The Shadow #1

Written by: Si Spurrier & Dan Watters
Art by: Daniel HDR
Colour by: Natalia Marquies
Published by: Dynamite Comics

The Shadow has been a character that I have followed semi-regularly since I started reading comics all those years ago. I know enough about the character, precursor to Batman, the dual pistols, the scarlet red scarf, that i was intrigued to hear that he was getting yet another new series from Dynamite.

This time, helmed by Si Spurrier and Dan Watters, we are not introduced to the Shadow right away. Instead, Spurrier and Watters choose to open with a soon-to-be doctor wrapping bandages around her patient, recalling the time she met the Shadow (and we are to learn, the last time anyone saw the Shadow). As a framing device for this series, Spurrier and Watters’ choice to give readers this primer on who the Shadow is through this doctor’s point of view is actually quite genius when you stop to think about it: it properly sets up the story to be new-reader friendly,and also gives long time fans a taste of what is to come. In her soliloquy, the doctor gives us an idea of what type of vigilante the Shadow is - unremorseful - gives us an idea of the world they live-in - way too close to the one we currently inhabit - and sets up a nice little mystery all in one issue.

On art, HDR does a good job in both types of situations he is given to work with in this issue. On the one hand, you have many shots of the doctor working on this burn patient, removing and redoing bandages, but it every single one, you can see her thinking about the past, and HDR properly conveys the emotions a character would feel recalling those types of events. On the other hand, HDR gives us some action scenes involving the Shadow and in each, you get the sense of the classic Shadow movements - if you’ve ever seen old-school covers of the Shadow, you will know what I mean. The Shadow moves with grace, and HDR does a good job of showcasing those movements in this issue.

In all, this issue does a good job of hooking the reader and I definitely want to read more. I’ve always been a sucker for a good old-fashioned pulp story, and this was a good opening for just that.