Writer – Dennis O’Neil
Artist – Mike Kaluta

The first issue of this 1973 series starring Street and Smith’s The Shadow, finds the man doing what he does best – solving a mystery and punishing criminals. If one knows anything about The Shadow, this is what he tends to do on a regular basis and readers would not have it any other way. What makes this story somewhat interesting is that Dennis O’Neil decided not to go with the Kent Allard alter-ego but the Lamont Cranston one, at least at first. Perhaps in a later issue, Allard will also put in an appearance, hopefully with a bit of an explanation as to why the man would have two alter-egos. All of that aside, The Shadow has just taken out a bunch of thugs and discovers a clue to what might be a much larger crime. He already has an idea as to what it might be but he needs more information and goes about getting it with the help of Margo Lane and the man named Shrevvy. This leads him from one clue to the next both as The Shadow and as Lamont Cranston, until he believes he has the full puzzle solved. Readers then see him in action as it all leads to a daring bank robbery – of a sort, that he eventually puts a stop to and captures the man who put it all into motion. O’Neil writes a fairly fast-paced tale, each scene moving from one to the next with an easy flow to make for a fun read. It was good to see Margo get a bit of a chance to shine within these pages and it would be nice to see her have just as large a part if not bigger in upcoming issues. There is a lot of familiarity within the book for those who might have read the earlier stories or listened to the serials or what have one, such as The Shadow’s maniacal laughter, his network of informants and so forth. This makes it interesting both to new readers and longtime ones, and O’Neil does a good job of it. As for the mystery presented, it was not all that bad but it could have been just a little bit more complex for the team to solve and yet overall, was good enough to hold the attention of the audience and provide some solid entertainment. When it comes to the artwork, Mike Kaluta does a great job of distinguishing this book from many of the others that were published at the time with his very distinctive style. One may not have known that Kaluta ever tackled The Shadow in his career but the proof is in these pages and the book is worth picking up just for that fact alone. As a whole, this was a good start and makes one want to see what might happen in future issues, a tip of the cap to the creators of this book.

3 out of 5