The Shadow One-Shot: Agents of The Shadow Review

Is this really an outing that honestly deserves a purchase? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Faced with a world without The Shadow, his agents must step up and take down a crime syndicate that is crippling the city! From the mean streets to the mountains of China, the agents run a counter operation to break up this menace and uncover its mysterious leader. Margo, Jericho, Cliff, and more unite to stem the bitter fruit of crime!

This is a release that’s bound to speak to a very distinct breed of fanboy and fangirl. If you’re someone who grew up around pulp, especially this iconic character, there’s plenty to enjoy. But there’s also a tremendous amount of corn that might make this one a bit hard to digest. So for the uninitiated: you’ve been warned.

Michael Moreci pens a script that never really fleshes out its cast but spills the beans on some engaging antics nonetheless. The Shadow is quickly dispensed, in the middle of a case no less, so it’s fallen to a handful of his agents to continue his work. On one hand the simple idea behind the plot makes the piece inviting, but the level of goofiness cheapens some of the more noteworthy moments. And so it becomes clear that the pace needed to be more finessed in order for the whole to become something more then it is.

There may be some hiccups with the text but the illustrations handed in by Anthony Marques easily make this jaunt worthy. Each character is rendered with simple precision that heralds back the origins of pulp with a slightly modern Disney twist and feel to it. The end result is a pleasing body of work that knows its world well enough to not disappoint, especially with a vibrant palette by Andre Szymanowicz. To sum up: the visuals flow in a sturdy narrative succession.

The Shadow One-Shot: Agents of The Shadow is by no means high brow entertainment but there’s more then enough good within the confines of its consistent plot to warrant your attention. Recommended.