The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow

The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow #1-6

by Howard Chaykin

It's New Year's, 1950... the end of a tumultuous decade. Lamont Cranston, the man that the world and the underworld know all too well as The Shadow, has had enough. It's time for the mysterious nemesis of crime to hang up his cloak, his slouch hat, and his twin .45s, and retire from public life. But despite this momentous decision, Margo Lane and the rest of The Shadow's agents fear that mankind, teetering on the brink of nuclear Armageddon, may not be quite ready to be bereft of the dark avenger. Howard Chaykin, whose 1980s revival of The Shadow at DC Comics reinvigorated the character for comic lovers everywhere, returns to tell a mind-blowing tale of the Master of Men! Who know what evil lurks in the heart of men? Howard Chaykin knows!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Pulp, Comic Book, Crime

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Howard Victor Chaykin is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read this comic containing 6 installments of The Shadow in Moscow upon release and have now after obtaining the trade paperback finally reread the story.

It is 1949 and in the new year the Shadow has decided to hang op his guns, cloak, hat and red scarf. He and Margo Lane go traveling however this does not last long before some people recognize Margot & Cranston as agents of the Shadow and want to take them of the board. Which is bound to backfire as it usually does. The Shadow has to stop a nuclear attack to save the world.

As Shadow stories go it is a bit MEH, the story has a bit too much sci-fi in it which makes it a bit hard to suspend any believe in this story. A machine that makes people and machines small is one storytool too much for me.
Chaykin however does make a beautiful moodpiece of the era the story takes place and does make an ending that makes sense when it comes to continuity in his own stories of the Shadow.
Fun too read but specific for Shadow fans who would read about anything to do with this character. After finishing this collection I remembered why I did not reread it after it’s original release. It has to do with having a collection, and while the comic label Dynamite did some nice things with the Shadow this is one of the lesser efforts.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty long-winded by Shadow standards, art subpar, overall didn't grab me that well.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaykin tackles The Shadow and Lamont and Margo especially, stays tackled. Against the backdrop of the early days of the Cold War, The Shadow retires for one last suicide mission or the Worls faces Nuclear Armageddon. Poltically and action nuanced as only Howard can do.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars.
Good story, the "last one" before "Blood and judgement" in Chaykin's chronology. Interestingly set in a Cold War environment and full of its author cunning and wits. Not always enthralled by the ultra-rigid art but that's Howard Chaykin for you.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los trabajos de Chaykin son, como siempre, para el intelectual. Tomando mucho tiempo de desarrollo para que la cosa se ponga buena. Me sorprende que alguien no haya aparecido con la trama de que la Sombra quiera retirarse después de mucho tiempo sirviendo a la justicia, pero aquí estamos.

Siempre me ha gustado el uso de los agentes de la Sombra para ayudar a resolver un caso o detener a cierto villano, pero como sucedió en Blood & Judgement, Chaykin solo los utilizó de adorno para mostrar que conoce el canon del personaje, para luego limitarse a usar a Margo Lane como única ayudante en una tierra lejana a Nueva York, su base de operaciones.

El dibujo de Chaykin es más refinado que en los ochenta, pero esto viene con algunos percances. La acción sufre y, los pies de las mujeres me sacaron de la historia por lo extraño que fueron dibujados en algunos paneles. Luego de eso, no tengo mucho problema con los trazos.


Contrario a su libro anterior, Blood & Judgement, los encabezados se sienten pesados y muchas veces innecesarios, precisamente porque lo que más me gusta de la Sombra, es que es un personaje misterioso. Aunque no se si la culpa la tendría el letrista por guiarse estrictamente de lo que Chaykin sugirió en el libreto. Y a ver, esto es Dynamite, ya habíamos acordado que los diálogos de la Sombra serían negros con letras blancas, este azul no me convence. Se siente inofensivo.

