HORN

David Baillie and Meghan Hetrick’s “Red Thorn” #1 is part of Vertigo’s big relaunch, as they continue to unleash new series by a wide variety of creators into the market. “Red Thorn” #1 feels like it’s trying to cut to the chase quickly as to not bore potential readers, but the end result is so compressed it feels as though it’s missing a few storytelling beats that might have smoothed out the experience. The issue introduces us to Isla Mackintosh, a 20-something American in Scotland looking for clues connected to her sister Lauren that vanished in the area before Isla was born. As we quickly learn, Isla has a strange gift that brings her drawings to life, and Isla and Lauren may very well share more than parents. It’s a solid premise, and I give Baillie a lot of credit for putting as much of this into the first issue as possible. Comics far too often are so focused on the collected edition that they drag out the setup through several of the initial issues, forgetting there’s an audi

In this series so far, Britt Reid has been portrayed as a hero on the edge. Pretending to be a criminal mastermind to get in good with the outlaws, he’s starting to muddy the line between hero and anti-hero. Now, this has led to questionable decisions and a lack of thought that threaten to bring down not just the Green Hornet, but also Reid, himself. Reid doesn’t yet see how he’s being manipulated in bad ways by the very forces he sees as helpful to his nightly crusade. They influence him too easily, and the seams are starting to show. Kato, who left Reid last month over his questionable actions, hasn’t given up on the truth, though. He spends this issue on the streets trying to discover the story that Reid is missing, hoping to set him straight. What he uncovers could backfire on them both. Reid is busy believing his own hype and the trail of breadcrumbs that have been laid out for him. He continues his crusade with a run for the mayor’s office, though it starts with an inconvenien

The “National Comics” series of one-shots at DC Comics is starting to feel like Top Cow’s “Pilot Season” comics, where one-shots are released to gauge reader interest with the idea that some of them could eventually become a full series. With “National Comics: Rose & Thorn,” Tom Taylor and Neil Googe provide the latest update to this DC Comics character with two personalities. While it’s not a bad beginning, it hits its conclusion just as things start moving. For those who haven’t encountered the property before, Rose is the base personality, an often-meek and quiet girl. Thorn is her alter ego that comes out to do the tough things that Rose can’t handle. In this incarnation, we get side mentions of Rose having recently been in a mental institution and she’s living with her aunt because her parents are deceased. It’s that combination that provides the jumping off point for the story, as Rose finds she can’t remember what happened the night before, but she’s covered in someone els

While I didn’t much care for “Green Hornet” #3, this annual taking place during it retroactively makes me like it a little more. Sometimes, writing a new story that expands on the events of a previously told story doesn’t work or winds up feeling forced, but “Green Hornet Annual” #1 manages to add extra character beats that work and seem like they would have worked a little better if included in the original story. While that issue felt rushed with the turnaround of Britt Reid, Jr. trying to avenge his father’s death, this annual shows that the rage was there, but the process wasn’t as immediate as it seemed previously. Using flashbacks to a Green Hornet adventure from decades ago, the annual sets up a supporting character from the younger Reid’s past, Dante, his former trainer in kickboxing. Reid’s stopover at Dante’s gym, asking his old coach for help in getting back in shape to avenge his father’s death, is a necessary step before his ill-advised descent into the underground of Ce