by
Bowie V. Ibarra
The 2nd trade paperback of issues 7-12 of 'The Shadow' comic series from Dynamite Comics has been out for a little while now. The trade is available, featuring two bookend 'one shot' stories, and a middle story arc featuring a new nemesis for The Shadow: The Black Sparrow.
Here's the lowdown.
The first bookend story features a confrontation with an renegade drug dealer who trained at the same mysterious temple as The Shadow.
The middle extended story arc finds The Shadow thrust into the middle of the Spanish Civil War, meeting the real-life George Orwell. He also makes a new nemesis in Major Esmeralda Aguilar, military intelligence officer who has an alter ego: The Black Sparrow! Sparrow is allied with El Rey, a ruthless military leader who wants his cut of the war.
The final bookend is a story of The Shadow doing what he does best: Fighting crime!
Even though the TPB did not have an extended story arc like the first one, the stories were still good. The middle story is worth the price of the book, and reminded me of the old Indiana Jones Chronicles in which Indy met true historical figures.
The first story is illustrated very well by Jack Herbert. The Spanish Civil War story by Aaron Campbell. The final story by Giovanni Timpano. Their styles are very distinctive, but all of them were great.
The TPB also includes all the variant covers by the likes of Alex Ross, Sean Chen, Francesco Francavilla, Tim Bradstreet, Jack Herbert, Micheal Golden, John Cassidy, Darwin Cooke, and Mike Mayhew.
I enjoyed knowing I was reading about the origins of a new nemesis in Black Sparrow. As per any male/female dynamic, the affection and relationship angle is always fun. It's also a great set up for the limited run 'Noir' series from Dynamite, in which Black Sparrow returns.
All in all, it was a fun read. Again, I'm no The Shadow historian by any means, but I'm enjoying the reboot of the legendary crime fighter with the Dynamite Comics team.
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Bowie V. Ibarra (1975- present) was born and raised in Uvalde, Texas, to a school principal and a book keeper. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a Master of Arts in Theatre History.
Network with Bowie at his official website, ZombieBloodFights.com.
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