And Then I Read MASKS

Image © Dynamite Entertainment and the respective copyright holders.

Dynamite has lately been gathering licenses for a number of pulp magazine and radio characters from the 1930s and 1940s, and in this series they’ve teamed quite a few of them up in an exciting adventure. Writer Chris Roberson has done a fine job capturing the feel of the time period, and the characters without making it seem too dated. This is not easy! He also makes the team work by putting them in a New York City where criminals have taken over the government and the police force, making it very hard for any one of them to buck the system. Together they might have a chance, and they coalesce against a very strong common threat, not only to themselves, but to the ordinary people of the city. The art on the first issue is by Alex Ross (also on covers throughout), and it’s terrific. Issues 2-8 have art by Dennis Calero, whose style is looser, somewhat impressionistic. I thought this was a wise choice, and once you get used to it, Calero’s style works just fine. At times it reminded me of Alex Toth, or in other places a little of Gene Colan.

You don’t need to know much about these classic characters like The Shadow and The Green Hornet to enjoy this fine book, but if you do, I think you’ll enjoy it all the more. Great work by everyone involved.

Recommended.