As a long-time Shadow fan, I have mixed opinions whenever he is featured in comic books. I appreciate that he is being introduced to new audiences, but at the same time, if he isn’t done properly, those new readers can easily misinterpret the nature of the character. Perhaps because of his influence on Batman, it is sometimes too easy to draw correlations between the two, but believe it or not, they are more different than they are alike.

Bringing the two together may seem like an obvious team-up, but I would disagree. Finding common ground for them in this series required a villain manufactured for the occasion to offset the Joker’s lunacy. Teaming the heroes to battle a union of villains is what I consider low-hanging fruit. To add other layers of cliché to the mix, why not have them exchange villains, or sidekicks?

Overall, Batman The Shadow is a very broad interpretation, created for Batman fans that would like to see him partner up with The Shadow as they believe him to be. None of the six issues were the least bit satisfying as the single storyline published back in Batman #253. The artwork was also highly-stylized, which I don’t mind in general. I like Rossmo’s style, but this may not have been the best project for it.

Forthcoming – this week, in fact – Scott Snyder also pens a Shadow/Batman series for Dynamite (current publisher of The Shadow comics). Here is a review of the first issue.

Rating: 5/10