Keeping It All In The Family

I've always liked the idea of the Green Hornet without really knowing much about the character as he's been depicted through the years. For instance, I can recall having watched the Van Williams/Bruce Lee show in reruns on television when I was young, but beyond the kinetic theme music, I don't remember any specific episodes or actions. In fact, a few years ago when talk of a possible Green Hornet feature film began circulating, I was surprised to learn that the Hornet operated by pretending to be a villain to get close to other villains and learn about their operations. That seems a pretty basic part of the character not to have known.

That isn't to say I was ignorant of the Hornet's beginnings, both his fictional origin and his real-world genesis. For instance, I knew the character's alter ego was Britt Reid, a wealthy heir, much like the Batman's Bruce Wayne, and I'm pretty sure I knew that the Reid family fortune was made in the newspaper industry. I also knew the fictional Britt Reid character had familial ties to the fictional John Reid, true identity of the Lone Ranger, and that, in fact, the character of the Green Hornet had been created as an updated, then-modern version of the Lone Ranger to tackle gangsters in a similar radio show.

Despite that amount of knowledge regarding the character of the Green Hornet, I haven't seen a live-action representation of the character on screen since I was a small child, nor have I ever heard any of the radio programs or read any of his comic-book appearances. But I've always been curious about the character, especially his ties to the Lone Ranger, a character I very much enjoy.

Last summer, word began circulating that Dynamite Entertainment planned to launch a new ongoing Green Hornet comic written by Kevin Smith. I was looking forward to trying that book, not yet sure if I would pick up the monthly issues or trade-wait the series, when I came across some eBay auctions for a number of small runs of several titles of interest. Included in these auctions were the first 14 issues of Now Comics' Green Hornet title from the late 1980s. I decided to give them a try, just recently read them, and man, I'm glad I did!

Now let me say up front that my hat's off to any fans who bought and enjoyed this series when it was first released. These books make a great introduction to a character with a strong sense of family in a story line than can't be described without using the words "epic in scope." They are a very entertaining read when a person can sit down and read several through in one sitting. But the way the story begins and is paced, as great as it works in one epic narrative, must have driven readers crazy reading the issues one month at a time.

The double-sized first issue came out in November 1989 with a striking cover by comic legend Jim Steranko. The story is written by Ron Fortier, penciled by Jeff Butler, inked by David Mowry, lettered by Dan Nakrosis and painted colors were added by Suzanne Dechnik.

The story opens on an aging Britt Reid writing his memoirs in his study, sitting in front of a painted full-figure portrait of the Lone Ranger and Silver. Reid begins with his grandfather, Dan Reid, a Texas Ranger, continues through the birth of his father, Dan Reid Jr., who founded The Sentinel, on up to his own birth in 1906, the deaths of his parents, the rise and fall of Prohibition, the growth of local mobs, and finally, the debut of the costumed figure, the Green Hornet, in 1936. This Green Hornet looks very much like pictures I've seen of the character from the old movie serials.

From there, the issue jumps, surprisingly, to a chapter Reid has titled "My Last Case," which centers around the Green Hornet's final take-down of a mobster named Tobias, one of the last criminal elements left in the city. But the story also introduces other Reid family members like Britt's brother, Jack Reid, and Jack's two young sons, Britt II and Tom.

The second issue opens in 1989 with a young man wearing an updated Green Hornet outfit as he explores the ruins of the old Reid country estate. Through newspaper clippings and family photos, the reader learns that the Green Hornet mysteriously resurfaced in 1968, and that Tom Reid, just a boy when last seen in the previous issue, grew up to become a world-famous archeologist, along with his wife, Mary. The couple died some time after 1972 in a plane crash, leaving behind two sons, Alan and Paul. From there, the story moves to 1979 and finds the now teenaged Alan and Paul living with their uncle, Britt II. It becomes obvious that Britt Reid II is the new Green Hornet, and that his adventures with the current Kato, son of the original, are modeled after the TV exploits of the Van Williams/Bruce Lee incarnation.

