While this blog is dedicated primarily to talking about the current events of the industry, from time to time I have taken a moment to take a break from it all and talk about some favorite characters that are relatively unknown and that I feel you guys might find some interest into looking up. It's been a little while since my last one of these, so here is brand new character appretiation! Today's character is The Shadow
In modern comics the concept of darker heroes and anti heroes that fight evil with a similar darkness is a popular one. Characters like Batman to the Punisher have become some of the most popular in the genre as these characters hunt the criminal element through the shadows. Well before all of these characters were around, there was a man who knew the evil that lurked in the hearts of all men, The Shadow.
The Shadow has a very complex origin. Kent Allard was a soldier/agent in the first World War with a real vindictive streak. Following the war, Allard stayed behind in China and became an Opium lord in Tibet that went by the name Ying Ko. As Ying Ko, Allard created a criminal empire and was a terrifying force to be reckoned with. However, this would not last.
One night, Allard found himself kidnapped by a group loyal to a Tulku (a tibetan monk believed to be reincarnated to pass down a specific set of teachings that have been passed down). When brought before the Tulku, Allard was forced to confront the demon within. Terrified by what he saw, Allard sought redemption. The Tulku taught Allard the mystic arts of hypnotic persuasion. After years of training Kent Allard returned to New York posing as a socialite, Lamont Cranston, using Lamont's financial assets in the city and his mystical powers from the east, Allard uses his abilities and fininavial assets to fight the criminal element of New York.
Kent Allard has a vey long list of abilities ranging from the physical to the mystical, however, his most used is the ability to "cloud men's minds" rendering himself wholly invisible save the onething noone can hide, his own shadow (hence the name.) Aside from his mystical skills, Allard is also armed with dual colt .45 pistols and a network of informants all across New York made up of the people he's saved. His chief member of this network is a woman named Margo Lane, who has demonstrated limited telepathic affinity herself.
The Shadow has always held a special place in my heart. You see, back in 1994 they released a live action film starring Alec Baldwin that my dad and I used to watch together all the time, and if memory serves correct, is the first superhero movie I ever watced.While the movie was not critically recieved well and did not do well at the box office, I still love this film. It's not an amazing movie, but the performance by Alec Baldwin as The Shadow was so good that honestly I can't picture anyone else as the character. In addition the effects from the film are way ahead of its time so when you get to see the Shadow in action it's a genuine treat. However, what makes the character more fun is when you get to read his books.
What makes the Shadow so unique of a character is that Kent Allard may be on a path to redemption for his years as a drug lord, however, he's still an evil man. If I were to describe Allard's personality it would be the intensity of Bruce Wayne with the psychopathic humor and deadliness of the Joker. You see, The Shadow has another key defining trait, and that is that he laughs while he's fighting these crimnals, as if the whole thing were amusing to him. In some comics Allrad has been described as having the most twisted sense of humor that anyone has ever met. His laugh is unsettling in the tense situations where he appears. The point is that The Shadow is not a good guy, he's a monster that has been unleashed on smaller monsters and is enjoying ripping them apart.
If you are interested in taking a look at this character I definitely recommend you start off with Matt Wagner's The Shadow: Year One, as it is a fantastic reimagining of the characters origin. Some other good reads on the character are: The Shadow: Fire of Creation by Garth Ennis (this entire run was pretty fantastic), The Shadow: Death of Margo Lane by Matt Wagner, and most recently the Shadow had two fantastic crossover arcs with Batman, the first of these being Batman/Shadow by Scott Snyder, and the second being Shadow/Batman by Steve Orlando.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and I hope you guys check out The Shadow!
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