With a new story arc at play, will this old school pulp icon hold a candle to any of the other comics currently lining store shelves?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

A grisly string of random murders has left the authorities baffled, but The Shadow believes there is method to the killer’s madness. At each crime scene, eyewitnesses have spotted the spectral figure of a woman in white. Is “The Light” behind the murders, or a victim’s lost spirit? The Shadow must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again!

There’s a mysterious foe in town, hunting down questionable people but what separates her from The Shadow?  We don’t really know yet, since this is the first issue of this new saga we’ll have to wait and see but nonetheless this stellar creative team certainly came ready to play with all the classic tropes associated with this franchise.

The script by Chris Roberson from beginning to end is at the very least straight to the point as it covers all the eccentricities played within this specific franchise.  From a network of undercover agents to our lead character’s attitude toward this new assailant, our hero certainly has a hefty amount of work cut out for him but thankfully this author is up to the task of steering his literary ship.  There were only a few minor instances where the tale took a bit of a sour turn when the dialogue just came off far too clunky.

Giovanni Timpano steps in to handle the art, and for the most part the talent is up to the task save for a few moments here and there.  The action and character design is fluid as it offers a sense of motion that few talents can capture but there were a few instances where details just seemed to be far too lacking.  The body of work as a whole was solid and save for these few moments we have another issue with some solid visualizations.

The Shadow #13 is a good book that does enough to keep its audience entertained.  Recommended.

3.5/5