The Shadow/Batman

Batman: Miniseries

by Steve Orlando, Giovanni Timpano (Artist)

The World's Greatest Mystery. The World's Greatest Detective. They can barely stand each other, so how will they possibly deal with the World's Greatest Evil? What legacy can two of the world's most enduring icons of justice leave once they discover an ancient evil has been living inside the world they protect for centuries. Can Batman and the Shadow save the world without destroying it in the process?
Writer Steve Orlando (Batman/The Shadow, Justice League of America) and artist by Giovanni Timpano (The Shadow, Transformers) unite to tell an instantly classic tale of noir, mortality and generational heroes and villains.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Action, Comic Book

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2018

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the artwork, the story I think was a little too over blown and ambitious. I might be a little biased as I have never been a huge fan of Damian Wayne. So this might have shifted my enjoyment slightly.

All I know about the Shadow is what I learned from the first volume, so I look at this as a Batman fan. As much as I enjoy the mysticism side of martial arts I think Batman was more then a little lost in this story. As much as I like to see Batman overcoming things with his will power I thought this was just a way overmatched.

This volume built on the themes of the first volume, probably making this more of a Shadow story. There was just too much to cover in 6 issues. This hard cover version includes a behind the scenes section and a thumbnail version of all the covers in the cover gallery. I found this volume ok but not as good as the first volume.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very solid Batman Shadow crossover. Unlike most of these crossovers, this one takes place after the DC published one. The Shadow was still Batman's mentor, training Bruce Wayne to one day take his place. In this story, Ra's al Ghul and Khan are secretly running the world. When Damian Wayne discovers what's going on, the Shadow and Batman get involved. I liked that Robin was involved, especially with the use of Ra's al Ghul. There are a lot of metaphysical moments as the Shadow and Khan both have the ability to take over minds. There's a lot to like about this story and the art is solid as well.

[Jim Ef · Rating 3 out of 5]

5.2/10
Batman and the Shadow are more connected than people might know. The plot in "The case of chemical syndicate" ( Detective Comics #27, first appearance of Batman ) is a copy from a Shadow story published a year earlier. So to team them up, makes sense. However, this isn't the best we could have get.

It feels like Orlando thought, the bigger we go the better. I believe a smaller case without the high stakes, would be best.

When it comes to the characters, i liked way more the way the Shadow is written. Batman's depiction in this, didn't really work for me. Also a lot of people didn't ( or still don't ) like Damian and books like this definitely won't help to increase his popularity.

The art is actually good and the best aspect of this.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two of my favorite characters team up! Nice story exploring the back history of these heroes. Very good art. Very recommended

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shadow knows what lurks in the hearts of men, and he knows Batman’s heart as well…

SPOILER ALERT!

This graphic novel teams up two of my favorite characters. Bruce Wayne knows the Shadow as “Lamont Cranston.” For the Shadow, this takes place after The Death of Margo Lane, also published by Dynamite. I recall years ago the Shadow and Batman crossed paths in a comic, but I don’t recall the comic series (other than it was a Batman) nor do I recall the circumstances.

The Shadow is at war with the crooks that pester New York City. In the comics, Gotham is not NYC. According to Wikipedia©, Gotham is in New Jersey in close proximity to Metropolis, which the map shows as in Delaware…

The book begins with a case Batman and Robin (Damian Wayne) face against Professor Pyg. The Shadow approaches Pyg in a cell in Manhattan and is upset at something he reads in Pyg’s mind.

The Silent Seven, a group the Shadow defeated once before, have moved into Gotham and the Shadow is there tracing them. Along the way, we find out the Seven were founded by Professor James Moriarty!

Damian Wayne, aka Robin, is in one of his usual snits and has decamped to New York to investigate on his own. A fake Batman confronts Damian, but he isn’t fooled. After an attack by the Silent Seven, Damian, Batman, and the Shadow join forces.

