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