Writer: James Robinson

Artist: Cully Hamner

Colourist: Dave McGaig

Letterer: Todd Klein

Cover: Tony Harris (A); Cully Hamner (B)

Publisher: DC Comics

Last week brought the third issue of James Robinson’s 12-part maxi-series to comic book shelves. This multiple century spanning tale explores the history of The Shade while delving deeper into his origins. The book was released as part of DC’s New-52 relaunch. Onward!

The Road So Far…

After narrowly avoiding Deathstroke’s assassination attempt and learning more of the plot against his life, The Shade travels to Austrailia to uncover the next piece of the puzzle.

What’s the Story?

Shade recalls a voyage from his past

As The Shade relives one of his many memories, we find him fighting alongside The Argonaut as they battle with agents of the Idle Hands. Upon their dispatching, The Shade confers with Pemulwuv as to the whereabouts of one Darnell Caldecott, a hermetic billionaire apparently living in seclusion in the middle of an Austrailian desert. There he is guarded by the lizard god Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja. Shade learns what difficulties await him if he tries to approach Caldecott’s stronghold, and resigns himself to meeting with an old acquaintance in Diablo Blacksmith. The two frienemies converse back and forth about the dangers of trespassing upon Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja’s protected grounds. Diablo teaches The Shade about oneness with Dreamtime, a necessity to fight the lizard-god. After providing a thorough explanation, little of which The Shade absorbs, he leaves to face Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja. The beast takes exception to The Shade’s imposition and quickly attacks him, a fight which continues on until Shade demonstrates an aspect of Dreamtime consciousness, commonly known with mystical circles as “Swan-Dreaming.” Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja grants access to Caldecott’s residence, where The Shade meets an old face from his past.

The Shade and Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja got toe-to-toe in Shade #3

With the third issue of Robinson’s The Shade, we find him delving deeper into Shade’s past in revealing another piece to the puzzle that is the character’s history. As had been announced, the issue employs a storytelling device whereby the issue seamlessly transitions from its natural three issue build-up to its mini-conclusion before moving into the fourth issue where the story will shift into the past and shine light on the shadows of Shade’s existence. This issue capped off the first arc of the maxi-series, concluding with a surprising but not altogether unexpected end given hindsight’s acknowledgement that Shade has lived well over a hundred years. Robinson’s tale is not an over-the-top, action-packed telling of Shade’s history, rather its methodical approach provides glimpses of Shade’s powers, his capabilities, his cunning and more, his history from his genesis to his current standing in the 21^st century. I feel this is a very accessible read, and considering my relative unfamiliarity with the character prior to Robinson’s series, I find myself enjoying one of the unsung books of the DC relaunch, and a book which I look forward to reading each month and look forward to collecting as a trade. The story is nicely paced, interesting in its structure, and digs deeper into a character’s history which to this point, much like Wolverine’s prior to Origins, is shrouded in a shadowy mystery.

The Shade demonstrates "Swan-Dreaming" against Mangar-Kunjer-Kunja.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Hamner continues his interesting work on the series, providing visually articulate pencil work that helps set the parameters of Shade’s world while his inks add a layer of atmospheric tone that expands the visual representation of Richard Swift’s existence. Hamner’s characters are staunchly differentiated from each other, contrasting other artists who typically draw their characters with similar features. Hamner’s Shade and Diablo Blacksmith, for example, have distinguishable features which adds to their visual characteristics. Hamner also excels in how he arranges the artwork on the page, as well as his approach to how he angles the artwork in each panel. When we meet Blacksmith, there are several panels where he descends down from the sky, with our view of him angled from an over-the-shoulder perspective from Shade’s point of view. In another later page, Hamner depicts Shade’s ascent up a flight of stairs. The first panel shows Shade entering a room from one angle with a black vase in the bottom corner, and then in the next panel, from another angle where a different vase is shown; Shade climbs the stairs while manipulating the shadows around him to fix his torn “shadow-suit.” In the third panel he’s completed his climb, once again in full garb. What’s interesting is that the three panels are separated with traditional borders, but together they provide a complete view of the entire room. I think it’s a nice way to represent the setting, where each panel can be taken on its own individually, but together provide a greater visual canvas. I’m really enjoying Hamner’s work, especially his inking work where he’s making a conscious effort to create more shadows and silhouettes around his characters, while work such as his “Swan-Dreaming” artwork towards the end of the issue is pretty neat to look at.

Final Thoughts

While I had been looking forward to other books amid the DC relaunch, series which subsequently have floundered, The Shade has been a pleasant surprise. After three issues I’m truly enjoying the story Robinson has crafted. This is perhaps the most accessible book of the relaunch, as it not only embodies the entire premise of the relaunch, but delves deeper into the characterization of one of DC’s lesser known or underrated characters and expands the character further. I see this as a greater character expansion than Rick Remender’s Dark Angel Saga, where the principal characters both have unearthed story potential which is in turn expanded upon to create a great story. The Shade is a can’t miss book, which if you’re not reading, you probably should be.

Writer: James Robinson

Artist: Cully Hamner

Colourist: Dave McCaig

Letterer: Todd Klein

Cover: Tony Harris (A); Cully Hamner (B)

Publisher: DC Comics

The first issue of Shade hit comic book shelves last week, very likely under the radar amid the trove of titles that included Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Men and Green Lantern. The book, penned by James Robinson, features the mysterious mystic known as Shade. The book at least to this point has been confirmed as a 12-issue maxi-series, but has been promised to be home to a fair number of surprises throughout the series, one of which calls this issue home.

The Road So Far…

In 1838, a mystical event rendered Richard Swift as an immortal with the ability to manipulate shadows into hard constructs, while drawing his powers from the dark realms home to energies that rival those of the gods. He is the Shade.

