The Earth-One Index

 Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 1
April-May 1975
Cover: Richard Dragon and Ben Turner vs. martial artists //Dick Giordano
Story: “Coming of a Dragon” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil (as Jim Dennis)
Artist: Leo Duranona
Feature Character: Richard Dragon (first appearance; origin)
Supporting Characters: The O-Sensei, Ben Turner, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D. (first appearance for all)
Villains: Aki (first appearance; dies in this story) and his men (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Story is adapted from the novel Dragon’s Fists by Jim Dennis (Jim Berry and Denny O’Neil).
Synopsis: Petty thief Richard Dragon is reformed and taught the martial arts by the O-Sensei, joins the secret agency G.O.O.D. along with his partner Ben Turner, and helps send a foreign slaver to his doom.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 2
June-July 1975
Cover: Richard Dragon, Ben Turner, and Carolyn Woosan vs. the Swiss and his men //Jim Starlin / Alan Weiss (signed as “Vice”)
Story: “A Dragon Fights Alone” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Pencillers: Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss
Inker: Al Milgrom
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: O-Sensei (next chronological appearance in issue #14), Ben Turner, Carolyn Woosan (first appearance)
Intro: Consuela, Shiruto (both die in this story)
Villains: The Swiss and his men (first appearance for all), Pretty Face (first and only appearance)
Comment: Story is adapted from the novel Dragon’s Fists by Jim Dennis (Denny O’Neil).
 Story continues in next issue.
Synopsis: Richard and Ben must save the O-Sensei’s goddaughter, Carolyn Woosan, when she is kidnapped by the international criminal known as the Swiss.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 3
August-September 1975
Cover: Richard Dragon and Carolyn Woosan vs. martial artists //Dick Giordano
Story: “Claws of the Dragon” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker, letterer: D. Bruce Berry
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Ben Turner, Carolyn Woosan (mistakenly called “Carolyn Wotami” in this story), the O-Sensei (in flashback to within issue #1)
Villains: The Swiss and his men, a group of martial artists (first and only appearance), Mr. Shabby (first appearance; dies in this story)
Comment: Story is adapted from the novel Dragon’s Fists by Jim Dennis.
 Story continues in next issue.
Synopsis: The Swiss captures Carolyn Woosan again and Richard Dragon must fight an army of martial artists to get her back.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 4
October-November 1975
Cover: Richard Dragon and Carolyn Woosan vs. two opponents //Dick Giordano
Story: “A Time To Be a Whirlwind” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Wally Wood
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Ben Turner, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D., Carolyn Woosan (dies in this story)
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: The Swiss (dies in this story) and his men (last appearance), Seedy, Rolande, Nicholi, George (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Story is adapted from the novel Dragon’s Fists by Jim Dennis.
Synopsis: Richard Dragon faces a gauntlet of the Swiss’s hirelings to try and save Carolyn Woosan.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 5
December 1975 / January 1976
Cover: Lady Shiva vs. Richard Dragon //Dick Giordano
Story: “The Arena of No Exit” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Wally Wood
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva (Sandra Woosan; first appearance), Ben Turner, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D.
Intro: Joy Dillard, Bart (only appearance for both)
Cameo appearance: Carolyn Woosan, the Swiss, the O-Sensei (in flashback)
Villains: Guano Cravat (first appearance; next appears in issue #7) and his men (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: Richard Dragon goes after the man responsible for Carolyn Woosan’s death and finds himself facing Carolyn’s sister, the deadly Lady Shiva.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 6
February-March 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva vs. Slash’s men //Dick Giordano
Story: “Island of the Inferno” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Wally Wood
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D.