El libro termina con una costumbre que comenzó en las novelas, pero pocos han tenido la consideración de seguirla en los cómics, y por eso, le doy un aplauso.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Shadow…

Classic Shadow villain Benedict Stark, aka The Prince of Evil aka Mr. Remorse returns to battle the Shadow once again. As a foe, Stark lasted four issues of the original pulp magazines:

 "The Prince of Evil"
 "Murder Genius"
 "The Man Who Died Twice"
 "The Devil's Paymaster"


He was finally destroyed at the end of The Devil’s Paymaster. A thermite bomb with which he planned to destroy the Shadow and his agents blew him to bits. This story would have had to take place prior to this.

I am of mixed feeling about this graphic novel. I didn’t really like the artwork. The depiction of the female crook and Margo Lane manages to look hideous at times. The Shadow looks a lot like Dick Tracy. Too much jaw and not enough emphasis on the nose, which is the Shadow’s signature feature.

Then there is the actual storyline. (SPOILER ALERT) Benedict Stark was a major villain for the Shadow and seems to be more of a supporting character in this book. The Stark of the original magazines would have been in the thick of the matter.

The major plot revolves around a Stark associative named Dixie Teagarden. She works with Saint John Upchurch and uses her sex to force Dr. Simon Thorpe to cooperate. The plan seems to be to blow up the Kremlin with a nuclear device and blame it on the USA. There will also be a nuclear explosion in Manhattan when a missile from Russia reaches the city. If the Shadow cannot stop it, war is inevitable.

The one good thing about this is the surprising way the Shadow punishes Dixie Teagarden. That is a refreshing end to what I call a subpar plot.

I will give this one three stars only…

Quoth the Raven…

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

'The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow' is a Story starring the Shadow as written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. While the story warmed up for me at the end, it just took too long for me to recommend it.

It's the early 1950s. The war is over, the world is recovering, and the Shadow is thinking about retiring. While he is enjoying time off, strange things are happening. A huge stack of gold appears to have been stolen by being miniaturized. Also, there are a pair of people up to no good who seem to be showing up everywhere Lamont and Margo seem to be at. The action takes place in New York, London, Paris and finally Moscow, where a catastrophic plot is uncovered. Who can save the day if the Shadow is truly retired?

It's a bit too wordy, and it's sometimes confusing because things are happening offstage. The characters look strange, like they all have mouths full of food. The colors were muddied in my review copy so that the whole thing came across as overly dark. When they get to Moscow, the font used for characters speaking Russian was a bit puz‌zling to figure out. The book includes the original art and in it's uncolored state, it looks so much better. The characters still have a chipmunk cheek look to them, but the lines are cleaner. I really like the character of The Shadow. I just wish this story had been better.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Dynamite, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun to see Howard Chaykin back on the Shadow after all these years, and equally cool that he ties it in to his DC stories.
Shame the actual story kind of runs out of steam and ends up feeling kind of self indulgent and blah.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice solid story and artwork. If you're a big Shadow fan definitely check it out.


I recieved an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher.

[Michael Kitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Chaykin. Of course it's great!

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another graphic novel of the pulp hero name the Shadow. Most of the stories of the Shadow takes place in the 1930s but this particular volume takes place on the end of the year of 1949 and the beginning of 1950. There are multiple references throughout the graphic novel that the Shadow has been fighting crime and evil men for over two decades and a major subplot is how long the Shadow would keep going with his fight against evil since there is no end in sight with the amount of evil men who would arise as villains and also because the Shadow’s longtime partner against crime and lover Margo Lane wishes to settle down. Yet even when the two are on vacation trouble still follows them and the need for the Shadow calls.


Like other titles with the character the Shadow there is a noir pulp feel. It certainly is a mystery graphic novel. The Shadow is out to uncover a plot that eventually has a Russian connection. There are satisfying amount of twists and turn in the story something I enjoyed and wish graphic novels were able to do more in their storyline. Like other comic books on the Shadow I love how there are references to historical characters and events as the story progresses. I don’t want to give it away but the Shadow even meets an evil man in real history.

If there is one thing I have to fault with this work is that sometimes with the drawing you can’t tell the character apart. For instance Margo Lane bears the same resemblance with one of the villains and this is also true with the protagonist Lamont Cranston being indistinguishable from another villain. There weren’t good distinctions between the characters which was confusing. It was frustrating to slow down and wonder who it was that was speaking and looking for contextual clues in a way that wasn’t very convenient. I also thought during a few instances the language and illustration were unnecessary crude and crass.

