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| Cover A (25%) by Alex Ross |
This
issue seems to be an even more radical departure from the original
pulp trilogy, but I guess that's only to be expected given the
different dynamic resulting from the protagonists being a “league”
of heroes rather than a single central figure. In fact the Spider
himself does not appear – he's missing in Albany, and by issue's
end the Green Hornet, Green Lama, and Miss Fury have all been
captured in their civilian identities, while the Shadow, Black
Terror, and Kato are in an intense battle with the Black Police in
the same very significant building, whose most notable resident is lamentably absent. Separately, this issue marks our first time
seeing the Black Bat and Zorro in action.
I take
the very last page, showing Britt Reid, Jethro Dumont and Marla Drake
before what I take to be the mastermind of the Empire State, to also
drop a huge hint as to his identity – the Clock, a former hero
himself (see issue #3): “In a better world, we would have been allies,
you and I. / But it's clear that I'm the only
one willing to do what is necessary.” And he holds a pocket watch.
This
issue also seemed to go even more quickly. That's my main complaint
with this series – each chapter is too sketchy a read. Would it
strike me so had I not read the original? How will it read as a
collection?
The
Green Hornet #1
Dammit! I had decided to drop this title a couple of months ago, and
didn't preorder the last couple of issues. This first may in fact be
the only one I did order. Don't get me wrong. Mark Waid is a great
writer and has done some amazing stuff – his run with Mike Wieringo
on Fantastic Four
coming first to mind. If I'm inclined to buy a product anyway, his
name is a definite plus. I will even take a second look at something
I'm not otherwise
inclined to pick up if his name is attached. But
… I don't like everything he writes. Most notably his recent drift
into deconstructing heroes generally leaves me cold. I read the
first trade of Irredeemable
and basically reacted, “Ehh...
This is not for me.” Even his “Threeboot” Legion of
Super-Heroes with its theme of
generational conflict (“Eat it, Grandpa!) is my least favorite
incarnation of that, my favorite comic book series of all time. As
more and more information came out about “Mark Waid's Green
Hornet,” it became clearer and
clearer that he intended to write a tale of the fall of a hero, more
like Irredeemable than
his current run on Daredevil
(which I intend to eventually get in trade). And I decided I really
wasn't that interested.
And
then this preordered first issue came. I thought about just not
reading it at all, but only for a moment. And even though it's clear
that this issue is basically setting up Britt Reid for an epic fall
from grace, it's told so compellingly that it has me hooked. I want
to see how it all works out. Plus, with an established character
like the Green Hornet, it seems to me that he has to write that fall
from grace as a prelude to a tale of redemption. The Green Hornet is
not “irredeemable.”
And
so it seems I will be emailing my mailorder comics source again
to add something to a previous order. Ah well, I'm sure they won't
mind....
On
the other hand, this issue does not make me rethink dropping this
title. The blurb for the next issue at the back says it all: “Mark Rahner
turns the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs into grindhouse horror....”
That is not what I'm wanting to read when I visit ERB's Barsoom –
even Dynamite's version.
Reviews
(TBA)
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