  and saw the glory days of some of the first fighting games.

Just a quick note.  Before anyone points out the obvious, yes, most of your favorite fighting games have comic book or manga adaptations or are based on those books to begin with.  So of course, those are always an option for getting into comics as well.

What did you think of these recommendations?  What are your favorite fighting games?  Let us know in the comments section below.

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