FRED VAN LENTE talks GREEN HORNET ’66 MEETS THE SPIRIT #1, on sale in JULY from Dynamite!
BYRON BREWER: Fred, how does it feel to pair two such iconic characters together in one tale? A whole lot of pressure there …!
FRED VAN LENTE : The Spirit has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid – my dad really liked the original Spirit strips. So I was excited to work in his milieu, as well as age the mythology a bit—the conceit of our series is that the Spirit has disappeared since 1952 (when the strip ended) and no one knows what happened. Then 1966 rolls around...
BB: In this book, we are specifically dealing with the iterations of the Green Hornet and Kato from 1966 TV, the companion show as it were to the more campy Batman (’66). Were you an avid viewer of said GH series and have you looked at episodes as research for this book?
FVL: Other than the Batman episodes where Green Hornet and Kato appear, I’ve never seen the show beyond a few clips on YouTube. I’ve always been a big Bruce Lee fan, which is the only really attraction to me, but I haven’t gotten around to it. As a kid I was kind of into radio drama, believe it or not, so I’m actually more interested in the 1930s show.
BB: There is always a certain reverence for creators in handling the legendary Will Eisner’s Spirit character. Was there any difficulty for you in finding this mysterious character’s “voice”?
FVL: If there was, it was easily solved by the fact that this does not appear to be “Will Eisner’s Spirit character” in this series.
BB: Really, hmm … Since this IS Green Hornet 1966, you mentioned that you actually age the Spirit’s mythology? The Spirit’s cast?
FVL: Yes, even though “Will Eisner’s Spirit” isn’t the Spirit, that doesn’t mean a Will Eisner character isn’t the Spirit these days ... and given our recent interest in legacy characters, it shouldn’t be a huge shock as to who that is.
BB: You mentioned that you are a big Bruce Lee fan. What role will Kato, as portrayed by Lee in the TV series, play in the miniseries?
FVL: I’ve kind of been writing Kato as Green Hornet’s bitchy friend. He likes ribbing Green Hornet for his reliance on gadgetry and complicated backstory about being a criminal. Their relationship is one of my favorite parts of the book.
BB: Can you tell us a little about the story for this team-up?
FVL: It starts out at the Central City 1966 World’s Expo, where Britt Reid and his bodyguard, Kato, have arrived to show off what they call “The Newspaper of Tomorrow” at the Daily Sentinel pavilion. The Sentinel has developed a computer brain that claims to be able to predict tomorrow’s headlines today—and it claims that The Spirit will return to the streets of Central City for the first time in fourteen years tonight! What’s going on? Green Hornet and Kato are on the case to crack this mystery – in which all does not appear to be as it seems...
BB: What does artist Bob Q bring to this iconic table?
FVL: Terrific art, that’s what. This book is gonna put Bob on the map because of his strong work here, mark my words – you’re gonna hear a lot more from him very soon and some high-profile projects.
BB: Fred, what can you tell us about any other projects you have going?
FVL: I’m excited to be doing a Guardians of the Galaxy mini-series with one of my favorite artists, Salva Espin, in July, and of course Deadpool vs. the Punisher [from Marvel] and Z Nation, also from Dynamite, are on the stands now. Go grab ‘em!
https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/v...13026015401011
BYRON BREWER: Fred, how does it feel to pair two such iconic characters together in one tale? A whole lot of pressure there …!
FRED VAN LENTE : The Spirit has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid – my dad really liked the original Spirit strips. So I was excited to work in his milieu, as well as age the mythology a bit—the conceit of our series is that the Spirit has disappeared since 1952 (when the strip ended) and no one knows what happened. Then 1966 rolls around...
BB: In this book, we are specifically dealing with the iterations of the Green Hornet and Kato from 1966 TV, the companion show as it were to the more campy Batman (’66). Were you an avid viewer of said GH series and have you looked at episodes as research for this book?
FVL: Other than the Batman episodes where Green Hornet and Kato appear, I’ve never seen the show beyond a few clips on YouTube. I’ve always been a big Bruce Lee fan, which is the only really attraction to me, but I haven’t gotten around to it. As a kid I was kind of into radio drama, believe it or not, so I’m actually more interested in the 1930s show.
BB: There is always a certain reverence for creators in handling the legendary Will Eisner’s Spirit character. Was there any difficulty for you in finding this mysterious character’s “voice”?
FVL: If there was, it was easily solved by the fact that this does not appear to be “Will Eisner’s Spirit character” in this series.
BB: Really, hmm … Since this IS Green Hornet 1966, you mentioned that you actually age the Spirit’s mythology? The Spirit’s cast?
FVL: Yes, even though “Will Eisner’s Spirit” isn’t the Spirit, that doesn’t mean a Will Eisner character isn’t the Spirit these days ... and given our recent interest in legacy characters, it shouldn’t be a huge shock as to who that is.
BB: You mentioned that you are a big Bruce Lee fan. What role will Kato, as portrayed by Lee in the TV series, play in the miniseries?
FVL: I’ve kind of been writing Kato as Green Hornet’s bitchy friend. He likes ribbing Green Hornet for his reliance on gadgetry and complicated backstory about being a criminal. Their relationship is one of my favorite parts of the book.
BB: Can you tell us a little about the story for this team-up?
FVL: It starts out at the Central City 1966 World’s Expo, where Britt Reid and his bodyguard, Kato, have arrived to show off what they call “The Newspaper of Tomorrow” at the Daily Sentinel pavilion. The Sentinel has developed a computer brain that claims to be able to predict tomorrow’s headlines today—and it claims that The Spirit will return to the streets of Central City for the first time in fourteen years tonight! What’s going on? Green Hornet and Kato are on the case to crack this mystery – in which all does not appear to be as it seems...
BB: What does artist Bob Q bring to this iconic table?
FVL: Terrific art, that’s what. This book is gonna put Bob on the map because of his strong work here, mark my words – you’re gonna hear a lot more from him very soon and some high-profile projects.
BB: Fred, what can you tell us about any other projects you have going?
FVL: I’m excited to be doing a Guardians of the Galaxy mini-series with one of my favorite artists, Salva Espin, in July, and of course Deadpool vs. the Punisher [from Marvel] and Z Nation, also from Dynamite, are on the stands now. Go grab ‘em!
https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/v...13026015401011