The Shadow #23
Created by Walter B. Gibson
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Giovanni Timpano
Colors by Fabricio Guerro
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross, Dean Motter
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: March 19, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Dynamite’s The Shadow is a retelling of the Walter B. Gibson stories best known from radio plays that starred, among others, Orson Wells. As a comic the stories take on a new life. I was a fan of the radio programs so I asked to see what this new Shadow might be. The cover art by Alex Ross is spectacular, invoking the period and sensibility of the 1930s around the start of WWII. I found the heavy-handedness of the line art by Giovanni Timpano to be evocative of the older comics I have seen like Sgt. Rock books from the ’70s.

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.