Green Hornet Year One #1 - Mobile Edition

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Green Hornet Year One #1
By Hervé St-Louis
May 1, 2010 - 22:35

Dynamite Entertainment
Writer(s): Matt Wagner
Penciller(s): Aaron Campbell
Inker(s): Aaron Campbell
Colourist(s): Francesco Francavilla
Letterer(s): Simon Bowland
Cover Artist(s): Alex Ross, John Cassaday, Matt Wagner, Stephen Segovia
$3.99 US

This story tells the origin of the first Green Hornet and how he and Kato started fighting criminals in Chicago. As an old comic book fan of the Green Hornet, I’m happy to see the multi-generational history of the character first established by writer Ron Fortier back. When Now Comics published the Green Hornet, there was a Golden Age one – the same from the radio serials, there was Silver Age one, the same from the 1960s television series and finally, there was the new modern Green Hornet and a female Kato. While the female Kato will be seen in the modern Green Hornet series, the other Kato is the original butler that passed as a Korean while being Japanese. In this issue we are shown flashbacks of both Britt Reid and Kato before they become masked vigilantes. We see what motivated them to become the men that decided to fight crime. Although the Green Hornet is much like Batman and preceded the later, there has not been such thought provoking work done on the character. Kato, in the Now Comics has had more development than Britt Reid, it seems. I’m glad to see the series strengthen the character although it’s not breaching any new ground yet. The illustrated style gives a pulp feel to the comic book which fits in, but doesn’t make it enticing. It’s not that the art is not good. It’s great, but that old style puts off this modern reader.
Rating: 7/10

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