Kato Origins #6 – Review

By: Jai Nitz (writer), Colton Worley (pencils and inks), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colorist), Joseph Rybandt (editor)

The Story: We start with a softer side to Kato in this stand-alone issue. He’s going to see friends play jazz. But, being a gritty, noir book, your can bet that it doesn’t take long for the sordidness of 1940s underworld Chicago to bring trouble Kato’s way.

What’s Good: A few issues back, I had effused over Nitz’ layering of the imagery he used, specifically how Kato, in his running monologue, compared his lack of knowledge of trains to his lack of knowledge of women and his knowledge of fighting. Nitz pulls out that beautiful narrative style again, and I was immediately caught up in Kato’s musings on music and jazz. It was so fascinating, that I didn’t realize that Nitz was reeling me into a comparison of music and martial arts until page five, but by then, I was locked into my seat. Nitz’ metaphors are brilliant and this issue is all about the dark side of martial arts, much like the dark side of music. It makes total sense now, but it had never occurred to me before that the thrill of violence and power would be a drug, comparable to music, and how easy it must be to be tempted off the path. And although it is more subdued in this issue, the pervasiveness of the racism of 1940s America is an omnipresent feature of the story, much like it is in the best X-men stories. A subtle wrinkle Nitz added to the racist setting was the racism between Asians and African-Americans, which is additional layering on a powerful theme. I loved Nitz’ smart writing (as always).

Green Hornet – Movie Review

By: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (writers), Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz (starring), Michel Gondry (director)

The Story: With too much money and time on his hands, and not enough thrills, millionaire Britt Reid enlists the help of martial artist/genius/tech wiz/coffee maker Kato to take down LA’s biggest criminals under the guise of the Green Hornet.

SPOILER ALERT

The Review: From the beginning, it’s clear that Green Hornet is a mixed bag.  Story-wise, it adapts some of the elements of Kevin Smith’s comic miniseries by setting the period in the present and as the basis for Britt Reid’s character.  But the rest of the movie seems to be largely Rogen’s creation, resulting in the movie being deluged with the in-your-face kind of humor that Rogen and his “Frat Pack” contemporaries.  As a result, Green Hornet really ends up a comedy film with masked vigilantes, rather than the other way around.

The action sequences are pretty glorious.  Most of it involves the heroes’ favorite transport, the imaginatively armed Black Beauty, which should receive its own credit for all the screen time it gets.  The impeccable Kato serves up nearly all the coolest bits—so much so, that by the end of the movie, you’re left wondering what the point of even including Britt Reid was all about.  He literally ends up doing nothing in the movie.  Even at the final showdown between the wannabe heroes and villains, Reid screws up the biggest task he takes on.  Sure, the villains get their comeuppance in the end, but justice doesn’t really get served.  I suppose that’s material for the sequel to tackle.

Kato Origins #2 – Review

By: Jai Nitz (writer), Colton Worley (pencils and inks), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colorist)

The Story: Way of the Ninja, Part Two: A Korean grocer has been murdered. Kato, our favorite Japanese ninja sidekick, recognizes signs of ninja involvement that can only imply that he is a target too. The problem in tracking down people people with ninja training is that they don’t leave tracks, or if they do, they lay them right through rival gangs….

What’s Good: Nitz has a solid grip of his character, how he perceives the hostile world he’s immersed in, and the sort of deadly playfulness he needs to survive. Nitz has Kato take two philosophies of conflict (one by Doc Holliday, the other by Sun Tzu) to be the thematic frames of this book. How Kato compares each philosophy, while he is implementing one that is a mix of both, is really cool, and gives depth and resonance to this gritty, brutal world. At the same time, Nitz cleverly applies sun Tzu’s work to what it’s like to be Asian in racist America of the 1940s. This gives the readers a different lens through which to look at the persecuted and how they might deal with an ignorant, hostile world. Nitz does this all with crisp dialogue, sardonic monologue boxes and appropriate reliance on Colton Worley.

Kato Origins #1: Way Of The Ninja – Review

By: Jai Nitz (writer), Colton Worley (pencils and inks), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colors), Joe Rybandt (editor)

The Story: Way of the Ninja, Part One: The police come to the home of the Green Hornet to ask Kato for help. A Korean grocer has been killed, and they need a steady hand doing translation. Britt (the Green Hornet) tells Kato to go, despite knowing that Kato is Japanese and can’t speak Korean. Kato finds a whole lot of racism (this is just after Pearl Harbor), a beautiful woman, a dead Korean with broken fingers, and a message that makes this whole case look a whole lot more personal that he thought.

What’s Good: This is a very sophisticated story. The action is gritty and noir. The panel layouts are brisk and dynamic, and despite the fascinating and insightful monologue by Kato, the narrative almost feels terse. The art says a lot through body language (check out the detective pulling Kato towards the corpse, or the tense altercation with McLaughlin) and facial expressions (look at Kato’s expressions as he looks at the body – there is menace in his curiosity, a bubbling anger that complements the ironic narrative). The fight sequences are awesome, with silent panels showing panicked, strobed movement before loud blows land and decide the outcomes. Worley and Fajardo do brilliant work of making us feel the setting, the emotions and the action in equal measure.