Green Hornet: Reign of the Demon 2
Writer: David Liss
Artist: Kewber Baal
Colorist: Adriano Augusto
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Ken Lashley and Pete Pantazis
Dynamite Comics has started their new volume of Green Hornet. There are additions and surprises this go around, and it’s a fun ride. Dynamite is expanding on the Hornet’s world, which is only fitting. After all, Green Hornet and Lone Ranger being related was the very first shared world/universe among masked heroes, long before either DC or Marvel were around.
Now, Chicago is being threatened by a new enemy. A man (probably) name Demone is moving in on the underworld, and he’s not just another crime boss. He seems to be invulnerable, which is not good, as the Green Hornet and Kato are both non-powered. Things are even more complicated by the appearance of the Swashbuckler, a masked hero who must have seen a few too many Douglas Fairbanks movies.
As if all this wasn’t enough, there’s the Hornet’s new research assistant Casey Case (love the character, not the name), Miss Travis the intrepid reporter, corruption in the police department, and some sort of elaborate trap in the offing for the Hornet. I’m not sure how long this series is supposed to run, but I’m really enjoying it. Things are definitely picking up speed in old Chicago.
Plot: I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5 for plot. There’s a lot going on, but it’s building well and I’m really curious to see where it goes.
Art: I’ll go 3.5 out of 5 for this, too. I like the artwork. The fights occasionally look a bit off, but the rest of it is really good.
Positives: I’m intrigued by Swashbuckler. I like his theme, he’s clearly pretty damn smart, and he’s picking up on a lot of things others have missed. Demone is interesting, too. I’m not sure I remember the Hornet fighting a supervillain before, outside of his various team ups in other Dynamite comics.
Negatives: Not a lot. I’m hoping they explain what’s going on with Demone, as suddenly introducing powers into a non-powered world is a big change. But if they do it well, I’m ok with it.
I like this story so far, I enjoy classic characters like Green Hornet and Kato, and I’m really interested to see where this goes.
