Green Hornet #28 is the issue to jump on board for two reasons. One, it’s the start of a new arc. Two, it has a new creative team. Fan of the character, or looking to jump in, this issue is the way to do it. With the Honet’s name cleared from Outcast, it’s time for a brand new story. I like the new creative team, the writing is sharper. Though this first issue is severely lacking ‘excitement’ and even ends up being a little confusing.

Here’s the official description from Dynamite:

Pure Kung Fu action comes to a small town! It’s the beginning of a new era for Green Hornet in Century City, following the Outcast storyline. Now, the new Green Hornet and Kato hit the road in search of Mulan’s father, Hayashi. The original Kato has gone looking for a connection to his youth. What he has found will teach the new Green Hornet team that deadly danger isn’t exclusive to the streets of Century City.

The first half of the comic does not feature the title character and instead chooses to introduce us to two plotlines. This wouldn’t be a bad thing, but the characters aren’t really that engaging or interesting. By the tenth page a new reader will be thinking, “So…what about that Hornet guy?” Here we have Seymour, a video game player stereotype. I don’t know if I’m suppose to sympathize or dislike him. The script for him just isn’t that good or realistic. (And I believe the Green Hornet is supposed to represent realism in the comic world.) That’s not to say there wasn’t any good things to be found. The Hornet’s talk on lawyers and drug dealers was superbly written, one of the best dialogue sequences I’ve read in a long time.

The art is pretty good, no real complaints there. The cover is pretty unique, I like it. I do think it would have worked better as the second issue’s cover in this new arc, and use a more new-reader catching one for this, but still good.

Overall, not a bad start to the new arc. With a fresh story and creative team, there’s no reason to not jump in if you’ve been interested in this series. However, if you have no interest in the character whatsoever, there’s really no reason to jump in. It’s lacking elements that made the classic show fun to watch, it’s also lacking a solid antagonist at the moment. It’ll (hopefully) improve as it goes on. Still, the Hornet’s dialogue sequence makes the comic.

3/5