The penultimate volume of Street Fighter Classic sees the mixed martial arts tournament qualifiers taking place across the globe, even taking in the sights and shady characters of Metro City (which Final Fight fans will definitely recognise) along the way. The US leg of the tournament also features a deadly twist, as the Mike Tyson-esque Balrog reveals!

As we near the end of this series and build up the one on one fighting action, I am missing the more melodramatic elements of the series. Not that they aren’t there (oh, there’s plenty of silly, fun twists), it’s just that I think the series is stronger when it isn’t focused so strongly on the fighting scenes.

That said, UDON really know their Street Fighter, and they certainly know how to adapt the fighting sequences from the game in a truly dynamic and impressive way, despite the lack of animation in a comic.

Their style is pitched somewhere between the effects-heavy aesthetic of the video games and an anime; it’s consistently brilliant stuff, as you’ll already know if you’ve come this far in the run of Street Fighter comics.

I absolutely adored the Final Fight cameo appearances here too; regular readers will know just how big a soft spot I have for that classic arcade beat ’em up!

With one volume to go, who’s in and who’s the favourite to win the tournament? We shall find out soon enough…