Comic review: The Shadow #1- The Shadow Knows

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Studios
Released: 5th August 2015


This special $1 re-launch of The Shadow is a nice diversion from everyday realities and concerns. It’s set safely in the uncontroversial/mythological past, is about evil magicians, and has a strong moral core to it that will have you rooting for the morally righteous (and I’m not talking about ‘Social Justice’ here) Shadowy crusader.

I enjoyed the book, but there’s always been something about the Shadow that I really liked. It’s the cool red scarf, the hat, the cloak, the black inked voice, and his relentlessness determination to bring people to account, to pay for the consequences of their actions. That’s what I like about him, and that’s why he has always resonated to me as somebody that I enjoy reading about.

Where is a guy like that today when we have criminals like Tony Blair still walking around and reminding us of just how corrupt and evil our world truly is? Here’s an idea: How about bringing the Shadow out of the 1930’s and into this post 9/11 world?

Just think of the possibilities of a new ‘truther’ Shadow as he investigates and punishes those responsible for 9/11, the Iraq war, the Libyan war, the banking bailout of 2008 and all of the other crimes committed by western states since 2001.

Sounds great, don’t you think? So, why isn’t anybody doing it? Perhaps I should do it myself, yeah, I probably should.

Anyway, back to fun time, let’s forget reality for a couple of minutes, and dive back into this comic book.

The Shadow #1 is an enjoyable book, the art is mostly good, sometimes very good, and the story is simple, easy to follow and a lot of fun.

Buy the book (it only costs $1) for a ten-minute fun time diversion that contains a cool, bad ass character that can look into the very heart of a man, detect the guilt, detect the corruption, detect the moral decay and judge as Annubis judges the souls of the dead.

The Shadow is his own man, and that’s why I like him. A man who goes his own way and does what is right rather than what is expedient is rare these days.

The Shadow cares about moral law, about what is right, and what is wrong, and his only mission in life is to make sure that the guilty get exactly what they deserve. Tony Blair knows what he did. The Shadow also knows. Oh yes, the Shadow knows, and justice is coming soon.


Rating: 7/10 (A decent relaunch of The Shadow, and it only costs $1)