The Shadow Strikes!

- Nick Martorelli

One of my favorite fictional characters is The Shadow, the pulp and radio hero from the 1940s who "knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men." The character’s popularity peaked decades before I was born, and while the 1994 film starring Alec Baldwin failed to reignite as much interest as the producers hoped, it was my first introduction to this mystical hero who could "cloud men’s minds so that they cannot see him." The movie led me to pursue the character in other mediums – novels, old time radio shows, movies, and, of course, comic books.

In 1989, DC Comics began publishing a series called The Shadow Strikes! that many people, myself included, regard as the definitive version of the character. The series was set in the 1930s and included a few adaptations of stories from the original magazine. Almost all of the issues were written by Gerard Jones, with the majority of the art from Eduardo Barreto, followed by Rod Whigham. The series ran for three years until the series was canceled when the rights to the character moved from DC to Dark Horse.

Cover of The Shadow Strikes! #1

Over 31 issues, plus annuals and cross-overs, the creative teams told some of the best Shadow stories of his history, as well as redefined crucial aspects of his mythology. Initial story arcs saw The Shadow facing off against the mad monk Rasputin and teaming up with fellow hero Doc Savage. The Shadow confronted his arch-nemesis Shiwan Khan in a three-part story before traveling to Chicago to take on the mobsters of the 30s. The largest storyline of the series is a 7-part adventure where The Shadow and his assembled agents confront Shiwan Khan. The series concludes with a two-part origin story for The Shadow, incorporating the character’s backstory from the original novels while also introducing new elements and details.

As I learned about The Shadow and read other comic books based on his adventures, I started to see what makes The Shadow Strikes! work so well when some other series about the character do not. Instead of framing all the stories around The Shadow himself, writer Gerard Jones constructs his narratives around The Shadow’s agents, those people whom he saved from harm and recruited during his crusade for justice. This change to the storytelling structure of the book allows Jones to focus his stories around the very-human people working for The Shadow, following Margo Lane as she tries to atone for the sins of her past, and Harry Vincent as he falls in love with Margo Lane. Anchoring the book with the "normal people" means that we, the reader, are on the adventures with Margo and Harry, thrilling as they (we) get involved in car chases and gunfights, hoping that The Shadow will come to our aid to save us. And when he doesn't, Harry and Margo are resourceful people capable of taking care of themselves.

Even more importantly, this structure allows Jones keeps The Shadow as a mysterious figure looming in the background, affecting the lives of ordinary people he has recruited. The Shadow stays hidden and behind-the-scenes of his own comic book, allowing him to function as a force of nature, a terrible spirit of vengeful justice. There are some characters that can be diminished when too much is known about them, and The Shadow Strikes! never reveals too much about the title character. He remains a mysterious figure behind a wide-brimmed hat, just as he was in the original novels by Walter B. Gibson.

There are many other comic book adaptations of The Shadow, including a recent run from Dynamite comics that ran 25 issues. Some of them have good writing, many of them have fantastic art, but all of them are principally about The Shadow himself. But no other series takes the same storytelling approach as Gerard Jones, focusing on the people drawn into the web of adventure that The Shadow weaves. Jones remains faithful to the spirit of the original creation of The Shadow, while simultaneously injecting new ideas and a new energy into the decades-old mythology of the character. Who knows if we'll ever see a classic character adapted this well again?