Nearly a decade before the debut of Batman in the pages of Detective Comics, America’s favorite mysterious nocturnal avenger was The Shadow. Appearing on radio as well as in pulp magazines during the 1930s and ’40s, the character was an early example of a vigilante who wears a dark cape and fights injustice in the gritty streets of the big city, but in secret is a wealthy playboy about town. Sound familiar? It should, because the character of the Shadow was a huge influence on Bill Finger and Bob Kane when they created Batman in 1939.
While the Shadow would fade from popularity as Batman’s popularity grew more and more, the character would continue to make appearances on occasion in various media. In 1973, he finally met Batman in an issue of Detective Comics, the first time the two crime fighting icons would ever team up.
Now over forty years later, DC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment are bringing the two brooding, dark cloaked vigilantes together once more. Batman writer Scott Snyder together with Justice League of America writer Steve Orlando are bringing readers a modern version of a meeting of these two mysterious creatures of the night in a new limited series.
You can check out our exclusive preview of the first nine pages from Batman/The Shadow #1, together with all variant covers down below in our gallery.
Publisher:Â DC Comics / Dynamite Entertainment
Writers: Steve Orlando, Scott Snyder
Artist: Riley Rossmo
Cover Artists: Riley Rossmo (Variants) Tim Sale, Cliff Chiang, Riley Rossmo (coloring book variant)
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Two of history’s greatest vigilantes are reunited at last! Murder has come to Gotham City, and Lamont Cranston appears to be the culprit…but he’s been dead for over fifty years! Batman will go to the ends of the Earth to unravel the mystery of Cranston’s life, but the mysterious Shadow will do everything in his power to stop him from learning too much…
The superstar team of writers Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando and artist Riley Rossmo brings you a dark and twisty modern noir like nothing you’ve seen before, with a brand-new villain unlike any either hero has faced! This is the unmissable crime series of 2017, so get on board now!â€
Batman/The Shadow #1Â is due to hit stores on Wednesday, April 26.
Are you looking forward to the long overdue team-up between these two dark defenders of the night? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.
Images: DC Comics
