Like IDW Publishing, CrossGen Entertainment does not rely on superheroes to deliver a quality book to the masses. Rather, the company has remained stead fast using great storytelling, fluid, realistic artwork and intriguing characters resulting in a plethora of characters for the indie and mainstream fan alike! On Free Comic Book Day, I received a copy of Way of the Rat. I was excited about this title immediately because I was having one of those days when I missed watching kung-fu flicks on many a Saturday afternoon! Thankfully, CrossGen Entertainment captured the genre perfectly from the beginning and hopefully will maintain this masterpiece in perpetuity.

     Set in the frontier city of Zhumer, China, the story centers around Boon Sai Hon, aka, the Jade Rat, a misguided youth looking to be set straight. He is sent by Boss Tiger, an underground crime lord, to steal a ring from an old librarian, who collects rare artifacts. Upon arrival Hong finds the librarian is dead, after looking at a picture depicting one of the levels of hell. So he helps himself to the librarian's ring. At the same time, the ruthless Judge Xian, another criminal mastermind bent on obtaining ultimate power, sends his band of ninjas for the same ring. Then enters the old man's daughter, Princess Zheng who walks in on the Jade Rat and Company. She discovers her father dead, his ring missing, and slew of ninjas in her library. After a little altercation, Hong escapes as a wanted man, and things only get worse when he can’t get the ring off his finger, even his own colleagues, members of Boss Tiger’s gang, attack the Jade Rat.

     That is not a problem for Hong. Despite not wanting to fight, the ring has overpowered the Jade Rat, allowing him to defend himself with kung-fu as if he had been practicing the art form for years. These events foreshadow some of the best kung-fu fight scenes in a comic series since Storm Shadow vs. Snake Eyes. Throw in a talking monkey, the promise of more fight scenes and mystical excitement guarantees readers are sure to enjoy an entertaining, action packed, intriguing and sometimes hilarious tale that will keep them glued to this comic.

     In short, CrossGen Entertainment has got the art of martial arts down to a tee. Of course, that could be because the pencils of Jeff Johnson come from experience. Johnson studies Aikido for seven years and is well versed in other martial arts with the Jade Rat practicing Shaolin Kung-Fu and the Princess realistically studying Wushu, the government approved style of martial arts also practiced by Jet Li. His understanding of martial arts allows this title to really shine.

     Way of the Rat is already over two years old and has already sparked the interest of Hollywood. A movie is in the works and rightfully so. I just hope when they make the movie, the story and the fight scenes are as good as they are in the comics. That is going to be a hard task to accomplish. The comic book just looks so real.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.

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