Dynamite Entertainment 2015
Written by G. Willow Wilson & Erica Schultz
Illustrated by Noah Salonga
Coloured by Dinei Ribiero
First impression is that I wish this was a mini-series! I’m really quite taken with this pairing and how well they worked together and the fact that both women can stoically strong and effective. The whole Swords of Sorrow crossover wasn’t really on my radar but perhaps now that i’ve read this one i’ll have to be giving it a shot since I’m that impressed by what I see here. Oh and as usual the interior artwork here is fabulous! Love the attention to detail in the characters, backgrounds and page layouts not to mention Masquerade’s power in use and then that 3/4th’s page pin-up yeah that was the clincher it’s phenomenal.
It still surprises me how well the Green Hornet and Kato have protected their secret that they are criminals even from “fellow crimefighters” such as Masquerade and with all the company crossovers lately I wasn’t aware anyone didn’t realize it was all a ruse to get closer and more trusted by the criminal element. So this is my introduction to Masquerade and what she can do and I must admit i’m plenty impressed with her and strange ability. So that when a strange man allows her into his mind and offers her the position of General in the upcoming war she takes it since she can see the truth.
When we get to Kato we see her chasing down the Black Beauty which seems to be going on one hell of a joyride without her. Once she gets in the car and realizes there’s no one else in it is when Masquerade joins her and suddenly the two women have their first adventure together. So what is going on well we soon learn who is behind this and it’s not whom I expected it to be. Now I’m a huge Purgatori fan and seeing her serving this man she refers to as her Prince seems very out of character for her. On the other hand yay Purgatori’s involved and looking as beautiful and deadly as ever!
After your typical heroes meet and fight then realize they should be allies not enemies though a very spectacular fashion thanks to Masquerade’s powers and a quick visual recap and Masquerade’s narration of what she sees of Kato’s life. Then we turn to who is possessing the Black Beauty and it’s Masquerade who manages to defeat Purgatori this time around. Wow this is pretty good stuff here and if you like me aren’t familiar with Masquerade then pick this up because she’s definitely worth knowing and this kind of introduction is perfect.
So the ladies do manage to get back home alright but it’s a one shot and that makes me sad because this is so well done it’s a solid story with incredibly good characterization and some stunningly good interior artwork. While I question Purgatori’s motives in serving a man period since that seems out of character i’m going to have to follow this to see what she’s really up to.
Want to know who these characters are then pick this up you don’t have to read the main story but somehow if you’re like me than you’ll want to. Dynamite is home to consistently strong, powerful and beautiful storytelling and here they just reaffirm that.