The Shadow vol. 1: The Fire of Creation

While I’m aware of The Shadow’s status as one of the legendary characters of pulp fiction’s golden age, I can’t really say that I was chomping at the bit for new stories about him.  Not unless a creator I really liked was involved, of course.  So it happens that Garth Ennis wrote the first arc of Dynamite’s new series featuring the character and now it’s a part of my collection.  As stories from the writer go, you can tell that he’s invested in the material and is having fun writing both flippant socialite Lamont Cranston and his unrepentantly vicious alter ego as they race the Japanese army to obtain some “magic rocks” which will power a super weapon to decide the outcome of World War II.

Though the story is predictable — it’s not too hard to guess what those “magic rocks” really are — and filled with character types that appear in nearly every Ennis story, it’s still a fast-paced tale that feels true to its pulp roots.  Then there are the little things like how the writer works in the title character’s signature catchphrase at certain points, the imaginative way in which he uses his powers, and the fact that it’s a WWII story by Ennis that doesn’t feature the Nazis as the main antagonists.  Not that those kind of stories by him are played out, but he has written a lot of them over the years.  It also wraps up neatly, so if you don’t want to buy another volume after this you won’t have to.

I doubt that’s the kind of feeling Dynamite was trying to evoke, but as this will be Ennis’ only arc I don’t feel compelled to stick around for more.  Yes, it will have more art from Aaron Campbell who does a decent job here.  He’s good with the action scenes and the characters while his gritty, chunky style feels very appropriate to the material.  The art is still very workmanlike in the sense that there’s nothing here that really leaps out and takes your breath away, which is what I’d have needed — consistently — in order to consider coming back for volume two.

So if you’re jonesing for a new work by Ennis now that “The Boys” has ended and his crime comic “Red Team” for Dynamite is still a little ways off, this’ll fit the bill.  The writer has done better and more distinct work elsewhere, but this is a fun pulpish romp nonetheless.  If nothing else, it’ll show you that being an Ennis completist isn’t necessarily a bad thing.