Green Hornet Strikes #9
Written by Brett Matthews
Art by Ariel Padilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 7, 2011

Dynamite Entertainment has done a very good job with the Green Hornet license since they got it a few years back. Green Hornet Strikes #9 is the second to last issue of the story of the Green Hornet of the future. It is a different take on the characters, but it still maintains all of the classic elements that make the Green Hornet memorable. White guy in a mask? Check. Sidekick who is a master of martial arts? Check. Big car? Check and mate. It’s familiar enough to feel comfortable, yet different enough to seem somewhat new and fresh.

Luke lives in a future Chicago that is ravaged by financial disaster and gang warfare. Into this world, he looks to right wrongs and set his own path as the new Green Hornet. As always, The Green Hornet pretends to be a bad guy in order to bring the really bad guys to justice. By this point in Green Hornet Strikes, Luke has met the Kato of the past, and been partnered up with a new Kato. He is now ready to make his final blow against an evil corporation that has kidnapped his would-be girlfriend.

I haven’t read any of the previous issues in this series, and since this is the penultimate issue in a 10-issue series, I have to admit that I was a little lost. All of the setting, characters, and conflict were pretty clearly set up in the previous issues. Still, I was able to enjoy a decent enough story, and it got me interested enough to want to track down the other issues in the series or maybe find the trade collection once it is out. I could tell right away that this was a different kind of story than what was going on in either the main Green Hornet series or the Year One series. The writing by Brett Anderson (Lone Ranger) clearly had an exciting tale to tell and the art by Ariel Padilla was decent enough, but didn’t really knock my socks off.

I feel a little bad reviewing this having not read the rest of the series, but despite that, this still seems like a pretty good series. I’m going to have to check out the complete story once it’s done. Green Hornet Strikes is a worthy entry in the saga. It offers a different taste on the familiar elements. I’m giving this a 3 out of 5. Now, let’s roll, Kato!