The Shadow (General Discussion)

[thecolorsblend]

Been reading a lot of Shadow comics lately and even a few old Gibson pulps and having an absolute blast.

I love Batman. But even I didn't know just how much of Batman had been plagiarized from The Shadow. The roots go deep and Bob Kane is not the sole offender. He may not even be the worst offender.

Razor does a pretty good job of laying out some of what was stolen from The Shadow.

Another interesting note is that in his prime, The Shadow was bigger and more popular than Batman, the MCU and all that other stuff. They totally can't even hold a candle to The Shadow's popularity in his prime.

Right now, I'd recommend basically anything Matt Wagner has done with The Shadow. Very enjoyable stuff.

Less enjoyable was the miniseries written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Giovanni Timpano. There are some kind of wonky moments, esp in the final issue. The Shadow's dialogue is a bit too goofy. In fact, several bits of dialogue are a little too self-aware for a Shadow story, if you ask me.

Where I'm at right now with my fandom, The Shadow hits more of what I want from a gritty night avenger than Batman. The Shadow is almost an elemental force dispensing raw justice with twin .45's. No silly teenage sidekicks, no fancy schmancy souped up car, just swift, brutal, bloody, bullet-riddled JUSTICE. That is more enticing to me atm.

[BatmanFurst]

I'm making my way through the Batman comics for the first time and oddly enough I read Batman 253 a couple of days ago. It's a Batman/Shadow crossover. It did make me want to check out some Shadow comics at some point. I'd like to watch the Baldwin film in full as well. I've only seen bits and pieces.

[thecolorsblend]

I'm making my way through the Batman comics for the first time and oddly enough I read Batman 253 a couple of days ago. It's a Batman/Shadow crossover. It did make me want to check out some Shadow comics at some point. I'd like to watch the Baldwin film in full as well. I've only seen bits and pieces.

Funny you mention it, just finished rewatching the Baldwin film. It's good. Not necessarily a great representation of The Shadow but somehow it's still a decent introduction to the character.

I must say, the movie is a (somewhat) kinder, gentler version of the character. The way he's depicted in the pulps and most comics is a lot more balls out than the film. Just remember, The Shadow doesn't believe in the death penalty; The Shadow IS the death penalty.

[The Joker]

Funny you mention it, just finished rewatching the Baldwin film. It's good. Not necessarily a great representation of The Shadow but somehow it's still a decent introduction to the character.

I must say, the movie is a (somewhat) kinder, gentler version of the character. The way he's depicted in the pulps and most comics is a lot more balls out than the film. Just remember, The Shadow doesn't believe in the death penalty; The Shadow IS the death penalty.

I actually just very recently purchased the Shout Factory blu ray release of the 1994 Shadow movie, which unfortunately still remains of what I am familiar with in terms of The Shadow. I'll have to check out that video soon, but from Razor's twitter, I understand he's not the biggest fan of how the Shadow's backstory was handled as opposed to the books.

I remember as a kid having some cassettes which had old Shadow radio shows on them. I think some of them even had Orson Welles performing. I also remember that even the old commercial breaks were included in these recordings. Seems like "Blue Coal" was a regular sponsor back in the day. Those were kinda neat to listen to.

[BatmanFurst]

Just got done reading Batman 259 which is another Shadow crossover. To my surprise it's dedicated to the memory of Bill Finger at the end. It's pretty good if no one here has read it.

I also wanted to recommend a film podcast called Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers. They did an episode on the 1994 Shadow film. They do a deep dive into the history of the character as well as the film. It's a great listen. http://saturdaysleepovers.podwits.com/2018/09/21/the-shadow-1994/