The Shadow: Year One #6 Review


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Do we really need to explore the extended history of this icon?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

In the aftermath of a daring armored-car hijacking, Police Inspector Cardona first hears rumors of a mysterious, black clad vigilante whose merciless vendetta is accompanied by a spine-chilling laugh. Despite his most ferocious attempts, The Shadow is frustrated by his continual inability to locate mob boss, Big Gun Massaretti. Equally aggravated by his arrogant inability to value her input, The Shadow’s fledgling agent, Margo Lane, endeavors to locate her former paramour on her own. This hit series continues, for the first time ever, to unveil The Shadow’s deepest secrets as imagined by Eisner Award-winning author, Matt Wagner.

The Shadow-Year One 6_CWhen you crack open this series you know you’re bound to find enough interesting things to hold your attention, but does it extend beyond its own limitations?  To the creative team’s credit they try and there are times when they succeed but for the most part this is a good but not great entry for this sterling franchise.

Matt Wagner pens the script and the scribe does a lot to make the odyssey of this masked vigilante work.  He births a solid narrative that brings truths while sticking to a rather rigid regiment.  The characters read as you would expect them to, as events fall out in a predictable but entertaining manner.  By the time readers reach the conclusion they’ll have a good idea where it’s going but they’re bound to be entertained by the work of this particular author.

The art by Wilfredo Torres is the strongest point in this release.  Combining modern sensibilities with a style that offers an innate historic touch, it’s simply pleasing to the eyes.  As this visual style lets loose and embraces the mechanics that have made this icon a treasure worthy of re-investigation the illustrations make the cover price a modest fee to experience this journey.

The Shadow: Year One #6 is a good entry that spins a solid yarn.  There are some shortcomings but when everything is taken into account it earns a recommendation.

3.5/5

threehalfstar

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