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SF Comic Book
It may seem ludicrous to take some of the art exclusively out of the hands of the Japanese but it serves several purposes. SF II came out more than 10 years ago. The art and design cues from SF II were planted in the minds of young and emerging designers and artists. In the past decade many international artists and their styles have greatly evolved and matured thanks to the SF series. The videogame community did not have the same access to imported games, Japanese trends and the Internet as they first did when SF II was originally launched. Today there are artists and writers all around the world with a strong sense of cultural influence, appropriate training and experience in animation, design, color, layout, creative writing and presentation that can rival the best talent coming out of Japan today. This is not to say Capcom has lost a step, far be it, however these artists and writers can help breath new life into the SF universe in ways that one studio may not yet realize.
It is hard to believe but prior to Udon it would have been though preposterous to have anybody but the Japanese create a SF comic. Upon closer inspection the first SF II comic by veteran manga artist Masaomi Kanzaki in 1993, above left, seemed uninspired and the story and art was a tough sell even for die-hard Street Fighter fans. In the 15-year history of the SF franchise nobody has been able to recreate, or surpass, the visuals found in the game and almost match the great design of Bengus. That was until Udon created its version of the SF universe in 2003. The revolving art team including Arnold Tsang, Joe Vriens, Alvin Lee, Long Vo, Joy Ang and Mark Brooks are all dynamic artists in their own right and create a very SF-inspired feel to every issue. Even guest artists like Joe Maduera and Adam Warren have contributed something unique yet familiar to the series. While I do not think the Udon story and timeline matches the manga versions of Nakahira or Itoh, it is the art that more than compensates for it. Advances in coloring in both the pre art and post publishing stages have allowed Udon to match the great art and design of Bengus and Capcom. These computer-aided processes were in their infancy during the days of Masaomi Kanzaki, and publishing such comic books would have cost a fortune then.
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