The Private Files of The Shadow is a delightful volume which performs two great functions. On the one hand it gathers together all those tasty Denny O'Neil and Mike Kaluta Shadow stories from the early 70's at DC Comics. One the other hand it offers up a brand-new story of The Shadow by the team, this one told with a great deal of wit and charm. You can see earlier posts to see what goes on in those tales which are reprinted, but in the single new story let me just say this.
We follow The Shadow as he moves across the cityscape of NYC soundlessly. We listen to a radio broadcast which follows the hero across the rooftops and learn that after a savage and deadly attack the son of the Japanese ambassador has been kidnapped. The Shadow enters a lush Oriental building and after battling a mob of thugs finds the kidnapped child. He then does what heroes are supposed to do and at the same time leaves a present for Wing Fat, the rich and opulent man who ordered the kidnapping. It's a present he'd wished he never received.
This is a snappy fifteen-page yarn that unfolds visually and quickly. It's a zesty treat for those of us who really adored what the O'Neil and Kaluta team had accomplished so many years before. This was published by DC in the then popular graphic novel format, and I suppose was inspired by the previous year's Shadow effort by the team for Marvel. If you'd like to read this one check out the Internet Archive at this link.
Check in later today to enjoy a rather different take on the classic Shadow character.
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This is another strip I haven't seen and by the looks of it another cracker (art wise at least) - I'll have a read of this later. I had no idea the Shadow was in so many other comic books/ graphic novels after his initial DC run.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great reprint volume, but the new stuff makes it a must have. As the years roll by, I cherish these gems more and more.
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