The Shadow Volume 2: Revolution

very good.

This book was my introduction to the character of the Shadow, and I have to say I loved it. I was engrossed from beginning to end, and I intend to read much more of the character. I'm becoming a huge fan of Victor Gischler's work, and he brings a mix of Whedon-seque imagination and Tarintino-esque badassery to everything he does.

The author does not seem to have a grasp on the characters; his dialogue for the Shadow is gruff and raw (i.e. "I don't know whether any of this stuff...") rather than refined, noble, and mysterious. He has Lamont Cranston say, "My bad" when he bumps into someone...are you kidding me???? The Shadow would never threaten a thug with the line "you will pay in teeth." This type of hard-boiled thuggery is beneath the character. Gischler portrays Cranston as a womanizer to rival James Bond, and his Shadow has more in common with Bruce Willis or Humphrey Bogart than a mysterious and mystical avenger of the night. Besides the anachronistic and ill-fitting dialogue, I'm a little tired of the new iteration of the Shadow globe-trotting. First, it was China. Now, it's Spain. How about having the Shadow stay in the city and fight crime lords or Nazi mad scientists, like he's supposed to? You also never see the Shadow's agents and Margo is basically his bed toy, nothing more. Other than popping up in the dark and occasional "Jedi mind tricks," you don't see the Shadow utilize any of his mystical powers. Basically, this tough talking vigilante is Rorschach from The Watchmen, only with a different costume. The only reason I give 2 stars is for the Alex Ross covers (which pay homage to the pulp character) and the interior artwork, which is solid. This is definitely not the Shadow of the pulps or radio broadcasts. For a more faithful portrayal, try the older DC series "The Shadow Strikes" with Gerard Jones or the Dark Horse series by Kaluta and Gianni. You won't find anyone saying, "My bad," though the author of this new series should.

The book was good.

Great graphics and interesting story

Oh, Dynamite. You do try. This one goes in the miss column, though. Mister Gischler seems to think that since the two characters inhabit similar worlds of sinister thugs, glamorous molls, and weary cops, that the Shadow and Sam Spade speak in exactly the same tough guy voice. But it's the Shadow's remove from that world that makes him so striking in it.

I really enjoy the publisher Dynamite Entertainment publishing comics of this pulp hero known as “The Shadow.” The Shadow was a character that was big in the 1930s who was a radio show character. I’m glad our generation get to enjoy the Shadow in this new comic book form! This is volume two of the series and it collects issues 7 through 12. Like volume one I enjoyed volume two as well.Note this second paragraph has some spoilers; if you want to skip this to the next paragraph feel free to do so. In this book the Shadow finds out the men in the temple in Nepal that has trained him in his shadowy ways has been murdered with the temple burned to the ground. He traveled to Nepal to investigate with a one eye former World War One ace name Miles Crofton flying him there and serving as his loyal sidekick. After finishing up with dealing with a local crime boss name Red Raja the Shadow still does not know about what happen to his old masters. The Shadow then proceed to Europe beginning first at Paris where he also visits the Spanish Embassy and meets a female military officer in charge of weapons procurement name Esmeralda Aguilar. It turns out there is more to her than what appears at first sight since she’s actually a villain name the Black Sparrow and she works under a shadowy villain name El Ray. There’s a twists and turn in the story concerning El Ray and Black Sparrow. The story ends in issue 11 and issue 12 is a stand-alone quick story about the Shadow fighting against some New York robbers.I love how the story takes place in the past and also takes places in various locations from Nepal in Asia to France and Spain in Europe and New York City in America. I also love how the comics refer to real historical events such as the Spanish Civil War and real political groups and even real historical individuals such as George Orwell. Those who like history and comics will like this historical fiction graphic novel. The illustrations are well done and gives us the feel of the times and place of the story’s setting. There’s a good use of color, darkness and brightness.

Enjoyable, classic Shadow action

While there were parts in it I enjoyed, The character known as The Shadow did not actually act like The Shadow in my opinion