Overall an enjoyable story though its not necessarily among the best of the comics on the Shadow.

[Tom Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing Howard Chaykin return to The Shadow 30 years on from his reinvention of the character at DC was something I felt was worth checking out. And, while intriguing, it really turned out to not be nearly as groundbreaking.

As an artist, Chaykin has evolved, for the better in my mind. And his style is well-suited for this period-piece telling of the Shadow's final adventure before retreating into seclusion. The script, however, didn't appeal to me quite as much. It fits well into the continuity Chaykin established in "Blood and Judgement", but that also proved a bit of a liability, seeming a step back rather than a step forward. The characters remained compelling, but the globe-spanning tale felt disjointed at times, with the final chapter feeling somewhat rushed.

Does all this make this a bad story? No, it was still entertaining enough, just unlikely to be amongst the best-remembered Shadow tales.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a solid entry in the Shadow saga. In this tale the Shadow is contemplating retirement in the new decade of the 1950s. However, before he goes he has some loose ends he wants to tie up. These niggling details involve a mysterious shrinking Ray, 2 atomic bombs, spies and double agents, and the leader of the Soviet Union. Minor details for Lamont Cranston I am sure!

Howard Chaykin continues to dazzle with his incredible artwork and weaves a compelling story. You do need to pay attention to keep track of who is who but your patience will be rewarded as everything comes together in a mostly satisfying ending.

If you like the Shadow and you like Howard Chaykin you have likely bought this already. If not, I recommend you do so.

[Rubin Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howard Chaykin has done some great Shadow stories
this is not one of them
It's a good story but not a great one
a lot of cold war political intrigue more espionage than crime fighting

Chaykin is trying to convey times they are a changing in 1950 and the shadow after two decades is weary and at a mid-life crossroads of sorts
The story has more dialogue than action and a very thin plot
And it suggests going out with a whimper and not bang is how the shadow should go
a blaze of bullet glory is not for him but a step back into the darkness and I somewhat agree however the plot is thin and could have been done in a three or four issue story arc
it's readable but not his best work
nor a fitting conclusion to a great character's career

[Timo · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can there be so much talking and inner commentary and nothing to say? How can art be destroyed so badly with computer generated coloring? How can pretty much every character look so much like the character next to him? Why did I bother to read this through?
So many questions. But for me, this comic failed to deliver.

[Jared Hammaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not digging the art

Decent enough story, but not the kind of art style I enjoy. Characters ended up sort of horrific at times.

[Gatsu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great art, forgettable digital coloring, story half good and half bad.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried I tried I tried.
Every character is lumpy and painful to look at and the plot makes less than no sense.
Abandoned a third of the way in.

[Paul Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some say The Shadow is the spiritual father of Batman; not having seen anything but a couple of movies about the character, just from the atmosphere and tone I can see why that’s said. That spirit continues in this graphic novel, to the point where I can hear the narrator’s voice in my head, as though this was a radio show, with dialogue appropriate to the time, for once. The artwork is just as stylized; I feel like I’m watching a film noir.
The plot really gets moving when The Shadow announces his retirement, though considering his nemesis is still alive—maybe—after not-so-killing him at the beginning, I didn’t buy it, especially since Moscow is in the title and he’s still in Noo Yawk.
Always a bit surprising when the well-dressed lady walks by the drug deal and then turns to put a bullet in the dealer’s brain. The snark is on at full power; my fave examples: “Simpson’s in the Strand has been a London landmark for over a centery. And like most culinary landmarks in the city, it’s never been any good.” And “London successfully defended itself against a nightly barrage of bombs from the Luftwaffe. . . while Paris rolled over and took the German invasion like a cheap whore.”
From Noo Yawk The Shadow and his lady friend go to London, then Paris, Berlin, and Moscow, as the title implies. Part of the plot deals with miniaturization; wish they’d done the same with this novel. It feels like a deliberate choice of style over substance. When they get to Moscow there’s a change in font, where they use Cyrillic letters in English writing. Whatever the idea is here, it doesn’t work. It feels like in trying to evoke the time and atmosphere of the original works they went overboard, so I didn’t like this as much as I would have otherwise.
I will say what happened to the bad girl at the end was delicious!
3.5/5

[Crittermom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!

