Kevin Smith Has Written All Ten Issues Of Green Hornet Series, Honest

[Rich Johnston]

In an upcoming interview with Comic Shop News, available free in comic shops this week, Kevin Smith assures readers who may have become accustomed to certain aspects of his work.

I have a really bad reputation in the comic book community for being delayed?or delaying myself, rather?over and over again on books. There was a period after Spider-Man/Black Cat where I kind of swore off writing comics by virtue of the fact that I couldn't guarantee a schedule for delivering scripts.

As for the adaptation process, taking his abandoned Green Hornet movie script and turning it into a comic, Smith states;

What could have started simply as, 'here, take the script and let me see it when you're done' has become much more than that... Things would kick in, like 'I remember in an earlier draft I had a scene involving Brit and his wife, so is there enough space to fit that in?' Suddenly, you're bringing something to it that wouldn't have been there had you made the movie. And it's not like I cut this out of the script because it was terrible. You cut stuff for time, but in comic book form we've got time for character development, and that will enhance any story. I've been looking at the breakdowns and going, 'hey man, this scene could totally fit back in here, so I'm going to reinstate that scene.'

Which explains the length of the series, it's more of an extended director's cut of the non-existent movie. But it's not a comedy, or at least, not a comedy in the sense that Seth Rogan is making with the actual upcoming movie.

When I was working on Hornet, we had kind of a different manifesto than Seth and Michelle have. I wouldn't call their film a flat-out comedy, but it's definitely more along the lines of Pineapple Express. There's action, tons of it, I'm sure?but the first thing they're going to think about rather than punching you in the face is tickling your funny bone.

Get more in Comic Shop News I guess. It's free, why not?

[DarkKnightJared]

I can see it--I remember hearing that DC wouldn't solicit his Batman minis until they had all his scripts sent to them and I'm pretty sure he's been on-time for all the issues so far. This also makes it appear that Smith is one of the few people, perhaps the only person in the world, who actually got more productive after they started smoking pot.

[Jason Green]

Smith's current Batman (Widening Gyre) mini isn't shipping quite on time...#1 shipped in August and #2 in September, but then #3 didn't hit until November and #4 just came out last week, so it appears the book has turned into a bi-monthly. But hey, that may not be Smith's fault, and he may have finished all 6 scripts before they solicited it.

[Karlos]

I'm looking forward to this, and indeed all the other Green Hornet stuff.

Anyone happen to know anything about the upcoming Kevin Smith's Kato, as mentioned in the April Previews thread?

[bjmorga]

I wish I could afford to add this to my reading list. Maybe I'll check it out in trade. Given Smith's admittedly poor track record, that might not be such a bad thing.

[5andman]

Given Smith's admittedly poor track record, that might not be such a bad thing.

Ya, I agree.
I haven't been impressed with any of his movies since, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.
The pass two Batman mini's were predictable and lame.

Seems like Kevin Smith is a one-trick-pony.
(And, I was a HUGE KS supporter!)

[DarkKnightJared]

Smith's current Batman (Widening Gyre) mini isn't shipping quite on time...#1 shipped in August and #2 in September, but then #3 didn't hit until November and #4 just came out last week, so it appears the book has turned into a bi-monthly. But hey, that may not be Smith's fault, and he may have finished all 6 scripts before they solicited it.

I could have swore I heard that it had an odd shipping schedule from the beginning. It might have very well been a bi-monthly the whole time.

[kaiho]

Batman: Cacophony was quite terrible and i am not that confident in trying another Smith series. He lost a lot of steam since that opening arc in Daredevil vol.2 ...

and that Kato .... why is she a female?

if i read unstoppable praise for this series i might give it a try in back-issues or TPB.

[_OM_]

But hey, that may not be Smith's fault, and he may have finished all 6 scripts before they solicited it.

...Yeah. And pigs can fly without having to be on a Pink Floyd album cover.

[MechanicalClavicles]

Speaking of late-shipping books, Dark Reign: Hawkeye #5 (the conclusion of the series) is scheduled to ship next week. The previous issue came out roughly five months ago. That's a bit of an odd gap for an Andy Diggle-penned series, right? Plus, it's hitting the shelves as the last "Dark Reign"-branded book. I wonder how retailers feel getting another Dark Reign book at this late date? I wonder if anyone cares? This was a top 50 book when it debuted last spring.

Anyway, Rich, you should poke your nose into it and find out why the book is so late. Google offers no answers. I checked.