
Masks #1 Alex Ross cover
Masks #1 is the first issue of Dynamite Entertainent's crossover comic book series Masks. The book, written by Chris Roberson and illustrated by Alex Ross, was released on November 28, 2012.
Plot[]
The Green Hornet and Kato are on the hunt for the mob boss Rothko. They get one of Rothko’s cronies cornered in an alley and suggest that if he gives them information about Rothko, he may stand to gain something. The Shadow then appears, saying that he considers it his job to personally ensure that crime never pays. After an initial misunderstanding, which causes Kato to attack him, the Shadow takes down the criminal and directs the Green Hornet and Kato to the Cobalt Club, telling them that they will find more information about Rothko there.
At the Cobalt Club, Britt Reid finds that two people are waiting for him, Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane, friends of the Shadow. Cranston reveals to Reid that the recently-formed “Justice Party,” which has taken over as the new leadership for the city of New York, has mobster Rothko as one of its prominent figures and that many more criminals have joined.
While waiting outside the club, Kato sees a man wrongfully arrested by police for violating “new vagrancy ordinances” dictating that one cannot walk the streets without having an income or fixed place of residence. Reid comes outside just as Kato prepares to fight the officers and stops him, telling him the new information he has just learned. In court, the prosecuting attorney is arrested for contempt of court when he refuses to act against the innocent man.
In the streets, a new tax is forcing citizens to give up money on the spot. Observing the city's activities from a rooftop, the Green Hornet and Kato encounter the Shadow again, and the three vigilantes decide to team up to fight the Justice Party. They engage the police officers on the street where they meet the Spider, who joins them in their cause.