Kung Fu Panda #4 (of 4)

The long delayed final issue of the Kung Fu Panda mini-series is sadly a disappointment. Until now the comic has done a good job capturing the fun of the films by putting a comic book spin on new stories featuring Po, the Furious Five, and others. Sadly that ends here with an issue that feels very phoned-in and cribbed directly from the current Kung Fu Panda TV-show.

In the main story Po is reunited with his ultra-competitive childhood friend Heng who has arrived to challenge the Dragon Warrior to best him in the "infinite obsta-gauntlet course of trapishness" the pair thought up as kids. The story has some fun moments, and a nice moral at the end as Po allows his friend to save face by beating him before finding a way to turn Heng's complete waste of money into a profitable enterprise.

The back-up story is a direct lift from "The Scorpion's Sting" (an episode of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness) featuring Po's quest to find a flower in the Forest of Isolation to save Tigress' life after she is poisoned. The story substitutes an armadillo for the scorpion but the only real change.

Although both stories have some fun panels there's not much to either story. And the art, especially in the back-up story, is a step down from the comic's earlier issues. It's still a Kung Fu Panda comic and it has its moments, but after waiting three months for the series final issue I'm a little dissappointed with what appears to be a token effort on display. For fans.

[Ape Entertainment, $3.99]