Editor's Desk 
TV’s GREEN HORNET at 60: GOLD KEY’s Comics Were Faithful to the Show — While Giving Something New and Groovy
1966 WEEK! The ABC program, starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee, debuted 60 years ago, on Sept. 9, 1966…
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Welcome to 1966 WEEK — a 60th anniversary celebration of an extraordinary, landmark year in popular culture. For seven days, we’re bringing you a whole host of features on everything from Star Trek, to Batman, to the Beatles, to the Monkees, and much, much more. (Just check out Walt Grogan’s latest fab banner, above!) Click here for more of the far out fun! — Dan
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The Green Hornet #1 (Feb. 1967), #2 (May 1967), and #3 (Aug. 1967). All were published by Gold Key.
By PETER BOSCH
Each issue was definitely not green but gold in its own way. I’m talking, of course, about The Green Hornet comic book series published by Gold Key, based upon the legendary TV program produced by Batman’s William Dozier that debuted 60 years ago on September 9, 1966.
There were only three issues in total but each was exceptional in a fashion – starting with the photo covers of Van Williams and Bruce Lee. However, Gold Key did not stop there. As was their publishing style at the time, there were more pictures on the inside front covers — and the inside back covers — AND the back covers, too! How cool is that?
The impressiveness of the comics did not end there. All three issues were drawn by the great Dan Spiegle, who caught the looks of the stars and captured the atmosphere needed for the Hornet and Kato’s nocturnal activities.
Splash page of The Green Hornet #1. Art by Dan Spiegle. Writer unconfirmed.
(The writer of the comic book title has been assumed to be Paul S. Newman but that has not been completely confirmed.)
Several recognizable moments from the television series were brought over faithfully to the comics, including:
Top: District Attorney Scanlon’s glasses buzzing and his arrival by secret elevator at Britt Reid’s home (The Green Hornet #1). Middle: The fantastuic rotation of the cars (Issue #2). Bottom: The outside alley wall’s advertisement splitting in two for the dynamic secret exit of the Black Beauty (Issue #1).
But enough talk! Time to get to the highlights of the comics adventures — and every photo cover inside and out. (Do I or do I not know what you really want to see?)
Let’s roll, Kato!
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Plotlines for the comic books included certain elements that appeared in the television episodes. Here are brief storylines for the comics, along with sample Spiegle pages from each:
The Green Hornet #1 (released Nov. 1966) had a full-issue tale titled “Ring of Terror,” which included elements of the TV series’ two-part story “Beautiful Dreamer.” In a highly dramatic moment of the TV show, Casey Case (Wende Wagner) is brainwashed into trying to kill Britt Reid. The same twist was a plot element in the first issue, but with another character involved.
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Moving on to the second issue…
Issue #2 (released Feb. 1967), featured “The Threat of the Red Dragons,” and had an Asian gang extorting money, similar in ways to “The Preying Mantis,” one of the best episodes of the TV series.
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And the third and last issue…
The Green Hornet #3 (released May 1967) had two stories, also with aspects seen on the TV series.
The first story, “The Counterplot Affair,” is about a young foreign prince in danger. Inspiration for this tale may have come from the “Trouble for Prince Charming” episode, in which a grown-up foreign prince is threatened by secret factions within his own staff.
The second story, “Masquerade,” seems to have borrowed from the TV two-parter, “Corpse of the Year.” In “Masquerade,” a phony Green Hornet and Kato rob the proceeds of a masked ball but are stopped by the real heroes. “Corpse of the Year” focused on a fake Green Hornet committing murder.
It’s a shame there weren’t more issues of The Green Hornet published by Gold Key but it was likely a decision based on the fact that there was no more TV series to serve as a selling point. The first two issues had been released while the program was on the air, but the third issue came out two months after the last new show had been broadcast, on March 17, 1967. (The Star Trek comic book series from Gold Key was a definite exception to that line of thought, running 61 issues from 1967 to 1979.)
Thankfully, in the decades to come, the Green Hornet would make a return to comics, from Now, Dynamite — and DC.
Batman ’66 Meets the Green Hornet #1 (2014). Cover by Alex Ross.
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MORE
— The Complete 1966 WEEK INDEX of Features. Click here.
— MORRISON MONDAYS: While BATMAN Was Campy and Fun, THE GREEN HORNET Was Just Plain Cool. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is out now. (Buy it here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
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