Everybody was kung-fu fighting! Today. we breakdown Kato #1 from NOW Comics to see what all this Bruce Lee fuss was about. Green Hornet first appeared on radio in `936, but we know and love the Bruce Lee series from 1966. It gave America its first look at Bruce Lee's jeet kune do and the rest was history! Put on your gi and let's break a sweat as we dive in to this classic comic adaptation.
Kato is a fictional character from The Green Hornet franchise. This character has appeared with the Green Hornet in radio, film, television, book and comic book versions. Kato is the Hornet's assistant and has been played by a number of actors. On radio, Kato was initially played by Raymond Hayashi, then Roland Parker who had the role for most of the run, and in the later years Mickey Tolan and Paul Carnegie. Keye Luke took the role in the movie serials, and in the television series, he was portrayed by Bruce Lee. Jay Chou played Kato in the 2011 Green Hornet film.
Comic book adaptations
All Green Hornet comic book adaptations have included Kato. These were produced by Helnit (later Holyoke), Harvey, Dell and, tied into the television version, Gold Key. Beginning in 1989 one, published by NOW Comics, established a continuity between the different versions of the story. In this comic, the TV/Bruce Lee version of Kato is the son of the Kato from the radio stories and has the given name Hayashi as an homage to the character's first radio actor.[9]
The comic also establishes a new Kato, a much younger half-sister of the television-based character, Mishi. This female Kato also insists on being treated as the Hornet's full partner rather than a sidekick.
Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; born Lee Jun-fan, 李振藩; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor whose career spanned Hong Kong and the United States. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA).Lee is considered by critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with promoting Hong Kong action cinema and helping to change the way Chinese people were presented in American films.
He is noted for his roles in five feature-length Hong Kong martial arts films in the early 1970s: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest's The Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; and Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse. Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, based upon his portrayal of Chinese nationalism in his films, and among Asian Americans for defying Asian stereotypes. Having initially learnt Wing Chun, tai chi, boxing, and street fighting, he combined them with other influences from various sources into the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist).
Lee died in July 1973, aged 32. Since his death, Lee has continued to be a prominent influence on modern combat sports, including judo, karate, mixed martial arts, and boxing, as well as modern popular culture, including film, television, comics, animation, and video games. Time named Lee one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
Follow me:
Comic-Jutsu: https://comicjutsu.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtmcroberts
Phil K. Twitter: https://twitter.com/fatjitsu
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jtmcroberts/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jtmcroberts/
MVP Mutant Radio: https://mvpmutantradio.blogspot.com/
Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) is licensed under a Creative Commons license. https://youtu.be/tsX8FpLZGCY