The third issue continues the tale of this second Green Hornet, but along the way, Britt Reid II's nephews, Alan and Paul, learn about the Hornet's true identity accidentally. Alan is the more serious of the two brothers, and by issue No. 4, it is clear that Alan is being groomed to be the next Green Hornet, while Paul wants little to do with the family legacy. Under the tutelage of both his Green Hornet predecessors — his grandfather and his uncle — Alan is set to undertake his first mission in 1986 with the help of the second Kato, a mission which does NOT go well.

By the debut of issue No. 5, it finally becomes clear that the Green Hornet in the 1989 sequences is none other than Paul Reid, grandson of the original Green Hornet, and that his adventures will be the ones chronicled through the remainder of this series' run. These books clearly have fun with the concept of several Green Hornets down through the years to explain the differences in appearance and times for all the stories which have gone before. It makes for a nice heroic dynasty tale, and even includes a female Kato nearly two decades before the current Dynamite comics' version.

This run of the character by Now Comics ran for 28 issues, was followed by a 40-issue Volume 2, and also by a series of Tales of the Green Hornet issues. These first 14 issues are good enough, I wouldn't mind at all hunting down more issues from this era and just bypassing the modern Kevin Smith incarnation all together.

A Love Story About Detectives; A Detective Story About Love

Reading the detective stories in Ms. Tree Quarterly reminded me of another series I'd been wanting to try, one I thought was somewhat similar. After giving the first 10 issues of this other series a try, however, I found that the only thing it really has in common with Ms. Tree is that both series are good reads.

Ms. Tree's tales are quite a bit different in tone from those of Mike W. Barr's The Maze Agency. The latter series specializes in done-in-one mysteries wherein the author supplies enough clues along the way that readers who are so inclined can try to solve the puzzle right along with the main characters.

The series stars Jennifer Mays, owner and lead investigator for the Maze Agency. Often assisting her in her sleuthing is boyfriend and crime-fiction author Gabriel Webb. Just as much a part of the series as crime conundrums is the growing relationship between Mays and Webb, much like in the television series "Moonlighting."

Some of the mysteries in those first 10 issues which the characters must unravel involve the apparent theft of the frames from some expensive paintings, a murder over lost episodes of a famous 1950s television sitcom, the apparent return of Jack the Ripper, plus a murder mystery game which turns all-too real and employs a locked-room whodunit at the same time.

Barr's writing is the constant in this series, which began life at Comico in 1988 and produced seven issues through June 1989 with much of the interior and cover art supplied by then newcomer Adam Hughes.

That was it until December of 1989 when Innovation picked up the series and continued the original numbering with issue No. 8, still by Barr, Hughes and Rick Magyar. Innovation continued the series through issue No. 23, with a Special and an Annual to boot. They even put together a trade collection of the first four issues in a black-and-white format.

The Maze Agency Special No. 1 featured a stunning cover by Bill Willingham and Magyar. The Special also reprinted the very first Maze Agency story, which was illustrated by co-creator Alan Davis. I'm not sure where this tale was originally published, or when, but it makes a nice addition to the Special, which also includes Davis' original character designs for Jennifer Mays and Gabriel Webb.

With issue No. 11 of the Innovation series, the art team became more irregular and featured such names as Darrick Robertson, Rob Davis and Robb Phipps. This last penciler, Robb Phipps, did issue No. 14, among others, of which I now own several of the original art pages. From the pages I have, this story seems to involve Mays and Webb attending the execution of a convicted murderer who is killed mysteriously before the state can end his life. Hughes didn't do interiors for the series after issue No. 12, but did return to do several covers beyond that point.

Since the Innovation series ended, The Maze Agency has had a number of revivals, first at Caliber Comics in 1997, and later at IDW Publishing in 2005. I enjoyed these first 10 issues enough, that I have ordered the remainder of the Innovation issues, as well as the IDW ones, and am anxiously awaiting their arrival so I can read those as well. Haven't found anyone yet with the Caliber series for sale, but I'm keeping a lookout for them.