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: Slash and his gang (one of whom dies in this story; first appearance for all; all next appear in issue #8)
Synopsis: Barney Ling accidentally drops a nuclear bomb into a volcano, and the evil Slash captures Dragon and Lady Shiva to get at it.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 7
April 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva vs. Topper and Dr. Moon’s men //Dick Giordano
Story: “Command: Slay the Dragon” (18 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Wally Wood
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner, Janey Lewis (first appearance; next appears in issue #9)
Intro: Tim (only appearance)
Villains: Guano Cravat (last appearance in issue #5), Dr. Moon (last appearance in WONDER WOMAN #221; next appears in issue #14), Topper, Bruno, other hoods (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Guano Cravat traps Dragon and Lady Shiva into combat with Topper, a brute armored with plastic beneath his skin.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 8
May 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva vs. Slash’s hoods on board ship //Dick Giordano
Story: “Slay the Blind Dragon” (17 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Wally Wood
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner
Intro: Steve (dies in this story)
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: Slash and his men (including Sancho; last appearance for all in issue #6; last appearance)
Synopsis: Slash lures Dragon and Lady Shiva into battle by having two of Dragon’s students killed, but Dragon must fight him while blinded.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 9
June 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon vs. Preying Mantis //Dick Giordano
Story: “The Preying Mantis” (17 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D., Janey Lewis (between issues #7 / 15)
Intro: Joe (only appearance)
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: The Preying Mantis, various hoods (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Barney Ling blackmails Dragon, Ben, and Lady Shiva into going to San Lorenzo in search of the Preying Mantis.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 10
July 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva vs. Hatchett //Dick Giordano
Story: “The Human Inferno” (17 pages)
Editor, writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Jack Abel
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D., Junior (Benjamin; first appearance)
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: Hatchett and his men (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Dragon, Ben, and Lady Shiva go to a logging camp in search of the man who killed Ben’s sister.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 11
August-September 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon, Ben Turner, and Lady Shiva vs. samurai //Dick Giordano
Story: “When Strikes the Samurai”
 Prologue (4 pages)
 1: “Telegram Sam” (6 pages)
 2: “The Tiger Tally” (7 pages)
Editor: Gerry Conway
Writer: David Anthony Kraft
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Jack Abel
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner (last name given as “Stanley” in this story), Junior, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D.
Intro: Sun Ling Po (dies in this story)
Villains: The Samurai (first and only appearance), Telegram Sam (Blodwyn) and his men (first appearance for all), Chinese communists
Comment: Story continues in next issue.
Synopsis: To find the assassin who is after Ben, Barney Ling sends Dragon’s team on a mission that ends up with the threesome split and in China, searching for two halves of the Tiger Tally.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 12
October-November 1976
Cover: Richard Dragon, Ben Turner, and Lady Shiva vs. Richard Dragon’s double //Ric Estrada / Vince Colletta
Story: “A Dragon Defiant” (1 page)
 3: “Madame Sun” (8 pages)
 4: “Alas, These Heroes” (8 pages)
Editor: Denny O’Neil
Writer: David Anthony Kraft
Penciller: Ric Estrada
Inker: Jack Abel
Feature Character: Richard Dragon (next appears in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #132)
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner
Villains: Madame Sun (first appearance; dies in this story), Telegram Sam (dies in this story) and his men (last appearance for all), Richard Dragon’s duplicate (destroyed in this story), the Doomsday Tong (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story, Richard Dragon teams up with Batman to fight the Stylist in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #132.
Synopsis: With Dragon, Turner, and Lady Shiva captive, Telegram Sam and Madame Sun prepare to fight it out for possession of the Tiger Tally.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 13
January-February 1977
Cover: Richard Dragon vs. two martial artists //Ernie Chua / Vince Colletta (signed)
Story: “To Catch an Assassin” (17 pages)
Editor: Joe Orlando
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Feature Character: Richard Dragon (last appearance in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #132)
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Junior, Ben Turner
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: Viper (first appearance; dies in this story), the League of Assassins (last appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #94; next appear in DETECTIVE COMICS #485)
Synopsis: Ben Turner is struck down by a poisoner from the League of Assassins, and Dragon and Lady Shiva must find an antidote.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 14
March-April 1977
Cover: Richard Dragon vs. Sing; Bruce Lee vignette //Rich Buckler (signed)
Story: “The Man Who Studied With Bruce Lee” (17 pages)
Editor: Joe Orlando
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Ben Turner, Lady Shiva, Junior, O-Sensei (last appearance in issue #2; next appears in DC COMICS PRESENTS #39)
Cameo appearance: Bruce Lee (of Earth-1; first and only appearance), the Axeman (first appearance)
Villains: Dr. Moon (last appearance in issue #7; next appears in DETECTIVE COMICS #480) and his men, Sing (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Richard Dragon must rescue the O-Sensei from Dr. Moon, but must first face a combatant who was trained by Bruce Lee himself.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 15
May-June 1977
Cover: Richard Dragon, Janey Lewis, and Ben Turner (in ninja outfit) vs. Axeman //Rich Buckler / Jack Abel (signed)
Story: “The Axeman” (17 pages)
Editor: Joe Orlando
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Ben Turner, Lady Shiva, Janey Lewis (last appearance in issue #9; dies in this story)
Villains: Luke Lewis (first appearance), the Axeman (first real appearance; dies in this story)
Comment: Story continues in next issue.
