| Issue | #5 |
| Published | January 1992 |
| Cover Price | 1.95 USD |
| Pages | 36 |
| Editing | Tony Caputo (Editor in chief); Joan M. Weis (Editor) |
| Notes | The back-cover promotional feature on most of the previous month's NOW releases, "NOW is Better Than Ever!," incorrectly credited this cover to James Martin, even though a repro of the Smith/Mowry work was included. |
| Characters | Green Hornet IV; Kato II |
| Genre | Superhero; Crime |
| Pencils | Tod Smith |
| Inks | David Mowry |
| Characters | Paul Reid [Green Hornet IV]; Britt Reid II; Hayashi Kato [Kato II]; D.A. Diana Reid; Mishi Kato |
| Synopsis | It's time for The City to elect a mayor again, and like last time (see Green Hornet: Solitary Sentinel miniseries) the front runner is a dubious choice: Michael Valdez, in his teens a gang member and convicted murderer, a "model inmate" in the interim. The Hornet team hold no doubts that he secretly maintains his criminal ties. A little rousting of street sources gives the Green Hornet just enough information for a late night talk with Valdez to convince the candidate to deal, specifically to withdraw from the race in return for the Hornet not exposing his true activities. The next day, at a rally where Paul and Hayashi watch and expect Valdez to announce his "decision," there is an unsuccessful assassination attempt on him, by...the Green Hornet! Valdez's trick is trouble enough for the genuine Verdant Vigilante, but that night somebody kills Valdez for real, and the Hornet is the obvious suspect. Diana informs Paul that the detective running the investigation is Mack Kirby, who years ago saw his then-partner killed in a shootout with Valdez's gang, but the situation was so chaotic that no one could be charged with his murder. It doesn't take the Hornet long to inveigle Kirby into admitting he took advantage of the "assassination attempt" to execute his idea of justice, with the district attorney listening in. Meanwhile, Mishi Kato, recovering from her wounds, decides that despite having disposed of personal enemy Johnny Dollar, the Crimson Wasp still has work to do. |
| Genre | Superhero; Crime |
| Script | Chuck Dixon; Diane Piron |
| Pencils | Tod Smith |
| Inks | David Mowry |
| Colors | Patrick Williams; Joseph Allen |
| Letters | Patrick Williams; Joseph Allen |
| Characters | Green Hornet IV; Kato II; Mishi Kato [Crimson Wasp]. |
| Synopsis | Letters from Hans C. Hush, Melissa Page, Bernard P. Dunne and Richard Gallaway, with editorial responses; a preview of the next issue; an announcement of a scheduled personal appearance of Van Williams, TV's Green Hornet. |
| Script | Joan M. Weis (main text); Chuck Dixon (dialogue balloon in reprinted panel with Green Hornet IV) |
| Pencils | Tod Smith (reprinted panels); Michael Davis (cover repro) |
| Inks | David Mowry (reprinted panels); Michael Davis (cover repro) |
| Letters | Typeset |
| Notes | Along with the above described panels, also reprinted is non-comic material, two color photos of a 1960s TV Black Beauty and joint caption from Dupont Registry of Cars, October 1990 issue; the announcement box has a yellow background and the main text has a green background. |
| Reprinted | in black and white--from this issue's Sequence 1, panel 3, page 23, an extreme close-up of Hornet IV; a detail of Kato II from the cover of this series' #2; this issue's Sequence 1, panel 2, page 24, of Mishi, cropped and enlarged; the Black Beauty from panel 3, page 13 of #3's Sequence 1; a detail of Crimson Wasp from panel 5, page 20 of #3's Sequence 1, enlarged; in color--a reduced repro of the following issue's cover. |
| Characters | Alex Furlong [Emilio Estevez]; Julie Redlund [Rene Russo]; Ian McCandless [Anthony Hopkins]; Victor Vacendak [Mick Jagger] (all from the motion picture/comic miniseries Freejack). |
| Synopsis | A text essay promoting NOW's miniseries adaptation of the movie Freejack, followed by an "on sale now" listing of six comics, with story premise and basic creative teams. |
| Script | Joan M. Weis |
| Pencils | James Martin (painting) |
| Inks | James Martin (painting) |
| Letters | Typeset |
| Notes | Logos and titles are orange while the entire page has a yellow background; this feature appeared on the last interior page of most NOW releases of this cover date. |
| Reprinted | James Martin's cover painting for Freejack #1, reduced, without logos etc., and in b/w. |
| Characters | Green Hornet IV; Kato II; Al Bundy; Peg Bundy; Bud Bundy; Kelly Bundy; two Real Ghostbusters; Hayashi Kato; Green Hornet I; Kato I |
| Synopsis | Six listings for NOW comics scheduled to be released the following month, with major creative talent credits, plot synopses and cover repros. |
| Pencils | Various |
| Inks | Various |
| Letters | Typeset |
| Notes | The "Married" cover consists of photos of Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, David Faustino and Christina Applegate; the main logo has a dark blue background, the cover repros are in full color, and the listings section has a powder blue background; this feature appeared on the back cover of most of NOW's releases of this cover date; cover art credits ceased to be regularly included in the listings as of this installment (the erroneous James Martin credit for this issue in last month's entry--see cover sequence note--is probably no coincidence). |
| Reprinted | Covers of Green Hornet (1991 series) #6; Married...With Children (1991 series) #6; Real Ghostbusters (1991 series) #4; Kato of the Green Hornet I #4; Tales of the Green Hornet (2nd series) #2; Twilight Zone #4. |