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Shadow, The - The Death Of Margo Lane #1

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    Ian Jane
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  • Shadow, The - The Death Of Margo Lane #1



    Shadow, The - The Death Of Margo Lane #1
    Released by: Dynamite Entertainment
    Released on: June 1st, 2016.
    Written And Illustrated by: Matt Wagner
    Purchase From Amazon

    This new series, written and illustrated by Matt Wagner (who previously did great things with the character in the recent Grendel crossover) begins when The Shadow's assistant, Margo Lane, tells us that of all the cases she's worked with her employer, the Case Of The Red Empress was the most devastating.

    From there we learn how violence among The Tongs in Chinatown had risen and despite his best efforts, The Shadow was unable to figure out why. Rumor has it that the person behind this surge in crime is known only as The Red Empress but she has so far proven quite illusive. The Shadow realizes he has no choice but to trace this back to its root - China, and Margo accompanies him. But even here, they don't find much more than an arcane warning from an old Chinese sage.

    On their return to the United States, they take a luxury cruise and discuss what little they know of the case. He theorizes to her that the dramatic way in which this Red Empress is making her moves may have more to do with trying to get attention than trying to take over the underworld. As they talk, they're assault by two armed goons who really and truly have no idea who they're messing with. They deal with them quickly and efficiently but The Shadow knows (ha!) that there's more to this - if they were assaulted on the ship it means someone knows of their mission and his identity.

    Back in New York City the cops are trying to find out what happened to a missing shipping heiress named Gloria Sullivan. A reporter named Burke grills Inspector Cardona for details but gets only one - the last place she was seen was a restaurant in Chinatown. Burke, being one of The Shadow's agents, reports back to his employer with the little news he has, that the cops aren't yet treating this as a kidnapping even though all the evidence produced so far points in that direction. Property records indicate the restaurant she was last seen in was run by the Hip Sing Tongs, a faction The Shadow suspects are under control of The Red Empress. When The Shadow traces some inbound contraband to a warehouse owned by the Tongs, he realizes he's being set up and drawn out, but he heads out to investigate anyway.

    All the elements are there for a classic story - there's mystery, intrigue and suspense galore along with some great action and just the right amount of drama. Almost all of that drama stems from Margo's more intimate relationship with The Shadow, an aspect that sets her apart from some of the other agents in his employ. This is key to this first issue, but where Wagner is going to take this from here remains to be seen. This is a strong start, however. The characters are in good hands, Wagner knows what he's doing here and plays things completely straight. Like he's been doing in his stories for The Spirit, he keeps the action set firmly in the character's era. As such, the dialogue and plot motifs have a distinct way about them that works quite well. His artwork suits this style really nicely. There's a load of art deco style in some of the frames and plenty of larger, shadowy panels that bring the New York City of the stories setting to life in a big way. He draws The Shadow really well, making him look quite fierce and intense and there's a lot of great background detail here too. Brennan Wagner's coloring helps a lot here too, giving the artwork that extra bit of polish.






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