The Lone Ranger / Green Hornet #1:

The first issue of Dynamite's Year One series was the first book revisited here, based on personal opinion of its quality and therefore an eagerness to read it again. The Lone Ranger/GH mini is not far behind. 

Writer: Michael Uslan
Art: Giovanni Timpano
Publication Date: July 2016

A tale of super-heroics and family that has taken eighty years to be told!

This first chapter, entitled "Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear," creates a world of carefully researched alternative history in 1936 as we learn whatever happened to The Lone Ranger and discover his familial link to the emergence of a man who is a modern day urban version of The Lone Ranger himself. What is the blood connection of The Green Hornet to The Lone Ranger? What is the link of Olympic runner Jesse Owens to The Green Hornet? What role does Bat Masterson play in The Lone Ranger's New York adventure? What intense rift tears a family apart just when America desperately needs a great champion of justice? The shocking answers lie in the historic first issue of "The Lone Ranger Meets the Green Hornet: Champions of Justice!

I had bought the trade paperback compilation of LR/GH to read during a long weekend or vacation, I forget which now, at the cottage. It didn't make it all the way. Lacking the willpower to stretch it out for the whole holiday, I instead devoured it from one evening to the next morning.

The story begins in 1936, as Dan Reid visits his uncle John Reid at the city police stables. John is spending his time seeing to the horses and entertaining children with stories of the Lone Ranger and his faithful companion Tonto. 

That done, Dan admits he's also dropped by for advice. 

On the way, the two discuss the importance of symbols for good, such as the Lone Ranger was. Dan also asks his uncle if he, John, could serve as a guardian to Dan's son Britt when Britt comes home from his travels. It seems Britt lack direction at this point.

18 months later, Britt is back home and apparently now taking his duties more seriously. He is looking over the skyline from his Sentinel office, discussing the rise of the and lawlessness in the city with Kato, when they are interrupted by great uncle John. John emphatically sells the need for a champion and symbol for good and how Britt can be that symbol. 

We flashback to 1894, when a young Dan Reid and the Lone Ranger visit's the former's father's grave. They are caught by surprise by the man who killed Dan Reid senior some 20 years prior and has recently broken out of jail. 

Dan Reid is shot in the ensuing scrap, and Cavendish falls from the edge of a cliff.  

Back in 1938 or so, Britt Reid gets a visit at the Sentinel from Eliot Ness, who comes with a request and a plea. John Reid is also present.

Ness later meets with the two Reids at the Chicago Coliseum to provide some inspiration in the form of visual aids. And Britt buys in.

The book comes with a "Footnotes to History" feature to provide some additional details about the era, including a mini biography on Eliot Ness and more information about The Nazi Bund, the group causing the disruption in the image directly above. A Green Hornet "design" variant cover follows. 

Good set up issue. Dynamite is not always particularly committed to continuity with the various characters it publishes, but here Usman recreates a scene from the Year One book, confirming that it is that same Green Hornet. 

This book then is not so much a sequel as it is, perhaps, a parallel event. In any case, it pairs very well with the Y1 series. 

1940 Serial, Chapter 1: The Tunnel of Terror

While aware of these short films from 1940, I'd never taken the time to watch them attentively. We'll start doing that today with, naturally, the first episode, The Tunnel of Terror!!

It's probably just me, but as I watch this episode, Green Hornet actor Gordon Jones at times reminds me, in appearance, of Norm MacDonald.  

These episodes are only about 20 minutes long, so they pack a LOT into a conversation.

We're provided an example of this right away. The show opens with a small explosion on a work bench in a garage. From there, in less than one minute, we learn that...

1. Britt Reid and Kato are testing a chemical to enhance a car's motor.  
2. Kato has substantial scientific knowledge and ability.
3. Kato is Britt's "valet".
4. Reid: "It was a lucky day for me when I rescued you from that native in Singapore."
5a. Kato: "Have you tried the new horn? Listen."

5b. Reid: "Sounds like the giant green hornet we encountered in Africa"
6. The car in question was built in that garage secretly. 
7. Reid wants to display this car as proof to his dad that he's more than just a playboy.

Whew! And we're just at about the 2:39 mark. Very much before the days of decompressed writing. 

The flaky playboy image is built up further when Michael Axford drops by to pick up Reid. They have a light-hearted conversation about how Axford was hired as a reporter but now also seems to serve as a bodyguard. Let's file that away. 

At the Sentinel, we meet Lenore Case, and are treated to more playful banter. Case further sells the notion that Reid is a terribly unserious person for someone expected to run a newspaper. 

And we meet another character, a young reporter named Jasper Jenks. He comes to Reid with a scoop about a construction company using cheap materials.

Reid isn't terribly interested at the moment, because he has an appointment with the police commissioner, Stanley Andrews  (right, below), and a judge named Stanton. 

The two men lament the lack of support for police from the Sentinel newspaper now that Reid is in charge. Reid challenges them to improve law enforcement in the city, asking "what are you waiting for, Robin Hood to lead you out of the woods?". Said in jest, but after the men leave in frustration, Reid appears to ponder the idea at his desk for a moment...

