Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Batman and The Shadow team up once again, this time with Steve Orlando at the helm instead of Scott Snyder. The story starts off with Batman and Damian venturing out of Gotham to fight Professor Pyg in New York City. Pyg rambles on about some utter nonsense, and our favorite detective figures out the meaning behind the rambling. Thus leading us to the mystery that we’ll be exploring in this new series.
The mystery about the Silent Seven and their generation of hidden crime is barely explored in this first issue, but enough tantalizing details are left to get us hooked. There seems to be a interesting connection to the The Shadow’s past and Batman’s present, which should bring out a interesting dynamic between our two heroes moving forward. Speaking of our two heroes, we never actually get to see the two meet. This first issue seems to mainly be about Batman and Damian, with The Shadow proving a cameo appearance.
Damian is filling the role of antagonist by being back at odds with Batman. The dynamic is interesting, and it’s always fun to see the father and son fight. I do wish Damian was written better this issue, as a lot of his banter fell flat. His opening introduction especially was a mix of cringe and unneeded exposition. The writing across the rest of issue was great, and I enjoyed interaction between Batman and Alfred. The art and coloring in the book was fantastic, and the small glimpse we get of The Shadow was a standout piece.
The Shadow/Batman starts out as more of a Batman/Damian book, but with an interesting mystery in development that promises to bring the two heroes together, it’s worth it to jump into the series now.
