The Pull List – Green Hornet #1
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Art: Anthony Marques, J. Bones, Taylor Esposito
Britt Reid wears many masks for his busy life. His the owner of the news publisher Daily Sentinel. A wealthy playboy socialite. And the notorious vigilante, the Green Hornet. With his trusted partner Kato at his side, they infiltrated the criminal underworld to break it apart from the inside. Their exploits have placed targets on their backs, and now their latest adventure has everyone gunning for them. When Candice Carbajal, a science reporter, goes missing on her latest assignment, Green Hornet and Kato investigate her last whereabouts. But the pair soon discover a new threat to mankind.
The story begins with Candice Carbajal’s disappearance after looking into a report about a space rock that crash-lands in Kanas. Reid’s secretary, Lenore Case, suggests something more sinister is in play. It does take the Green Hornet very long to see things aren’t adding up and there are strong indications that this space rock isn’t all that it seemed.
This iteration of Green Hornet returns the characters to its classic roots and is set in a mixed time era. The aesthetics are heavily influenced by the 50s & 60s fashion, where everyone is dapperly dressed and cars were big. But there are a few modern technologies like computers and laptops. This hybrid of design fuses retro and modern-day conveniences. These elements don’t distract too much from the plot, focusing the story to take place between time than a certain period.
Scott Lobdell reintroduces Britt Reid and Kato as mild manner gentlemen by day, criminal sleuths at night. Lobdell gives Reid a sort of hard-boiled noir tone to Reid’s thoughts, the kind that only years spent in the trench battling evil will have. Lobdell also shows Kato to be brash, being the Hornet’s partner and not a sidekick. Reid and Kato have a playful dialogue to keep a respective relationship.
The visuals also follow the retro and modern themes. Anthony Marques uses classic character designs that match the pulp spirit of the original influences, a minimalistic approach to green and white color tones. J. Bone style meshes well with Marques’, the different shades and line thickness emits great emotions in the panels.
Green Hornet #1 lures in new and old readers with a fun premise that is easy to drop in without knowing much about the characters. The first issue is balanced enough to grab the reader’s attention while introducing the main stars. The story will interest a curious reader, but the art style will definitely have them come back for more.
Green Hornet #1 will be released on July 22nd, 2020.