I'm in the middle of issue four. Nice Chaykin cover and the interior art is some of the better of Dynamite's run with the series. However, I can't help but think how far the character has strayed and changed since his creation in 1931, mostly due to the aforementioned Howard Chaykin and his 1986 mini series, The Shadow: Blood & Judgment. This introduced the backstory of Kent Allard and Lamont Cranston and their dark dealings in post WW1 Asia. This was then picked up by the team of Koepp and Mulcahy for the 1994 film and has become canon for a later generation of fans. I don't argue that it is interesting and informs the modern version of the character but I do argue that it ain't The Shadow of Gibson. The Shadow of the pulps was dramatic and intriguing without dragging his past through the mud and proposing the idea that people can only do the right thing if they've been reborn and seen the light. Obviously this is just my take and I readily admit that I am a curmudgeon, so rebut me if you like. With his sudden ability to draw information from dead people, his ability to see the future and his horrible treatment of Margo Lane (and I'm not a fan of hers so that says something) down to his superior attitude as Lamont Cranston rather than an aloof playboy, this is not at all the character I've idolized for nearly a half century. I'd like to hear why these changes make the character more interesting than he already was.
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