And then...Disaster!! 

Such an event will keep the Sentinel staff busy. As they are gathered in Reid's office for instructions, Jasper Jenks announces to Reid that he will be meeting with a workman name Gorman who is ready to blow the whistle on his employer's use of poor quality materials. But wouldn't you know it, on his way from the work site, Gorman is intentionally directed into harm's way by one of his superiors and he drives right into a blasting area. He is blown to pieces. 

Sentinel coverage of Gorman's demise, and the possibility that it was murder, puts a little heat on some shady characters. 

Their leader, heard only from that radio on the desk, directs them to buy the Sentinel newspaper in order to prevent it from continuing with its reports. The man at left (Grant) is handed that mission, but unknown to him, the other two are having him followed in case he inadvertently leads someone back to their office.

Reid refuses to sell to an unknown buyer, of course, so Grant leaves the Sentinel building empty-handed. Sure enough, he is followed by Axford...

...who is himself followed by two thugs. The bad guys all get away, however, and Axford heads back to the paper to report to Reid.

Not pleased with the attention Grant drew to himself, he is ordered by his criminal colleagues to leave town. Grant heads home to pack and to destroy some incriminating paperwork.

At home with assistance from Kato, Reid gears up as the Green Hornet for the first time. 

The Hornet busts in on Grant while the latter is tossing evidence into the fireplace. 

While the Hornet is trying to draw information from him, the two men charged with following Grant make sure he can't talk. 

Reid uses the gas gun to subdue the two men, leaves his Hornet identifying badge on Grant's corpse, and boots it out of there.

And so begins the perception of the Green Hornet as a criminal, though back in Reid's office the next day, Lenore Case expresses doubts as to whether the Hornet actually is a villain. Smart girl, that Lenore!

Reid and Axford pay a visit to the mine believed to be using shoddy material, but they are turned away by the foreman who saw Gorman killed. Undaunted, Reid returns that night with Kato, as the Green Hornet!

The Hornet forces the foreman (Markheim, I believe) to take him down into the tunnels at gunpoint (even if it's a gas gun). 

While they're down there, sure enough, the air pressure equipment fails. A cave-in is triggered. The Hornet and Markheim run for it, but Markheim falls to the ground as the cave floods and waves of water rush towards them. 

Is the Green Hornet done for?? Find out next week!

This was all pretty entertaining. Actor Gordon Jones does the flighty rich kid bit while remaining likable. He appears (after only one episode, mind you) to have good chemistry with all the other major players. Wade Boteler looks like he'll be enjoyable as the old bulldog Mike Axford. 

Not all of the entertainment was intentional. It's funny to watch car chases go from mid-afternoon to night depending on which car is shown, or film speeded up to make cars appear faster.

All part of the appeal. We'll tackle the second episode in a few days. There are 13 episodes in this series, then another 15 were released the following year under the title The Green Hornet Strikes Again, so plenty of material to go over. 

Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #1: "On The Wrong Track"

I was reminded, while correcting typos on the previous post, that Kevin Smith produced other Green Hornet content for Dynamite Entertainment after the story based on his unused movie script concluded. It was in mid-2014, in collaboration with DC comics, and a task that, looking back, he was probably far more suited to tackle.  

This is one of those projects that, when you first hear about it, you just assume there's no way it can suck. The first issue feels a bit more Batman-heavy, mind you.

The adventure starts at stately Wayne Manor, while Robin/Dick Grayson is getting ready for a date. As aunt Harriet straightens his tie, a call comes in from the police commissioner on a red phone in Bruce's study.

The commissioner, from his perspective speaking to Batman, explains that a valuable shipment is headed to some shithole town (not his exact words) on the Gotham Express and he'd sure like some help with security.

Dick still has his date to contend with, so Bruce plans to fly solo on this one. 

Or will he? On the train, he has a chance encounter with Sentinel publisher Britt Reid. Reid happens to be from that shithole town to which the valuable cargo is headed. "Good to see you, old friend!", Wayne says.  

This, of course, leads to an entertaining dick-swinging chat about their respective city's masked men, debating which of the two is the more capable. It also appears to reference the TV episode in which they met, so the timeline is clear.

The train comes to sudden stop. Concerned, Reid, Wayne, and Kato rush to the locomotive.  

They find out that the train was stopped by some improbably strong adhesive substance. Sensing a mystery afoot, Wayne calls in his ward Dick from his date, ruining a rare opportunity for the young man to finally lose his virginity.

While waiting for Robin to appear, Wayne checks in on the fossils that were being transported...and what does he find?? 

Gasp!!

This is from the "digital only" version of the series, which released the books in half-issue installments. So basically, "next chapter" in the image above refers to pages 12-21 or so of issue #1. So let's soldier on and complete the print version of the first issue. 

Wayne is in a pickle here, but the Green Hornet busts in to save the day while, it should be noted, continuing to sell his criminal image. 

