Created by writer and magician Walter B. Gibson, The Shadow made his debut on the radio program Detective Story Hour, on July 31, 1930, and later in print, in the pages of Street and Smith's pulp The Shadow Magazine, on April 1, 1931. The Shadow is depicted as a no-nonsense, costumed vigilante, not prone to upholding a self-righteous ideology or moral code, like most masked superheroes who refuse to kill. Instead, The Shadow becomes the consummate symbol of a Vigilante Philosophy... a sometimes gray philosophy... born, bred, and nurtured in Oriental mysticsm but practiced in the gritty streets of Depression-Era America. The Shadow can regularly be seen, meting out back-alley justice in a manner best understood by those criminal underworld deviants who are his sworn enemies. The Shadow, who graces the noir pages of the pulp magazines, and in Street and Smith's latter comic book incarnations (March 1940 -- September 1949), is a Force of Nature, who strikes a balance in a very frightening and unforgiving world... a being of both Order and Chaos... a being of the Light and the Dark... an amalgam of Terror and Hope... of Life and Death... a Ying and Yang... a Shadow.

Arguably the literary world's first costumed anti-hero, much can be said of The Shadow's influence. As Dennis O'Neil observed in his forward from DC's 1988 hardcover collection: The Private Files of the Shadow: "(The Shadow) has his own descendants: in the pulps, there were The Spider, The Bat and The Black Bat; on radio, The Green Hornet; and in comics, a small army of masked vigilantes - The Black Terror, The Crimson Avenger, The Hangman, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Sandman, and a dozen more, including of course, The Batman. All probably owe some debt of inspiration to The Shadow."

And, many decades later, O'Neil's observations still ring true, as The Shadow's influence can be seen in the comic pages of both old and new costumed vigilantes such as Charlton's The Question, Marvel's Daredevil, The Punisher, Moon Knight, Marvel UK's Nightraven, DC's Vigilante, and Alan Moore's V for Vendetta. The Shadow is the forerunner to such costumed vigilantes, and undeniably has played a critical role in the influence, creation, and core philosophy of a mulititude of fictional vigilantes as portrayed in various medias, and will likely continue to shape a new era of costumed and masked vigilantes as new Shadow adventures appear in the pages of Dynamite Entertainment's latest incarnation.

As for DC's first foray into the world of The Shadow...

...published from November 1973 to September 1975, writer Dennis O'Neil brought back to The Shadow faithful, a much needed homage to his pulp origins. As it so happened, less than a decade prior, Archie Comics dreadfully re-imagined The Shadow as a campy superhero donning a green and blue costume. This forgettable 8-issue run (published from August 1964 to September 1965), ludicrously had The Shadow depicted with blond hair (for a laugh, Google Image issue #2).

Yet thankfully, DC brought The Shadow back from the brink...

...Credit O'Neil for employing an assortment of devices familiar to The Shadow canon, which include but are not exclusive to: signature costume (black slouch hat, crimson scarf, crimson lined cloak, and black suit), his beak-like nose, the ruby ring or girasol, communication in code, the Autogyro (a helicopter-plane hybrid), twin .45mm automatics, hypnosis, invisibility-like stealth, bone-chilling laughter, and signature catch-phrases we have all come to know and love: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

Fully restored to his former glory, The Shadow operates under a veil of secrecy, relying on a loyal roster of agents who are in various ways indebted to him, often with their lives. These agents include: taxi driver Moses "Moe" Shrevnitz, nicknamed "Shrevvy", who acts as The Shadow's chauffeur; the golden coiffed Burbank, a radio-operator and researcher who helps The Shadow to communicate to all agents; the beautiful Margo Lane, who often escorts The Shadow's alter ego Lamont Cranston, as an eye-candy socialite; and hardboiled gumshoe Harry Vincent.

Noir-ish, pulpy, exciting, and stylishly illustrated by artists Michael Kaluta, Frank Robbins, and E.R. Cruz, DC's The Shadow is a faithful run that was cut way too short, but nonetheless will be remembered as a classic.

DC's Shadow: 1-12

Writer: Dennis O'Neil

Artists:

Mike Kaluta: 1-4, 6

Frank Robbins: 5, 7-9

E.R. Cruz: 10-12

Shadow #1: "The Doom Puzzle"

Issue Synopsis (Spoiler Alert!):

From the deserted boardwalk planks of a Brooklyn waterfront, our attention is diverted to a trio of silhouettes, which inkblot a backlit multi-pane window, situated on the top floor of a non-descript warehouse.

Inside, we discover two hard-nosed types in the middle of an illegal exchange: information for money.

Their criminal transaction is suddenly interrupted by icy-cold laughter.

From the camouflage of darkness emerges The Shadow.

Holding out a heavy hand, The Shadow demands a scrap of paper.

Gunfire! Bullets fly in the Shadow's direction, who seemingly

dissolves back into the fabric of darkness only to reappear in another corner of the room.

The Shadow returns fire with twin automatics, finding his mark.

The lead gunmen drops.

In mortal terror, the surviving gunmen, tosses his gun, and cuts and runs.

The Shadow grabs him by the scruff of his collar, and mercilessly throws him over the landing.

The scrap of paper is pried from his dead fingers.

The beautiful Margo Lane and gruff Shrevvy, await in a yellow taxi. The Shadow slides into the back seat and reveals to the agents the first part of a puzzle... the scrap of paper contains a hand-written coded message: "To all concerned, flag and gun alike should arrive on land, water, air. Remember, ten have died building freedom's hope across the mighty avenues of Americas."

Escorted by sultry brunette Margo Lane, The Shadow's alter-ego, Lamont Cranston, makes an appearance at the Cobalt Club. While in the club, Cranston places a call to Agent Burbank. He gives orders to have Harry Vincent report to the corner of Water and Tenth Streets, at midnight.

Sometime later, gumshoe Harry Vincent leans against a streetlamp at Water and Tenth, patiently waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly a speeding police van breaks through the still of the night.

Several masked gun-toting men spring from their hiding places and blow out the van's tires.

The vehicle crashes to a halt.

Harry Vincent soon joins the gun fight but is felled from a blow to the back of the head by a masked thug. The van doors are blown open and several crooks are freed and make their escape.

At the Cobalt Club, a desperate Shrevvy informs Lamont Cranston what he secretly witnessed while sitting in his taxi at Water and Tenth.

Somewhere in Long Island, Harry Vincent is tied to a tree by rope. Harry is worked over for information by a pair of motley gangster-types, until the demonic laughter of The Shadow interrupts. In lightning fashion, The Shadow makes quick work of the thugs, and frees Harry Vincent.

One of the kidnappers is taken to a secret facility. Under hypnosis, the hood reveals two additional pieces of the puzzle: "Six months ago... steal plans for new kind of ship from Navy Headquarters... tonight, release prisoners... instructions and payment by mail... in code... another job tomorrow night... at eleven."

Burbank informs The Shadow "I've learned a Sea Captain was among the prisoners who escaped from the van!" To which The Shadow replies: "An army of criminals... stolen ship plans... and a seaman! Yes... the pattern beings to reveal itself!"

The next day, Lamont Cranston pays a visit to Wall Street and meets with handle-bar mustasched financier, Osgood Bamber. Osgood soon divulges that a shipment of worn-out currency will be transferred from NYC to Washington DC, in armored cars, and escorted by armed soldiers. Indeed, on that very same evening, Osgood Bamber oversees the loading of a million dollars worth of shabby bills into a caravan of armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, three hoods set up explosives on the bridge which is on the planned route of transfer. Their attention is soon captured by a low-f

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