Synopsis: The girl Ben Turner wished to marry is killed by a mysterious Axeman, and Ben, Dragon, and Lady Shiva are out to avenge her death.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 16
July-August 1977
Cover: Richard Dragon vs. Eskimo blademen; Professor Ojo vignette //Al Milgrom (signed)
Story: “The Doom Seer” (17 pages)
Editor: Joe Orlando
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Ben Turner, Lady Shiva, Barney Ling, G.O.O.D.
Intro: Emil Turk
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: Professor Ojo and his men (first appearance for all), Luke Lewis
Comment: Story continues in next issue.
Synopsis: In search of Luke Lewis, Richard Dragon must face the Eskimo blademen of Professor Ojo.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 17
September-October 1977
Cover: Lady Shiva, Richard Dragon, and Ben Turner warding off blades //Al Milgrom (signed)
Story: “The Final Victim” (17 pages)
Editor: Jack C. Harris
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Feature Character: Richard Dragon
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva, Ben Turner
Cameo appearance: Janey Lewis, the Axeman (both in flashback), the O-Sensei
Villains: Professor Ojo and his men, Luke Lewis
Comment: Story continues in next issue.
Synopsis: In hopes of forcing them to throw in with him, Professor Ojo turns Dragon and his friends into living magnets and causes them to face a host of deadly blades.

Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter No. 18
November-December 1977
Cover: Richard Dragon, Sligo, and Bronze Tiger in ring //Rich Buckler / Jack Abel (signed)
Story: “The Secret of the Bronze Tiger” (17 pages)
Editor: Jack C. Harris
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Ric Estrada
Letterer: Milt Snapinn
Colorist: Jerry Serpe
Feature Character: Richard Dragon (next appears in DC COMICS PRESENTS #?)
Intro: The Bronze Tiger (Ben Turner; next appears in DETECTIVE COMICS #485)
Supporting Characters: Lady Shiva (last appearance; the New Earth Lady Shiva first appears in THE QUESTION #1), Barney Ling, G.O.O.D. (both next appear in DC COMICS PRESENTS #?)
Cameo appearance: The O-Sensei
Villains: Professor Ojo (next appears in GREEN LANTERN #116), Captain Boomerang (last appearance in SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #6; next appears in BATMAN #322), Luke Lewis (last appearance), Sligo, Vendetto, various crooks (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: This is the last issue of RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER.  The Luke Lewis subplot is never concluded.
Synopsis: Depressed after his failure to bring Luke Lewis and Professor Ojo to justice, Richard Dragon is nettled by Lady Shiva into entering an illegal martial arts tournament where he faces the mysterious and deadly Bronze Tiger.

DC Comics Presents No. 39
November 1981
Story: “Whatever Happened To Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter?”  (8 pages)
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Penciller: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Gene D’Angelo
Feature Character: Richard Dragon (last appearance in RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #18; last appearance; the New Earth Richard Dragon first appears in THE QUESTION #1)
GS: Bronze Tiger (last appearance in DETECTIVE COMICS #489; last appearance; the New Earth Bronze Tiger first appears in LEGENDS #2)
Intro: Denny (only appearance)
Supporting Characters: The O-Sensei (last appearance in RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #14; last appearance), G.O.O.D. (last appearance in RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #18; last appearance)
Villain: Barney Ling (last appearance in RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #18; dies in this story)
Synopsis: Richard Dragon has a return match with the Bronze Tiger, and learns who has been behind the attacks which occur on people in Dragon’s presence.

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