The attention to that aspect of the character is appreciated. 

Naturally, pink asses are whooped. Wayne exits stage left.

Wayne runs off to meet with Robin, who appears in the Bat-Copter to hand over Bruce's Bat gear. 

In the train's storage area, the fight is going poorly for our pink-clad foe. He leaves his men to get kicked around by Green Hornet and Kato, and climbs to the roof of the train car, only to encounter...Batman and Robin!

GH/Kato dispatch the remaining henchmen and head to the top of the train car as well in pursuit of Colonel Gumm, as he comes to be called. Trapped between the two crime-fighting duos, Gumm (after we're treated to his whole back story) unleashes his strongest weapon. Glue!!  

He then slips away and removes the adhesive keeping the train from running, leaving the four heroes to be brained by the oncoming tunnel.  

We should all think they're done for, but there were five more issues in the series, so...

Honestly, this isn't what I usually look for in a book, but overall it was a lot of fun and very well done. The tone of the time was captured, the dialogue seemed right out of the Batman TV show, and I expect we're going to get more of all the various supporting characters from both shows in short order, and maybe even Bat Shark Repellant. Pretty cool.

Kevin Smith's Green Hornet #1: "Night and Day"

As this was the book that launched a resurgence in the character's popularity some 15 years ago now, I considered making it the first one revisited here, but I wasn't really feeling it for a number of reasons. 

I won't dwell on the Green Hornet movie that we did get. In truth, I didn't despise it as much as many other people did. I'm open to other interpretations and am not married to any specific version. 

That isn't to say that Seth Rogan was the right person to make this film. He's proven otherwise a number of times, including this baffling take from just one week ago. 

So...you had to be true to the character...and that was a problem for you...

Whatever. Where this is relevant to reviewing this series is that for all that people like Kevin Smith, and that the consensus seems to be that this book based on his aborted script would have been SO much better on-screen than the Rogan movie was...I'm not fully convinced.

Let's elaborate later. Alex Ross cover and solicitation text first, then off we go. 

Writer: Kevin Smith

Penciller/Inker: Jonathan Lau

Publication Date: MARCH, 2010 

The Green Hornet is back and Dynamite is the new home for the avenging hero and his faithful sidekick, Kato (and, the Black Beauty, 'natch!)!

And we're kicking things off with a BANG as we launch the first of a new series of adventures starting with the great Kevin Smith. And let's get it out of the way, right here, right NOW joining Smith in bringing his unproduced screenplay to life is artist Jonathan (Black Terror) Lau as they present the one and only origin of the Green Hornet and Kato. This is the comic book version of Kevin smith's unproduced Green Hornet film and Dynamite is the only place to get in on the action - it all begins here!

We start strong with a flashback to the Green Hornet and Kato heading out for what will be one of their last missions. 

I loved Jonathan Lau's dynamic art right away. He's only improved since, as readers of Dynamite's Space Ghost book will know. 

It only takes Smith three pages to toss down some casual racism as two organized crime figures meet. 

Smith also wastes no time in addressing the Hornet's pretense of being a criminal. The white haired gentleman, Don Fanelli, explains that the Hornet appears to have an arrangement with the police to turn over guys like him (Fanelli) in order to keep the cops off his own back.

Plausible enough, we'll allow it.

Talks break down, but the Hornet still has an image to maintain. On the pretend-basis that no shady business meeting should take place in his city without his presence, the Green Hornet and Kato bust in. 

Then much ass is kicked, in spectacular fashion.

Evidently that battle was the final touch towards getting rid of the bulk of organized crime in the city, because on the way home, the boys are talking retirement. 

Once home, Britt is shown announcing the end of the Green Hornet's career to his wife, as well as swearing that he will never tell Britt Jr. about his crime-fighting past.  

Speaking of junior...We move to the present, and the now 20-something Britt junior is having a bad day. He wakes up while his girlfriend is in the process of moving her stuff our of their place. He's getting dumped while being hounded by paparazzi. 

He gets fed up with the photographers and decides to moon them. Turns out the move backfires. Who saw that coming? 

Sadly, if my memory of the initial storyline in this series is sound, that may not even be the most juvenile conclusion to one of Smith's books. 

Much like in the Rogan version, Britt Jr is actually not a very likeable character. I'm not sure that he would have been much better received by an audience than Rogan was as the Green Hornet. This is why I question if the script this series is based on would have produced a better movie.

On the other hand, a major difference between this version and Rogan's is that Kevin Smith seemed to enjoy the character, know him well, and to want to emphasize the features that make the Green Hornet and Kato awesome.

Rogan just found the Green Hornet semi-convenient for a gag he wanted to tell about a crime-fighting duo on which the sidekick does all the work. He wasn't really interested in the Green Hornet as such, as his quote copied above demonstrates, and didn't really care if anyone was. And it showed. 

Variant covers follow. I believe they shipped in equal quantities with the Ross one above.

J. Scott Campbell

John Cassaday

Stephen Segovia