- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men today? The answer is the same as it always has been, thanks to a new comic book series launching this August from Dynamite Entertainment that brings the iconic pulp hero into contemporary times. As ever, The Shadow knows.
The Shadow: Leviathan follows the current Batman/The Shadow comic book series, and sees X-Men: Legacy and Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor writer Si Spurrier teaming with artist Daniel HDR for a story that places the hero — who debuted in 1930 on the Detective Story Hour radio show — in the modern world where the rules, and the bad guys, aren’t exactly what he might be used to.
“What I most love about The Shadow is, like all good legends, he tells us even more about the present than the past,” Spurrier said in a statement about the new series. “This isn’t the world The Shadow was born into, with its pinstripe gangsters and mystic monsters (although we’ll be visiting that one too). Instead our main story unravels in a world of corruptions and petty politics, prejudices and hate. A world with a frightening new regime taking control. A world where true power lies not with those who hold the reins, but with those who control the story. How can two guns and a devil’s stare fight the 21st Century? I couldn’t be prouder to be telling this tale.”
Leviathan, he continued, will be “a smart, slick, brutal takedown of Today, with nothing less than a living Idea holding its finger to the trigger.”
Dynamite CEO and publisher Nick Barrucci said that the company had been looking to work with Spurrier for years. “In looking to relaunch The Shadow, we wanted a fresh, new voice, and we were able to make the schedule work with Si’s schedule,” he explained, adding that Spurrier’s “story is crisp and takes The Shadow to new depths. And Daniel’s art is nothing short of magnificent!”
Leviathan will be the latest Shadow series Dynamite has produced since licensing comic rights to the character, owned by Conde Nast, in 2011. Earlier series, including ones written by Preacher co-creator Garth Ennis and fan-favorite writer-artist Matt Wagner, have been set during the character’s heyday of the 1930s.
The series will launch in August, with covers by Daniel HDR, Neal Adams, Kenneth Rocafort, Tyler Kirkham, Brandon Peterson and classic Shadow artist Aaron Michael Kaluta. (Rocafort’s cover is at the top of this post. Covers by Kaluta, Peterson and Adams are below.)
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day