The Shadow / Batman #1 –
Dynamite Comics / DC Comics
Written by Steve Orlando
Art by Giovanni Timpano
Colors by Flavio Dispenza
Letters by Taylor Esposito
Cover by David Finch
No matter the publisher, sometimes the combination of two characters just makes too much sense not to put together. That was how I felt when I read Batman & The Shadow from DC & Dynamite recently. Luckily, we did not have to wait long to get more. Just reverse the order of the character names, and we have ourselves a brand new story.
This time Batman finds himself in New York to foil the plot of Professor Pyg who launched a large scale attack on New Year’s Eve. That’s the easy part as, from there, things start to unravel in a way that reaches far beyond the usual Pyg assault. What we do see from The Shadow (and it’s not much in this first issue) is that he’s not happy about all of this being brought to his city. There may be a reason for that, but I won’t spoil any motives. This book does have one conflict for Batman that I did not expect, not because it doesn’t make sense, but because it was in this book. I won’t reveal who it’s with, but it is a character Bat fans know very well and will not be surprised. What may surprise you is the level is escalates to, and the end result of this first issue. It’s one of those “there’s no way that just happened” moments in comics that I just love.
While I wish that I had seen more of The Shadow in a book that gives him top billing, I’m reminded that we do have six issues here. I know Steve Orlando’s work well enough to know that he’s setting something up in this first issue, and the payoff will come sooner rather than later. Honestly, I forgot all about it while reading the moments of conflict at the end of this issue. The premise is clear, the seeds have been planted, and I like that Orlando isn’t rushing but letting the story grow naturally. This is also another big win for Giovanni Timpano, as every page was just spot on. When we do finally see The Shadow, the team of Timpano and Dispenza do a great job of capturing the essence of the character and add great depth to it. This book has a clear direction, and just enough unanswered questions to leave you wanting more. Looking forward to see how this onion gets peeled.
RATING: PULL / BUY