Review: The Shadow/Batman #2
The Dark Knight that arrives to aid the boy-wonder may not be the one you’re expecting. And we learn more about the Silent Seven as this fine story progresses. Two of the hero’s vilest villains enter the scene and they work well together. It’s only fitting that these two evil master minds show up to create a pain in our hero’s nether regions.
The Creative Team:
Steve Orlando wastes no time putting Damian Wayne’s Robin into the thick of battle in this action-packed opening. He creates friction between father and son over how to deal with this threat to the city and neither of them asked for the Shadow’s involvement and they let him know that with no pretense. I loved the conflict that Orlando creates between these characters. It’s a wonder that they’re even able to work together. Great stuff!
Giovanni Timpano is the perfect complement to this story. His panels bring the characters to life and the conflict between our hero’s is exquisitely rendered. There’s one page where the Shadow lament’s over Margo Lane’s death and you can sense the pathos and emotion in Lamont Cranston’s loss. The splash where the Shadow leaps into battle against the hordes of robots that want to take out Robin is worth the cover price itself. Timpano is the perfect artist to unite these two creatures of the night (or three if you count Robin.)
In Conclusion:
This isn’t the first time Batman met the Shadow. That happened way back in Batman # 253 (November of 1973) when DC had both franchises. But this is definitely the best team up of the pair. The tension in the first two issues is so thick you can cut it with a batarang (sorry.) Lamont Cranston meets one of the most important employees of Wayne Enterprises by the end of this chapter and the set up for issue three promises to deliver the goods! To be continued.
The Shadow/Batman #2
Writer – Steve Orlando
Art – Giovanni Timpano
Colors – Flavio Dispenza
Letters – Taylor Esposito
Publisher – Dynamite/DC
Publication Date – November 2017
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.
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