The Shadow #12
Written by Victor Gischler
Art by Giovanni Timpano
Color by Ivan Nunes
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross, Sean Chen, Tim Bradstreet and Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 24, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Shadow #12 is yet another great entry in Dynamite Entertainment‘s pulp hero dynasty. What this company has done with near 100 year old heroes and mystery men is simply amazing. It also doesn’t hurt that they have a fantastic creative team for this book, either.

Victor Gischler goes above and beyond this issue. First off, his dialogue between LaMont Cranston and Magot Lane is straight out of a 1930’s movie. Cranston is high and aloof and Lane is the hopelessly in love girlfriend that’s trying to get him to spend at least ONE uninterupted dinner. From there, Gischler takes The Shadow right into “super hero” mode, which is fantastic. The Shadow’s inner monologues are fun, but sort of creepy. You’re still not sure exactly WHAT kind of hero that he is, and that’s really entertaining for the reader.

Giovanni Timpano is a good artist, I’m just not sure that this book is for him. He does a fantastic job drawing New York City in the 1930’s, but the problem is, it’s not “dirty” enough. This is a world where everything is new and shiny, when it should be showing signs of wear and tear. The Shadow lives in a grim and gritty world, not a shiny, sparkly brand new city. He’s also a little light on details, which is distracting at times. Again, the art’s not bad, it’s just not for this book.

Overall, I liked this issue. Yes, the art is not my favorite, but you can get past that because the story is so darn good. I would recommend that you pick up this issue.