The Shade #2 – Review

By: James Robinson (writer), Cully Hamner (artist), Dave McCaig (colorist)

The Story: Doesn’t matter if you’re human or shadow—the British and French just don’t mix.

The Review: I spoke a little about this topic on my review of Resurrection Man #3, but when you have an unkillable protagonist, basically a whole layer of tension—some might say the most crucial of all—flies out the window.  Upon reflection, I suppose this doesn’t mean the character can’t die or perish; it just means a lot more work is needed to get there.  In the meantime, the writer has to fill that missing danger with something to keep us invested in the character’s fate.

Robinson goes for rich character work and substantial plotting to make up the gap, and more.  On the former, he devises some incredibly distinctive, believable voices, from Shade’s somewhat fussy syntax (“A one-eyed assassin, weighed down by chain mail and pride, is but a stroll in spring when I catalogue my journey to date.”), to William von Hammer’s cut-and-dry narration (“Rooftop chase with Les Diaboliques.  They died, I didn’t.”), to Jake “Bobo” Bennetti’s cool-cat lingo (“I’ll be oh so on the down below.  And you’re about to 23 skidoo…”).

Like other great writers of characters (Grant Morrison, Paul Cornell, Pete Tomasi, to name a few), Robinson has a knack for making his immediately accessible and easily likable.  It’s not just their entertaining dialogue, but how much information they reveal with it without ever feeling expository, like Bennetti explaining his connection to von Hammer: “Cat I crossed paths with during a crazy caper in Morocco a few years back.  Vampire gigolo hit men…don’t ask.”

Humor aside, Robinson also knows how to fine-tune a dramatic scene so it comes across moving, but not sappy.  Hope and Shade’s parting is a strong example.  The contrast between Shade’s forthright romanticism and Hope’s playful affection has great chemistry, and it becomes all the more potent when Hope lets down her offhanded manner.  “Dickie—no.  I’m sorry, I call you that ‘cause it’s funny, but what I have to say now isn’t.”  You can guess where she goes from there.  Suffice to say, it’s an affecting scene that never feels forced.

Don’t let any of this lull you into thinking the action is lacking in any way—au contraire.  The sequences featuring von Hammer are the stuff great Bond films are made of, the best of which has the German P.I. leap off a floor so he can take a shot in midair at a thug fleeing down a stairwell, landing on his feet, hair coiffed, and suit hardly wrinkled.  And since our star has a supernatural bent, you also get plenty of conflict on that front with the appearance of another shadow-powered character, Bete-Noire.

We’re left with plenty of mysteries to mull on.  Who are the Caldecotts, and why does the mention of their name inspire such uncustomary hesitation (“You’ve heard of them, of course.”  “Of…course.”) in our protagonist?  What motivates their quest for any remaining sample of his human blood?  And why did von Hammer, who was hired by the Caldecotts to seek out this rarity, decide to inform Shade when neither apparently had any direct connection to each other?

Hamner’s cartoony style doesn’t look like it could handle this kind of weighty material, but appearances deceive.  He really outdoes himself this issue, creating unique features for each character (even without hair, you can tell the difference between von Hammer, Shade, and Bobo—that’s the real test of facial detail), and delivering intense physicality to the action as well.  Props to McCaig, too, who, despite failing to color von Hammer’s hair in one panel, delivers stunning colors throughout, especially in Opal City’s glittering night skyline.

Conclusion: The series reads like a mix between thriller, caper, and spy.  There really is nothing like it on the stands right now, and it packs a lot of bang for its buck.

Grade: A-

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: – “I don’t think that’s the correct use of ‘irony’—”  You’re correct, Hope.  That was not the correct use of “irony.”  But then again, using it correctly is downright close to impossible nowadays, which is why I’ve pretty much just given up the word as dead.

– “I’m Will von Hammer, private detective and a sex machine with all the chicks.  (Actually I’m not, but I’ve always wanted to say that.)”  And why wouldn’t you, honestly?