Review: The Shadow: the Death of Margo Lane

The story opens with Margo Lane contemplating her years with The Shadow. She also has glimpsed what evil lurks in the hearts of men. And she shudders as she thinks of the baffling case of the Red Empress. She notes that, thanks in part to the Shadow, crime had been reduced considerably. But a new presence was making itself known in a violent way. The Shadow, even with his vast contacts, couldn’t deduce where this new crime wave was coming from. In retrospect, The Red Empress was just as elusive and deadly as the imperious despot, Shiwan Khan.

The Creative team:

An effort put forth All in the Wagner Family. A Shadow story told from the point of view of Margo Lane. Lemont Cranston reveals to our erstwhile Ms. Lane, not Lois, that since all leads stateside have resulted in a dead end, they will have to continue their investigation in the middle kingdom, or China, to the laymen. In an interesting twist, instead of the action picking up on the way to the Red Dragon, we see our heroes face danger first on the way back to the mainland. They flew to China in a montage a la Indiana Jones then decided to take a cruise back home so they would have time to contemplate the message they received from a Mandarin Sage.

Wagner’s art perfectly compliments his own words and evokes a feel for 1940’s comic books. I’m reminded of the run that Jack Burnley had on Batman from about that period. They keep the Shadow firmly grounded in the era that saw his greatest popularity. A pulp feel permeates the issue but with a modern sensibility. This makes for a great read both for fans of the original era and modern day curiosity seekers wondering what the Shadow is all about. This issue does not disappoint!

The Cover:

The cover is quite scary looking. a close up of the Shadow with an insane look in his eye, and a gun in his hand. I love a cover that makes you guess and on this cover we also see Margo lying on the floor in Shackles. She’s looking over her shoulder. She has an angry look on her face, though she’s showing no fear. Does this mean that she’s looking back at the Shadow? Or is the Shadow simply a separate silhouette on the cover itself? To add more mystery there’s also a silhouette of New York in the background. A definite attention getter. Great cover.

In Conclusion:

I love a good mystery and this issue sets the reader up for what will probably become an excellent whodunit in this series. Great writing, suspense and intrigue all around and awesome period style art, a very satisfying read. An unexpected attack on our heroes turns sour as the attackers plans are thwarted by the very forces that they work for. Cranston deduces and explains to Margo that someone has their eye on the duo and knows of their mission. They must also know that Lemont Cranston is…The Shadow.

The Shadow: the Death of Margo Lane

Writer: Matt Wagner
Art: Matt Wagner
Colors: Brennan Wagner
Letters: World Studio
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication Date: June 2016

Tags: Margo Lane, MATT WAGNER, the shadow

About the Author

Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.