Publisher: Dynamite
Writer: David Liss
Artist: Kewber Baal
Colourist: Adriano Augusto
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $15.99

Back when I was young and they used to carve comic books onto the walls of caves, it was possible to buy a single issue and read a complete story, beginning, middle and end in that self-same issue. It was kind of neat really, because in the dark days before mail order or specialist comic shops, if you were lucky enough to have one in your home town, you could never rely on being able to get the next sequential issue of Wonder Mallard versus the Pink Petrel, or whatever your favourite primary coloured passion was, which meant you would never know if the Fearless Feathered Felon Foiler would fall for the trail of doctored breadcrumbs or not.

Thankfully, those days are past and the introduction of collected editions means never having to be left hanging about how a story ends. Case in point is Green Hornet: Reign of the Demon TP which collects the four issue story arc which pits the Green Hornet against the crime lord Demone aka The Demon.

Posing as one of the bad guys, the Green Hornet is helped, or possibly hindered and certainly upstaged, by a new crime-fighter called The Swashbuckler who is much more media-friendly than Green Hornet. Forming an uneasy alliance with the sword-wielding headline grabber, Green Hornet tries to discover his true identity as well as that of the demonic madman whose toxic substances are turning Chicago’s citizenry into ravening maniacs in Green Hornet: Reign of the Demon.

As if that wasn’t enough in Green Hornet: Reign of the Demon, Green Hornet also has to contend with crusading reporter Linda Travis who is trying to unmask someone much closer to home. Aided by the faithful, and much more combat savvy and streetwise, Kato plus his faithful former secretary, Lenore Case, this is a tornado of a story that sees the Green Hornet tried, tested and almost blown to bits before the final conclusion.

Of course, in Green Hornet: Reign of the Demon, there is a cliff-hanger ending because characters this good, story-telling and artwork this slick and accomplished, deserves more than even a four issue collected edition can contain. Here’s looking forward to the next one.

 

 

 

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker