THE GREEN HORNET

This weekend’s superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at some of the earliest comic book adaptations of the iconic character the Green Hornet. That figure originated on radio in January 1936 and in a very early example of a shared universe, the Green Hornet’s secret identity was Britt Reid, grand-nephew of John Reid – the Lone Ranger.

Britt’s father was the son of the Dan Reid kid that frequently interacted with his uncle the Lone Ranger from the 1933 radio show on to the Clayton Moore television series. In fact, Britt Reid’s pride in his family’s heroic forebear inspired him to don a mask and costume and fight Detroit’s racketeers like the Lone Ranger fought outlaws in the Old West.

In the radio series and screen serials the Green Hornet’s gun was loaded with knockout gas but in comic books and television his gun fired electric blasts called the Hornet’s Sting. The Hornet’s sidekick was Kato, most famously portrayed on the tv series by Bruce Lee. Kato drove the Black Beauty, the Green Hornet’s souped-up, gizmo-filled car. The Black Beauty came before the Batmobile and any of James Bond’s tricked-out vehicles.

And just as the Lone Ranger show’s theme music came from classical music – the William Tell overture – the Green Hornet show’s theme came from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee.

Britt Reid’s father was the millionaire publisher of the newspaper The Daily Sentinel and he put his good-timing playboy son in charge hoping the responsibility would make him grow up and abandon his partying. Britt pretended to still be a shallow playboy to make sure his father and the public never realized he was secretly that scourge of crime the Green Hornet.   

The police and even Daily Sentinel crime reporter Mike Axford (formerly of the 1932 radio series Warner Lester, Manhunter) misunderstood the Green Hornet’s vigilante activities and suspected the masked hero of being a criminal himself. The Hornet took advantage of that misperception by convincing some of his gangster foes that he was indeed an outlaw and wanted a cut of their illegal operations.

Completing the Green Hornet program’s supporting cast was Britt Reid’s sexy secretary Lenore Case aka “Casey.” And another show in the shared Lone Ranger-Green Hornet-Manhunter universe was radio’s Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.

The original Green Hornet radio series ran until 1952 (1954 in reruns). There were two 1940s big screen serials about the character, the Van Williams-Bruce Lee tv show from 1966-1967 and many, many volumes of comic books. This blog post looks at the very first Green Hornet comic book series which started in 1940.

GREEN HORNET COMICS Vol 1 #1 (Dec 1940)

Green Hornet – The Green Hornet and Kato help a Union of restaurant workers free their organization from under the thumb of the gangster Catro.   

Murder in the Offing – Our heroes investigate a murder committed by corrupt lawyers to cover up their misuse of trust funds they are overseeing.

Measure for Measure – When Lenore “Casey” Case looks into a racket at the Bureau of Weights & Measures she gets in so deep that the Green Hornet and Kato must save her.

Accidents on Purpose – Our heroes and Casey bring down a ruthless fake auto accident insurance claim racket.

Sins of the Fathers – Two-page text story involving secrets among fathers.

Racketeers Go to the Dogs – The Green Hornet and Kato clash with a dog abduction ring run by criminals called Allman, Cole and Shorty.

A Copyright on Chiseling – Our heroes take on racketeers in the publishing industry who are ripping off new authors with muscle from thugs named Ryder and Cross.

Graft Beyond the Grave – Hearse-chasers are ripping off new widows and the Hornet’s not having it.

No Sale in Premiums – A racketeer preying on shopkeepers has ties to a high-placed politician.

GREEN HORNET COMICS Vol 1 #2 (Mar 1941)

The Numbers Racket – Corrupt police Captain Sheldrake, who is in the pocket of gangsters running a numbers racket, frames honest Sgt. Moran when the Green Hornet and Kato come close to shutting down the operation.

The Cure-All Racket – Crooked Dr. Canfield sells and distributes his fake cancer cure from a radio station across the border in Canada. 

The Tourist Camp Racket – A shooting at a tourist camp leads to a racketeer named Tasker, who is using his elected puppets to block legislation that threatens some of his scams.

The Spirit is Willing – Two-page text story about an unknown subject.

Ferranti, the Evil Union Leader – Don’t tell Teischer, but Ferranti is a crooked union boss skimming funds from the organization with his thugs, including Snipe and Breedon.

Snyder, Machine Politician – No, it’s not a story about cyborg politicians. Snyder runs the state’s political machine and is using assorted rackets to drain the budget with help from his lady Betty and sidekick Turk.

Hard Day at the Office – Casey is abducted by criminals named Pete Nibblo, Butch, Smithton and Smoky when she leads the Green Hornet to their plot of collusion among three printing plants to keep prices high in the state. 

Veterans Relief Board – The Green Hornet and Kato corral two crooks called Hedges and Seely, who have been misappropriating money intended to aid elderly veterans of World War One. (Couldn’t accountants handle some of these cases?)