As some of you might know, writer/director Kevin Smith was going to be directing and writing The Green Hornet movie. However, he backed out of the project, and Seth Rogen came in to get the movie back on track. What some of you might not know is Smith decided to turn his script into a new comic series at Dynamite Comics. After reading vol. 1 and 2 of Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet…..I wish Kevin Smith made his movie. In Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet we start the story at the end of Britt Reid and Kato’s reign on crime.
They have finally gotten rid of all the big crime in the city, and decide to hang up their masks forever. Britt decides to focus on raising his family, while Kato wants to start a family of his own. Years Later, we now follow Britt’s Son, Britt Junior. Britt Jr. is a lazy punk who mooches off his Dad’s wealth, and has no clue who his dad used to be. One night during a fundraiser, held by Britt Sr., The party gets an uninvited guest, who looks alot like the “criminal mastermind” The Green Hornet, but who calls himself The Black Hornet. The new hornet gets into a scuffle with Britt Sr., and, in the end, Britt Sr. meets his demise right in front of Britt Jr.’s eyes.
This motivates Britt Jr. to get off his ass and find the guy who killed his father. As most of these Superhero tales go. One day Britt runs into a mysterious old man in a bar. It turns out to be Kato, The Green Hornet’s Sidekick. Kato informs Britt of his father’s late night Job of being The hero playing a villain. Also, Britt Meets Kato’s Daughter Mulan, who was at the party trying to protect the Reids from The Black Hornet. After a few rules are broken, Montagues are played, and costumes are picked, The Green Hornet and Kato return to the streets once again.
I’m a huge Kevin Smith fan, and i’ve always wanted to see his prints on a superhero project that wasn’t Bluntman and Chronic. I first got this when i read his first Batman story, but i was utterly disappointed. However, that didn’t lower my love for Smith’s work in anything else….just Batman. So when i heard he was turning his Green Hornet script into a comic, i was excited. Little did i know that i was going to be blown away and depressed by reading this comic. I was blown away at how awesome this comic was, and depressed that it wasn’t The Green Hornet movie! The story is a fantastic, energetic, summer blockbuster.
I like the direction Smith went with his reinvention of the character. He literally kept the old Hornet and Kato in the past, and gave us a brand new duo. Its not a compelling Superhero story, Like The Dark Knight, but more of a Fun origin story in the vein of Ironman, and its filled with Smith’s wit and charm. My favorite scene is the ending when The Green Hornet kills his fathers murder. *SPOILER* I won’t tell you how, but its good. The art, done by Johnathan Lau, is also great. His work on this book just brought more life to the story.
He reminds me of Alex Ross at times, who drew the comics covers. Now don’t get me wrong! i did enjoy the Michel Gondry/Seth Rogen Green Hornet movie that we got, but we would have gotten a much better film if Smith had stayed on. There are similarities in tone and style between the movie and Smith’s book, but the big difference is Smith gave us a true reinvention of The Green Hornet. Where as The Movie was just an adaptation of The Hornet we already had. In the End i highly suggest getting Smith’s Hornet Volumes if you want a glimpse at what could have been…as well as a fun reading experiance.
I give Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet 5 Hornets outta 5
(This has been a review written by Richard L. Purnell from Channel23hahaha on Youtube)