A precursor to Batman, The Shadow was a dark and mysterious crime fighter who used several disguises and a network of agents to wage war on the underworld. With a look that just flat out defined cool, The Shadow was one of the most influential and popular of all the pulp heroes. The Shadow has been featured in every medium except animation (as far as I know.
I was first exposed to The Shadow one Christmas when my Aunt Brenda got me the Denny O'Neil/Michael Kaluta graphic novel that had The Shadow fighting Nazis.
The Shadow captured my imagination in a way that only Batman, Treasure Island, and Frankenstein had before.
Dynamite Entertainment's new reboot of the character is set back in the pre-World War II world where he belongs and is as violent and action packed as any fan would want.
The new series holds up well against the old DC Comics series.
There's been rumors of a new movie for a few years, but I'm not holding my breath. I was certainly not knocked out by the Alec Baldwin version from '94, not that it was totally awful, just a bit too tongue in cheek and goofy in parts. Baldwin could've made a terrific Shadow had there been a better script.
When I was drawing my earliest comics as a kid, I ripped off the Shadow more times than I can remember.
Released this year was the sick 12" Sideshow Collectible action figure.
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