Hollywood Halloween / Captain's Library BURKE'S LAW "Who Killed the Hollywood Hopefuls? The Fatal Attempt"

Before we begin, a brief primer on Hollywood makeup techniques...

...as they were in the 1960s, courtesy of writer Paul S Newman (again...not the actor) and artists Frank McLaughlin & Vince Colletta from the inside back cover of Burke's Law #3!

That's why it's b/w instead of color!

Now, with that out of the way, let's continue...

We Have Already Seen...

...several Hollywood actors killed by what appeared to be classic movie monsters come to horrifying life!

Captain of Detectives Amos Burke and his aides traced the creatures back to Gerald Grant, the now-retired actor who first portrayed all of them, and discover their primary suspect has an unbreakable alibi...

Written by Paul S Newman (for the final time...NOT the actor!) and illustrated by penciler Frank McLaughlin along with inkers Dick Giordano, Sal Trapani, and Vince Colletta, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Burke's Law #3 (1965) followed the format of the TV show pretty closely, including the title character's continual reference to non-existent "Burke's Laws" to cryptically-explain his deductions.

Happy Halloween!

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Hollywood Halloween / Captain's Library BURKE'S LAW "Who Killed the Hollywood Hopefuls?: Third Victim"

When Last We Left Our Millionare Crime Solver...

Movie actors are being killed by...something...resembling famous cinematic monsters.

Los Angeles Captain of Detectives Amos Burke and his aides follow a trail of clues leading to the film studio that made the movies the creatures originally appeared in....

Well, this looks like another dead end...or is it?

You'll discover the astounding answer tomorrow as the story concludes on

Halloween!

Writer Paul S Newman (again, not the actor) and artists Frank McLaughlin (penciler) along with Dick Giordano, Sal Trapani & Vince Colletta (inkers) will keep you guessing as they finish this tale from Dell's Burke's Law #3 (1965).

Burke's Law (1963-1966) was produced by Aaron Spelling, who later did such genre series as Charlie's Angels, TJ Hooker, Matt Houston, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch, The Rookies, SWAT, Mod Squad, and Honey West (a spinoff from Burke's Law we've featured HERE.)

While it was a cop show, the plot was often secondary to the parade of high-profile guest stars playing victims and suspects, making it "CSI meets Love Boat".

Classic movie stars like Buster Keaton, Don Ameche, Basil Rathbone, Dorothy Lamour, and Broderick Crawford joined up-and-comers like William Shatner, Barbara Eden, Tab Hunter, Annette Funicello, and Telly Savalas as the weirdest grouping of West Coast eccentrics outside of San Diego ComicCon!

As you can see, translating it to the comic page proved difficult, since the editors felt the guest star aspect couldn't be carried out in a licensed comic.

Trivia: Every episode's title was "Who Killed (Insert Noun)?", much as Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s titles were "The (Insert Noun) Affair" and Wild, Wild West's episodes all had a "Night of the (Insert Noun)" title...even if they took place in broad daylight!

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Hollywood Halloween / Captain's Library BURKE'S LAW "Who Killed the Hollywood Hopefuls?"

A TV series set in Los Angeles is bound to do stories about the entertainment industry...

...and, if it's a crime-oriented show, probably about the kind of evil that could only happen in a business that makes the unreal extremely real...

Captain Burke will clue us in

TOMORROW!

Written by Paul S Newman (No, not the actor) and illustrated by penciler Frank McLaughlin and inkers Dick Giordano, Sal Trapani, and Vince Colletta, this book-length adventure from Dell's Burke's Law #3 (1965) followed the format of the tv show pretty closely, down to the use of "Who Killed..." in the title that the show used for every episode's title.

While the show itself did several episodes about murders within the TV/movie industry, none of them contained sci-fi/fantasy/horror elements.

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1960s / Silver Age Green Hornet Links

Here's a list of links to my previous posts about The Green Hornet Silver Age comics based on the tv series.

"Masquerade"

The final Silver Age Green Hornet comic book tale...featuring multiple Hornets, and at least one more Kato...

"Counterplot Affair"

"Hi-Ho Hornet! Awayyy!"
The Green Hornet takes a page out of his grand-uncle's edition of the Hero Handbook!

"Threat of the Red Dragons"

The Hornet and Kato battle a tong.

Next, links to my Golden Age comic/radio show posts...including a tale showing how the radio show might have been made into a tv series in the 1940s!

Captain's Library GREEN HORNET "Ring of Terror" Conclusion

When Last We Left MeTV's other Dynamic Duo...

Newspaper publisher Britt Reid discovers an old friend and her scientist father are being forced by gangsters to manufacture a drug that renders people susceptible to orders to perform illegal acts, then forget they did them!

In his alter ego of The Green Hornet, the masked man and his partner, Kato, break into the home of the scientist and his daughter, now serving as the criminals' base of operations!

What The Hornet doesn't know is that Reid's friend has been drugged, armed, and ordered to kill Reid himself!

Written by Paul S Newman (not the actor) and illustrated by Dan Spiegle, this tale followed the format of the first few episodes (playing up the "masked detective" angle, and downplaying the fight sequences) perfectly.

When polls showed that the audience wanted more action, additional fights were written in, playing up Bruce Lee's martial arts skills.

This proved invaluable when, after Lee died in 1973, a pair of compilation films were released during the Kung Fu craze of the mid-1970s...

...as seen in these trailers for the films...

But, because the show only ran one season of 26 episodes, its rarely shown in syndicated reruns, where long-running shows could be aired Monday through Friday without repeating for months.

As a result, most fans under 40 only knew the tv version of The Green Hornet and Kato via their guest appearance on Batman!

Click on pic to really ENLARGE!

(You can read about that now-legendary meeting HERE)

Fans have long clamored for a sequel of some kind.

Almost 50 years later, the tv versions of the characters meet once more...in a new comic mini-series!

...which is currently in comic shops and available as a digital download on Comixology!

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