By Andrew Staton
Bruce Lee Kung Fu Monthly Returns
Just released is the Amazon Reference Guide version of the Kung Fu Monthly Archive Volume 1. This will become the ultimate Kung Fu Monthly reference book.
What is meant by this statement I hear you ask?
This new, original, soft back version is lighter and more day to day user friendly, and if you are wanting information, reference or just to read, the feel and usability of this book is terrific. Of course, the content is exactly the same, with images in a retro style black and white, but this is your everyday pleasure, leisure and reference read.
The book is a retrospective look at a magazine that was launched at the height of the Kung Fu Craze in 1970s Britain, Kung-Fu Monthly was the biggest selling Bruce Lee magazine in the world, even spawning a fan club that would be equally as successful. Kung-Fu Monthly was the longest-running Bruce Lee magazine of its kind anywhere in the world (by frequency and circulation). Such was it’s success and popularity, that it was licensed throughout the world; in fourteen countries and in eleven languages. That doesn’t even consider the non-official bootlegs which appeared in Turkey and China.
Kung-Fu Monthly would defy the odds and run for a decade, spanning seventy-nine issues plus special editions, books, clothing and other merchandise, all of which turned founder Felix Dennis into a millionaire in the process. Nothing has matched it before or since. It truly has stood the test of time and having done so, has reached legendary status.
Kung-Fu Monthly is a snapshot of a time long gone; a time which original Bruce Lee fans remember with fondness and a time which new fans will hopefully discover. For the first time ever and with permission from Dennis Publishing, all issues of the poster magazine have been compiled and edited into three volumes as part of the Kung-Fu Monthly Archive Series, along with all other publications from 1974-19 Kung-Fu Monthly The Poster Magazines Volume One covers issues 1-26 including the scarce black and white trade dummy edition plus an in-depth illustrated history of the publication during the years of 1973 to 1979.
Carl Fox was a staff member of the Bruce and Brandon Lee Association and a writer for Impact, Martial Arts Illustrated, World of Martial Arts, and Eastern Heroes magazines, for which he has conducted a number of film-related interviews, including Kevin Smith, Roger Avary, Don Murphy, Steve Wang, John Saxon, Gordon Liu, and Mark Dacascos. His first book, The Bruce Lee Society: A Retrospective Look at Bruce Lee Mania and the Kung Fu Craze of the 1970s was released through Promethean Press in April 2021. His work has been featured in several newspaper publications including The Barnsley Chronicle and The South China Morning Post. He currently co-hosts the popular podcast Flat Cap Chat.
If you would like to meet Carl and KFM celebrities at a Kung Fu Monthly Book launch called “Rise of the Dragon” On Bruce Lee’s birthday 27th of November 2022. Tickets are available from www.kungfumonthly.uk
This awesome reference Black and White Paperback Edition of Kung Fu Monthly Archive Series Volume One is available from Amazon here: –
Report by Andrew Staton
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