The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…but what happens when he can’t read a heart?

Creative Team:
Writer: Scott Beatty
Artist: Ronan Cliquet

What They Say:
The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. But when Lamont Cranston crosses paths with an old friend–a fellow veteran of “the war to end all wars”–Cranston’s justice serving alter ego must judge a man whose path to villainy began with their friendship! At the risk of his own secrets being laid bare, Cranston accepts an invitation to join a very exclusive club of adventurers whose dark hearts might be the worst The Shadow has ever encountered!

The Review: (please note that content portions of review may contain spoilers)
As the chameleon that is known by many names, the man who is The Shadow has faced many dangers and more than his fair share of men who he feels need to be judged but even a man who knows the evil in other men’s hearts can still be surprised. As he walks the streets under his Lamont Cranston identity with the lovely Margo Lane at his side he encounters a ghost from his past in the form of a man he once served with in France while fighting the German army and whom he instructed in the art of war.

The man The Shadow encounters is named Howard Griffin and he has recognized his old instructor Kent Allard and he strikes up a conversation with this man and his lovely companion on the streets and invites them to dinner to reminisce. While Margo indulges in the fun of seeing a side of “Lamont” that he never shows her, Lamont’s ability to deal with the situation is thrown off as he finds he is unable to read the other man’s heart which incredibly disconcerting to him and which he tries to rectify through the use of others. When Howard offers to have Kent and Margo join him and his companion on a trip to an island it becomes an offer that The Shadow can’t refuse…but will his discovery of how Griffin has cloaked himself bring an ability for The Shadow to judge or will the one who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men find himself being on the receiving end of judgment from someone else this time?

Capturing a spirit that feels like it gives tribute to the series original roots, The Shadow Special introduces a new factor into the equation as it takes the normally in control and confident character and throws him and his companion (and thus the readers) for a loop by removing the one thing he relies most on to carry out his sense of justice- the ability to know that justice must be meted out. Watching “Lamont” have to deal with doubt and uncertainty is a fantastic twist to the character as it really gives a chance for the readers to explore what the greatest power this character really possesses is as one can see him fighting characters that some of his other abilities don’t affect all that well but robbing him of his self assuredness- even when everything inside him is screaming that he knows what is wrong- is a powerful twist to the character who has been around for over 80 years at this point.

In many ways this may be the most incredible stripping away of a character’s powers to create a discord in them that I have seen in comics in quite some time, if not ever. Other superhero titles have taken away a character’s superpowers before but for the most part the characters then have to decide how to continue what they were doing or if they should but few face the crisis of faith that one can see here as the worry over this anomaly plays over “Lamont” and has him failing to act when he is almost positive he should but the lack of certainty stays his hand and creates a new type of fear within him that few writers have explored with their characters in my experience.

The presentation feels so fresh and so full of promise that it actually feels like the 30 pages that the story takes place over undermine the effort as things move forward so fast that it is difficult to fully appreciate just what the drama is as well as it doesn’t feel like it presents enough time to flush out all the characters introduced so the power they bring to events is lessened greatly in some places. While there is an old show business axiom to “always leave them wanting more” doing so at the cost of fully flushing out the situation isn’t helpful to the final product and this is a story that practically begs to have had a longer and more fleshed out tale which hopefully may happen at some point in the future as there is just so much potential here that feels left underutilized.

While he art is a factor that may not appeal to all comic fans there is something about the style and look of it that conjures up a feel of the 1930’s when the character was created and which sells the series in a powerful way as it creates a environment that feels like another character in the comic and one that seems incredibly comfortable in its presentation. This comic is one that fans of the series will definitely enjoy but even those who have never heard of the character could pick up and get a lot out of the interplay of this man facing a powerful and unsettling crisis of faith.

In Summary:
The Shadow Special teases the readers with its revelations of some of the past of its mysterious lead but the real payoff is found when the power he relies on most to carry out his idea of justice fails him when faced with an old acquaintance. While the comic feels like it has far more potential than it manages to fulfill in its 30 pages, readers will find that even a less than in depth adventure can be an incredible reward as they discover more about the man who knows about the hearts of others than they had previously likely suspected when he has to try to deal with a face from his past and his own certainty failing him. As such, this mystery may place him and his companion Margo Lane in more trouble than they can get out of in a comic that is equal parts pulp fun and danger rolled into one.

Grade: B