The Shadow, the iconic vigilante of 1930s serial fame returns in Howard Chaykin's graphic novel The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow. Chaykin does an excellent job capturing the flavor and feel of the popular pulp hero in a new adventure set in the early years of the Cold War.

The Shadow gained the power to cloud men's minds in exchange for pledging himself to justice. After a long career fighting crime with his agents, The Shadow plans to hang up his cloak and mask and retire, but fate has other things in mind. A foiled robbery of the Federal Reserve brings a diabolical plan to The Shadow's attention. Someone has developed miniaturization technology and plans to use it to steal nuclear weapons. With the potential for nuclear Armageddon on the horizon, The Shadow must take one last case.

Chaykin's graphic novel is a perfect addition to The Shadow's pulp canon. In its scripting and images, it captures the feel of earlier works published in the 1930s and 1940s. The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow is a fantastic tribute to the iconic noir anti-hero who inspired the development of later heroes such as Batman.

5/5

The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow collects all 6 comics of the series in one complete volume.
The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow is available for preorder and will be released August 11,2015.

I received a copy of The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

http://muttcafe.com/2015/07/the-shadow/
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...

[Ross Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

Howard Chaykin writes and draws this graphic novel that is set in 1950. The Shadow becomes involved in international intrigue after discovering a plot to explode atom bombs in both Moscow and New York. An interesting take on the character which also deals with Lamont Cranston considering retiring the Shadow persona after two decades of crime fighting. Chaykin's art is gritty and works quite well with the post noir setting. I have said in the past that I usually don't care for the character when he is removed from his 1930's timeframe, but this is close enough that it works very well. Highly recommended.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lamar Cranston decided to retire the Shadow, and travel to Europe with Margo. While there, he was requested to look into a leak at MI6. He found out that the leak led to an agreement between Moscow and American gangsters involving miniaturization and atomic weapons. After the case was concluded, Lamar Cranston and the Shadow completely disappeared. Is this the end? Or just a new chapter in the Shadow saga?

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post WWII / Cold War comic collection by Howard Chaykin

The Shadow decides to retire amid the stirrings of the Cold War and gang warfare in New York. He travels with Margo and uncovers a plot to start World War Three.

It is well-written and nicely-illustrated but I sometimes had trouble distinguishing one well-dressed male protagonist from another as they did look a bit alike.

Enjoyable and recommended – full of action and bloodshed.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always love sitting down with a new "Shadow" volume, but this turned out to be very disappointing. So very slow, with lots of talk and no action for the longest time and when something finally does happen the action remains few and far between. The reader has to wait a very long time to discover why "Moscow" is mentioned in the title. The showdown at the climax was a half-hearted let-down and the final ending was just plain sad. Not impressed ith this entry in The Shadow series at all.

[Readsall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of the Shadow since I first heard the radio program. I first started listening to radio programs on CBS Mystery Theater that ran on Friday nights. So I was excited to see the graphic novel of the Shadow. The pace of story was good with plenty of action. The artwork was beautiful but I'm not sure how I feel about the characters. I've always pictured the Shadow as lean and these characters were not. Plump is how I would describe them. Over all, I enjoyed the story.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Piffle about miniaturising things, and far too much that happens off-screen (The Shadow moving from city to city, especially when we have no reason to know why he's doing so) mar this retro crime caper. It's too blunt about the geopolitics of the time, too, but with characters as broad as here that's only to be expected. A reasonable frippery, if you don't mind that sort of thing.

[Nẹdu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Shadow decides to retire and travel round the world with Margo. On their journey, he is requested by MI6 to figure out who is leaking information out. The art was difficult to understand at times.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaykin revisits the Shadow - a character he gave renewed energy in the 80s. The intrigues in the story and the pacing make for a fairly strong showing. The ending seemed rushed, which is odd considering this was a six issue series before collection.