What’s the Story?

Shade and Mikaal enjoy some tea

Sitting atop the balcony of his Opal City flat, Richard Swift, better known as Shade, sits with Mikaal and enjoys an afternoon tea while reminiscing about the month of his creation, his genesis. They speak of love and loss, a conversation that extends too long as their teas cool. Shade strangely suspects a disturbance and offers to put another pot on while one of his allies, William Von Hammer, fights for his survival elsewhere as a group of Belgian assassins chase him across a series of rooftops. After discovering their purpose, Von Hammer resolves that he must warn Shade of his impending danger. After tea, Swift meets Hope, his love, for an afternoon “meeting.” They part after a lengthy discussion; she implores him to find the man he used to be, which Swift quips will surely lead to his ruin. After they part, Shade takes a stroll in the park under the moonlit sky. He stumbles upon Deathstroke, who assures his presence is strictly for business purposes, which Shade presumes means his own forthcoming death. He quickly defeats Deathstroke, but is alarmed to discover another’s presence once his hands are sliced off by the real Deathstroke. Reiterating his decoy’s comment about the business meeting, Deathstroke proceeds to gut Shade and then decapitate him, leaving his body mutilated in the Opal City park, presumably much to the approval of Slade’s employer.

Upon hearing the premise of this series, I was confused as to how it was going to be executed. It’s only after reading this first issue that I began to understand the character and how precisely the series may play out. When the title was first announced it was stated the series would uncover the origins of this mysterious character by employing story lines centered in the present in conjunction with flashback arcs that will work backwards towards explaining how Swift became the Shade. We see hints of that story device in this issue, as Robinson’s Swift hints towards his past and the melancholic state of his immortal existence. This is complemented by Robinson creating a smarmy, adventurous, arrogant tone to the Shade; someone who seeks adventure and loves to tell the tale, but also as someone who has experienced the inherent loneliness of immortality, humanizing the Shade more with each sombered piece of text. What’s peculiar is the ending of the book, clearly depicting Shade deceased. Whether the panel is one of Shade’s tricks, or if Deathstroke was able to kill him, resulting in the story then working backwards, is unclear. I presume the story to be a little more intuitive than that, and considering Robinson’s track record, it would seem this book could deliver as a sleeper hit of the DC relaunch.

Shade and Deathstroke stop for a chat in the park.

The Pretty, Pretty Pictures

Although not familiar with Hamner’s work, I feel like his pencils and inks nicely fit the tone set by Robinson’s writing and that of the character itself. I feel this is especially the case towards the end of the book in the Opal City park scenes. The darker landscape really lends itself towards Shade’s melancholy while dually mirroring his own powers and their origin. His work otherwise nicely reflects the general attitude of Swift in instances where he is sitting on the balcony with Starman, his conversations with Hope and again in the park scenes at issue’s end. The final panels between Deathstroke and Shade were nicely done as a series of violent panels where Swift is overwhelmed by the one-eyed mercenary. Every gory detail is captured from his hands being lopped off, to his head being removed swiftly, to how his corpse is displayed on the ground as Deathstroke walks away from his target. Hamner is a great fit for this series and I look forward to more of his art as the series moves forward.

Final Thoughts

Having no expectations for this book or the character, I was pleased with Robinson’s effort and his ability to create a certain air around the character that is intriguing and surrounds his story with enough mystery to warrant continued readership. The story, unlike many of the other books out as part of the DC New 52, relies more on the mystery surrounding the character than a forced gimmick or concept. Perhaps more than the other offerings, this is a very character driven book that hooked me in from the opening pages and left me wondering in the end, considering the ending itself, how the story continues, what the breadth of his powers are, and how the story will unfold moving forward. Shade was a pleasant surprise, and one which I would recommend reading.

An Example of Joe Rosen's work

Todd Klein reported today that long time letter Joe Rosen passed away. Rosen had lettered everything from Captain America, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, and X-Factor. He was one of the original letterers from The Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Marvel days alongside the Simek Brothers, Artie & Sam. Todd Klein had these kinds words to say: “I never met Joe, but admired his work… I liked him best as the letterer of many of Frank Miller’s DAREDEVIL stories such as [Daredevil: Born Again]. I appreciated his work, and thought it was smart of him to retire when he was ready and able, unlike some of his contemporaries who kept going until the end. Hope his final years were good, and may he rest in peace.”

In Todd’s comments two industry legends chimed in with praise for Mr. Rosen. Danny Fingeroth left this message: “Joe was simply the best, both as a person and a letterer. A truly class act. Having him letter a script always made it 25% better than it really was.” While Roger Sterm commented: “I am so sorry to hear this. Joe was indeed the best. I never knew the man, but he made us all look good.”

As for me, I’d like to take a second and really talk about the impact that Daredevil: Born Again had on me when I read it. A lot of praise is thrown at that title for good reasons, Miller’s script is the best he’s ever written, Mazzuchelli elevated his artwork to give us the first ever “widescreen” comic – you can see his fingerprints all over Bryan Hitch’s Authority Run – but what always really stood out for me was the beauty of the lettering. It was that simple statement in it’s cryptic typewriter font that really drew me in: “My name is Ben Urich and I’m a reporter.”  The fact that there were three narrators, or really two narrators as the Kingpin, Karen Page and Murdoch’s thoughts were often switching from first to third narration, colour co-ordinating each thought only really helped me become totally immersed in that world.  Many letterers have copies this device, sometimes it worked, sometimes it doesn’t. But for me, I’ll always be truly greatful for the work that Joe Rosen did in that story.

Thanks Joe!