And Then I Read: THE SHADOW 1

Images © Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc.

This new SHADOW series from Dynamite, under a great cover by Alex Ross, is written by Garth Ennis. I haven’t read anything by Garth in a while, and I’d forgotten how good he is. He completely gets the pulpy melodrama of this period story, taking place not long before World War Two, and his writing goes beyond that to reach convincingly into the mind and personality of the title character and his urbane alter ego, Lamont Cranston. Cranston plays the cold fish playboy on the outside, but through Garth’s inner dialogue we know more. We also know something that may not have appeared in the original pulp stories: The Shadow has a slight ability to see the future, as well as his famous one of clouding men’s minds. Above all the character is fascinating in his ability to control and/or frighten others, clearly a great intellect as well as a man of action. This is choice stuff, I’ll have to read the collected edition when that comes out.

The art by Aaron Campbell is quite good, full of atmosphere and double-lit shadows that add mystery and menace. It’s not as stylish and art deco as the great work of Michael Wm. Kaluta for DC’s version of the character, but it complements the script well, and is solid work in every way.

Recommended.