Shadow / Batman #1 NM Peterson 1:30 Incentive Cover Dynamite Orlando The Movie x

Description

Shadow/Batman (2017 Dynamite) #1K

Published Oct 2017 by Dynamite Entertainment
Limited 1 for 30 Retailer Incentive Variant Cover
Written by Steve Orlando
Art by Giovanni Timpano
Cover by Brandon Peterson
32 pages, full color

The World’s Greatest Mystery. The World’s Greatest Detective. They can barely stand each other, so how will they possibly deal with the World’s Greatest Evil? What legacy can two of the world’s most enduring icons of justice leave once they discover an ancient evil has been living inside the world they protect for centuries, attached to its heart. Can Batman and the Shadow save the world without killing it in the process? Writer Steve Orlando (Batman/The Shadow, Justice League of America) and artist by Giovanni Timpano (The Shadow, Transformers) unite to tell an instantly classic tale of noir, mortality and generational heroes and villains.

Featured Characters:
Batman
Robin
The Shadow
Alfred Pennyworth
Professor Pyg
Dollotrons
Black Terror (In a photograph only)
Daredevil (In a photograph only)
James Moriarty (Appears only as a corpse in a photograph)
Margo Lane (Appears only as a corpse)

The Shadow may take the leading credit in this title, but this issue is all Batman!

Personally, I loved Batman/ The Shadow. Yes, I feel as though it could have ended a little better, but overall Steve Orlando won me over with his depiction of Batman. I thought the noir aspect, the detective work, and Stag as the villain were all high points, and I was curious to see how (or if) he could top that level of quality here. Well, while I won’t necessarily say he topped it just yet, he definitely met that level of quality. And actually, he might have the potential to make this run even better than its brother book!

In case you’re wondering, this does not appear to be a follow-up to Batman/ The Shadow. As of this issue, it looks as if The Shadow/ Batman is a completely separate story with no direct ties. I can’t say that for certain though because our two leading men never actually cross paths here. In fact, The Shadow is barely in this issue!

The story kicks off in New York, with Batman going after Professor Pyg. Yes, you read that correctly. No, it’s not a typo or mistake on my part. Batman. New York. Pyg. Oh, and Batman isn’t alone, Robin (Damian) is with him! Oh, glory, glory hallelujah! I’m already excited!

Our dynamic duo works together to try and stop Pyg and his Dollotrons while managing the crowd around them. While Batman is Batman in every way, the real star of this scene for me is Damian. I know he’s young, and I know his character hasn’t been around for very long, but this is a classic Morrison representation of Robin! He’s a smartass that kicks ass, and he lets everyone around him know it! Yes!

The two make relatively easy work of Pyg, but gain some incredibly interesting intel while doing so. Shifting into more of a detective themed book, Batman and Robin abandon the fisticuffs to begin investigating the lead… separately. As it turns out, there’s a bit of domestic troubles for our dynamic duo. At first, I wasn’t a fan of this. The dialogue we get between Bruce and Damian – and especially Alfred – made me feel a little uncomfortable. I didn’t like it… But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that was the point. The state of their relationship is supposed to make us feel this way at the moment.

And that’s when I started to take notice of other aspects of the issue. There are so many subtle, well-calculated moments within the issue that I can’t wait to see where they lead! We do get to see a little of The Shadow, and there are teases of what his role will be within the story, but what I’m mostly excited about is what I’m assuming is the tease for the villain for this title. I’m not going to blatantly give that away, but I will tell you that it doesn’t appear to be a villain of Batman or The Shadow, but of another famous detective from another series.

So who does it appear to be? The Silent Seven… led by James Moriarty, the arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes. Considering I recently started watching Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, and Andrew Scott as the brilliantly creepy and twisted Moriarty… I’m so excited! This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Batman and Sherlock together, and while I doubt we’ll actually see Sherlock (or much of him), I hope to hell Moriarty is, in fact, the villain! I love a battle of wits, and we could definitely get that here!

By the end of the issue, I felt like a giddy girl going to prom. Yes, I really feel this book is that good! We’ve got a great mystery in front of us, and some incredibly strong characterization as well! If there’s one downfall, it’s that there is no way to know the actual direction this series will take. Because so much of it is a mystery, and because The Shadow’s role isn’t even remotely defined, we’re left with a ton of questions… And they’re all questions I’ll be incredibly eager to figure out next month!

The Art: Giovanni Timpano covers art for The Shadow/ Batman, and I’m a fan! First off, he’s a brilliant storyteller! His layouts and panels are so strong that I can’t imagine what this book would look like under a different artist. What needs to be familiar to us, feels familiar to us – something that is sometimes lost in crossover.

His pencils also work well for this story. His shading is strong enough that it adds the perfect amount of grit and texture to the book, and along with Flavio Despenza’s colors, the two create the perfect tone for this crime, detective, noir, mystery. I’m definitely a fan, and can’t wait to see more!

IF this is leading where I think it’s leading, we’re in for one hell of a fun, psychological ride! This is pure detective, crime, noir and it’s perfect! The nods to the history of comics and inspirations for Batman are scattered throughout the entire issue, but they’re honestly just little touches of texture to compliment a great script with great characters!

The Batman is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman. Produced by DC Films, 6th & Idaho, and Dylan Clark Productions, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of the Batman film franchise. The film was directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig. It stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. Set in his second year of fighting crime, the film sees Batman uncover corruption in Gotham City while pursuing the Riddler (Dano), a serial killer who targets Gotham’s elite.

Development began after Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in 2013. Affleck signed on to direct, produce, co-write, and star in The Batman, but had reservations about the project and dropped out. Reeves took over and reworked the story, removing the DCEU connections. He sought to explore Batman’s detective side more than previous films, drawing inspiration from 1970s films and comics such as “Year One” (1987) and Ego (2000). Pattinson was cast to replace Affleck in May 2019, and further casting took place in late 2019. Principal photography lasted from January 2020 to March 2021 in the United Kingdom and Chicago.

The Batman is scheduled to premiere in New York City on March 1, 2022, and will be theatrically released on March 4. It was delayed twice from an initial June 2021 release date due to the pandemic. The film is intended to launch a Batman shared universe, with two sequels planned and two spin-off television series in development for HBO Max.

Near mint, 1st print. Bagged & Boarded.