Jul
30
2014
0

The Shadow Over Innsmouth Review

Written By: Ron Marz

Art By: Ivan Rodriguez

Published By: Dynamite Entertainment

This one shot published by Dynamite has a rather interesting premise. The main character in it is none other than the infamous The Shadow and it takes the majority of its plot from the classic H.P. Lovecraft title of the same name. It’s a theoretically perfect mix considering the title fits amazingly well and both works were created during and influenced by the pulp period in pop and literary culture. Which is why I wish I could like it more than I did.

The Shadow, for those who don’t know, is essentially the first superhero, and Batman was infamously modelled after him. The Shadow was basically a wealthy young man who had special powers that granted him the ability to go unseen by enemies and he spent his days picking up more clues and mingling with townspeople while wearing nice suits. He’s a hero but he’s a little more of a detective with some powers. Fans of The Shadow need not worry as he’s presented classically and in a way that fans will appreciate as both his personality and his costume are present in full glory.

The problem with this is that they just don’t really work as blends of genres. Or rather, this issue doesn’t. The Shadow dealt with a lot of kingpins and existed during the time when detectives were double-crossed by dastardly dames and when men would pay a pretty penny just to get some dirt on someone. He did end up having a ton of adventures that dealt with the super-villains and mad scientists and his character had mysterious powers but his stuff was still usually centered around very clear and detailed villainous plots. Which is why the Innsmouth idea just doesn’t really translate. It IS especially intricate by all means but it just doesn’t fit. We’re treated to the entire history of Innsmouth (according to Lovecraft legend) within a few brief pages which means that we’re here to believe that The Shadow is quietly listening to a story about mutant fish people, Old Ones, and even the great Cthulhu and comes to accept it as possible truth after roughly 10 minutes.

What frustrates me though is that it could’ve worked and it could’ve worked a lot better. Ron Marz nails a lot of the pulpy, noir-ish dialogue and characters and even the basic plot points of secrecy, lies, and double-crossings. The comic would’ve been infinitely better if Marz had just allowed some extra time for the plot to play out. It was desperately in need of build up to really cement the overall idea behind everything going on in here. We unfortunately are only treated to a brief glimpse and the legend before the whole plot gets unveiled and this sadly leaves it feeling like more of Scooby-Doo episode that an issue of The Shadow. And an unfortunate last panel cameo by Lovecraft himself left me with more questions than anything, such as how a town manufactured an entire myth involving the Cthulhu mythos before Lovecraft himself perceived to think of it himself. It feels sadly rushed which is a bad thing when two great concepts and stand-alone ideas could’ve come together in a great way. Margo makes an appearance and gets a fairly large role which is nice, but it still feels stale. Margo is a great character but you barely get any hint of who she is as a person. The Shadow also comes across as an incredibly stale character and its a struggle to understand him within this one shot as very little is explained about him. In fact, I don’t think any of his powers or background are explained which means first time readers to The Shadow are going to be left feeling remarkably confused about who this man even really is.

Layout 1

The only thing I can’t complain about is Ivan Rodriguez’ stellar art. It works remarkably well with The Shadow as a character and the panels that invoke Lovecraft are full of macabre creatures and details like the overpowering dense fog. His art does a better job at branching the story ideas together than Marz’ writing.

Altogether I have a hard time really suggesting this comic to everyone. It’s not that it’s necessarily bad. It just feels incredibly disjointed and struggles to find a clear niche. Fans of The Shadow will be entirely bored with the overly simplified plot and fans of Lovecraft will find it odd that such a complex story line is being used for Scooby-Doo shenanigans. The team here could’ve really took the whole idea of The Old Ones and Innsmouth and everything else Lovecraftian and really ran with it and they didn’t which is where the disappointment lies. There was a large part of me that was hoping this would turn out remarkably like the game Call of Cthulhu (which also revolved around a man investigating shady things of Lovecraftian lore and excelled at bringing in pulp elements) but it was more like hearing someone tell a scary story at a slumber party in the hopes they can get a laugh  out of everyone being too spooked to go to the bathroom alone at night.