Kato Origins: Way of the Ninja

Kato: Origins #1

by Jai Nitz, Colton Worley (Artist)

Early 1942, just months after Pearl Harbor, a police detective knocks on Britt Reid's door. He's looking for Kato. There's been a murder in the small Korean section of town and they want Kato's help with the locals. Arriving on the murder crime

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Superheroes

140 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2010

About the author

Jai Nitz is an American comic book writer who has written for Marvel, DC, Image, Disney, Dynamite, and other publishers. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1998 with a degree in film studies. He won the prestigious Xeric Foundation grant in 2003 for his self-published anthology, Paper Museum. He won the Bram Stoker Award in 2004 for excellence in illustrated narrative for Heaven’s Devils from Image Comics.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I am many things, but I am never defeated." -- our title character, during the climactic fight scene

I am also many things, and I was disappointed by Kato Origins, Volume 1: Way of the Ninja. Set during the early 1940's - the same timeframe which saw the popularity of the actual dramatic weekly radio series The Green Hornet, which spawned this energetic crimefighting sidekick - this graphic novel features a downer of a heavy-handed storyline involving racism and international espionage amidst WWII. Although obviously a solo adventure per the title, I suppose what I really wanted was the vigilante duo Green Hornet & Kato kicking the ass of organized crime / corruption on those mean streets of Chicago, not excessive amounts of morose naval-gazing and a poignant ending ripped off from (okay, maybe just inspired by) the conclusion of the classic 1949 film noir The Third Man.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice art and story chronicling the beginnings of both Kato's life in America and his career as a vigilante. Great art. Very recommended

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best Green Hornet comic I've ever read. And I've heard most of the NOW comics from the 90's, some of the 1960s ones and even some of the 1940's.
This is set in the 1940's, soon after Pearl Harbor. Kato, who is Japanese, is passing himself off as a Korean, due to the general feelings Americans had at the time for the Japanese. (In the radio show, the writers made Kato filipino after Pearl Harbor) The cops call on Kato when a korean store owner is killed. Seeing a message written in Japanese that he thinks is meant for him, and falling hard for the store owner's daughter, Kato soon finds himself on a quest for the killer.
Kato ROCKS in this story. There is a TON of action. Kato is far more ruthless then I was used to, but it fit the story. I won't say any more. But if you are a Green Hornet (or just a Kato) fan, this is a must!

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fresh look at GH from Kato's viewpoint. Set against racist America in the early 40s, Kao confronts his Japanese under a Korean persona. Truly hard-hitting.

[Al Berry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Art is solid, not great but solid, however Nix is very much a hack writer who can’t get the voices of Kato & Reid correct. Just pass on this and really anything by the writer.

[May · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely in the minority here but I was certainly disappointed in how this story played out. I felt the author did not truly understand the Kato character and the times that he lived in. For example, many readers praised the insightful look of being Asian American during the 1940s and the prejudices they faced. Yet no one has commented on some glaring problems in its portrayal of the Asian characters. For example, I get that Kato hides his Japanese heritage by pretending to be Korean for his safety. Yet, he does not react at all to seeing his fellow Japanese American citizens being rounded by and herded into camps. The author does not bother to showcase Kato's thoughts or feelings about it. Or any other character's thoughts on the subject. The internment of Japanese Americans is treated as a mere after thought. Relevant for setting the story in time but hollow nonetheless as it brings nothing to what is really an martial arts comic with some mystery elements thrown into the storyline.

Perhaps the most egregious part of the storytelling is its portrayal of the young Asian woman who is Kato's love interest. I get it. She is young and beautiful but does Kato really need to keep referring to her as his "Cherry Blossom?" He never refers to her by her actual name so his use of this pet name reinforces this antiquated notion of her as a thing to possess as opposed to an actual person with emotions. And why is a Korean woman wearing a Chinese dress (cheongsam/qipao) during the day? Did she come from working in a Chinese restaurant? Whether the illustrator intended this or not, the use of this short, form-fitting dress only reinforces this notion that not only is the character but also all young Asian women are sexual objects. Why could she not be wearing a 1940s style dress? And no matter how you look at it, Kato is creepy and veering into stalking territory by spying on her as she preparing for bed. To make matters worse, the author ends the budding romance by having Jung (the girl's actual name) turn down Kato because her widowed mother wants her to marry another Korean after he turns up at her house with flowers and expecting her to marry him without having gone a first date. And yes, racing around the city and hiding from corrupt cops is not a proper first date for anyone, let alone a martial arts expert/sidekick/Japanese soldier. At least Kato should have had the decency to ask out for dinner before proposing marriage.

As for the mystery, it was okay not great. The action sequences were fine and the pace of the story moved fairly well. Unfortunately, the character's actual lack of feelings about the events around hin and the awful portrayal of Jung were huge negatives for me.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The character Kato is the sidekick of the Green Hornet and while the title of this graphic novel is Kato Origins: Way of the Ninja it really is not an origin story per se but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the story. While it did not cover Kato’s origin in the traditional sense of how most comics would approach it, this work though was definitely a story about the identity and identity crisis of Kato, among other things.
I love the story’s exploration of being an Asian American minority in the United States and particularly situated in America in 1942. If you have read my reviews of other works by Dynamite Entertainment on the Green Hornet and the Shadow, one of the reasons why I like these comics about pulp heroes is how it touches on history and the times in America during the 1930s and 1940s. So imagine Kato living in 1942 Chicago which is where the story begins. Historically Pearl Harbor was just a few months away (December 7th, 1941) and most Americans were suspicious of Asians largely because of Pearl Harbor and the inability of many to tell the difference between various Asian ethnicities (not all Asians are Japanese). Asian Americans would be able to identify here. The story was more than a story about Kato fighting against Japanese and Nazi spies; it’s a story about his identity. As anyone who are familiar with Korean will tell you, Kato is not a Korean name even though in some of the comics I have read he’s portrayed that way (and also that being the way Kato portrayed himself publicly in this present story). Kato is actually a Japanese name. This story explores Kato’s inner battle of knowing what the Imperial Japanese military was doing in Asia (Kato was a former soldier of Imperial Japan before he left) and how that arises an internal struggle within him while also with the Korean cover that he uses. In the end it is also a dilemma of being an immigrant, and being an American when the American government has Japanese American citizens in internment camp. Very powerful story that is layered behind an action adventure and a love story.

[Melvin Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of old serials like the Green Hornet and this Kato spin-off is right up my alley. Artwork is really well done. I need to look at the actual history of Kato a little more closely. Bruce Lee's interpretation was that Kato was Chinese but this version makes Kato Japanese. Both are great renditions.

[Tanvir Muntasim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly well researched and insightful comic, which adds a rich layer to the already enjoyable story line.