Street Fighter Week: The evolution of Chun-Li and Blanka
A visual history of Street Fighter's first leading lady, and first green beast
Table of Contents
Street Fighter II|Alpha series|Street Fighter III|EX series|Marvel vs. Capcom series|SNK vs. Capcom series|SF: The Movie and Gem Fighter|Sprite comparison|SSFIITHDR and Street Fighter IV|Comics and cosplay|Film, figures, and more
Comics
Chun-Li and Blanka have both appeared in a variety of Street Fighter comics, both good and bad.The two most recent series, "Street Fighter" and "Street Fighter II," are being created by UDON, and feature some of the most refined Street Fighter art in existence. Below is the coverimage fromUDON'sStreet Fighter issue #1.
Chun-Li also graced the cover of IMAGE's first issue of "Street Fighter," pictured below.
The absolute worst appearance of Chun-Li in a comic exists within the pages of this diabolical 1993 Malibu version of Street Fighter (below), which is largely considered the worst Street Fighter comic ever made. Chun-Li is apparently a crazed sex fiend, as well as Fran Drescher.
Blanka (referred to as "Blanca" in this case) also appears in Malibu's awfulcomic (right). Aw, he learned to read! Much thanks to 4thletter for creating anexcellent retrospectiveof this disastrous piece of Street Fighter history.
Blanka much more stylishly appeared on the cover of the second issue of UDON's Street Fighter II series. He's doing much less reading, and much more electrocuting.
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Oh, and what kind of retrospective would this be if we didn't include a bit of erotic Chun-Li doushinji?
Cosplay
As one of the original female leads in gaming, Chun-Li has a huge fan following, andis easy to spot at conventions, or anywhere cosplayers might congregate. Check out a small selection of Chun-Liimpersonators below, brought to you by that joyous thing called Flickr.
Above:Photo byA. Seraphin
Above: Photo byfridgeuk
Above: Photo byAlan Gee
Above: Photo byGrumpstone