Damian senses a mind behind the Seven and Pyg’s “Dolltrons.” And there is a major mind there—Shiwan Khan! Khan has control of people he calls his “dead men.” According to Khan, they were once dead, and he has raised them up as slaves of his will. He even hints that Batman is a raised dead man and so subject to his will.

Taking the Shadow prisoner, Khan works to break the Shadow’s mind. And Khan is not on his own. Fellow conspirator Ra’s al Ghul wants to destroy Damian Wayne and Batman…

They should never underestimate the mind of the Shadow…

I liked this book very much. While I would always see a pairing of the Batman and the Shadow, I wouldn’t have thought Khan and Ra’s al Ghul could ever work, as both have such tremendous egos. But it works fairly well.

The book has a ton of Easter eggs! For example, Margo Lane is buried in “The Blue Coal Cemetery.” Blue Coal® was a major sponsor of the Shadow radio series.

Following the battle with Khan and Ra’s al Ghul, the Shadow is seen patrolling with Batman and Robin…

I give this graphic novel five stars!

Quoth the Raven…

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this a little bit better than Batman/The Shadow. It let both characters be themselves a little bit more, drew antagonists and situations from their own backgrounds rather than making up new ones on the wholesale, the bit of Bruce Wayne using the economy to fight crime was neat, and I noticed a few good references to the movie (I saw it between reading this one and the previous title). But it still wasn't all that good: there wasn't nearly enough detective work, and even less of The Shadow's own network of agents. It continued to squander their greatest potential.

Also, I never was a fan of Damian.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman and the Shadow back together for another epic adventure. I didn't care for the art in this one, but the story was great.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I liked this one slightly better than the previous crossover, but only slightly. This volume sees Ra's Al Ghul and Shiwan Khan teaming up, so Batman, The Shadow and Damien Wayne end up standing in their way. It is a direct sequel to the previous crossover as events are referenced several times. Once again a little too metaphysical and confusing. The art is well done. Overall I was disappointed in both volumes of the crossover, however.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another solid crossover between The Shadow and Batman. Fans of both will not be disappointed.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet more shadowy conspiracy that surprise and beguile Batman. Just like the Black Mask. Just like the Court of Owls. Call this one the Secret Seven. Sure, why not. Never identify the 7, just declare the seven is down to two. Boy that's some shitty storytelling. Also, the Shadow is around for mystic mumbo-jumbo.

[Chrisman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim. I remember being enraptured by the 1990s Shadow movie.

This story was neat. Highlight was definitely the final showdown in the area of the mind.

Edit: Here's a couple things I'm still thinking about.

1. A hero with guns who kills villains feels out of place in a Batman story as much here as it ever did with Jason Todd / Red Hood.

2. The Shadow (and his extremism), however, fits so well into the role of "Batman's former mentor / trainer," and makes Bats look so sane and tempered by comparison.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting crossover with Batman and The Shadow.

confusing at times, but in the end a decent read

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anyone who's seen me under the noonday sun knows how much I love Shadows, and anyone who has caught me in my Batman PJs knows how much I love The Batman, so this graphic novel which mixes the pulp hero the shadow, with one of the heroes he inspired, The Batman, should be a home run, right? Not so fast. Like mixing two other things I like - Mayonnaise and Peanut butter - this turned out horribly wrong.

I blame the writer Steve "I like Disney World" Orlando for missing the ball on this one. Some of the choices he made for both the plot and the characterization of the heroes were way out in left field. He should have "dug out" some old Shadow pulp to get a better handle on the character and pitched a better game. I have no idea why I am using baseball terms, but he struck out.

First - I hated the idea that Ra's al Ghul (the hardest to pronounce villain since Mr. Mxyzptlk) and Shadow's villain Khan "ruled the entire world" from the shadows and have been doing so for years without either hero even suspecting. It's such a stupid concept. Look, I'm not even arguing that some rich people in OUR world aren't doing that - it's just a bad concept for a comic book and for two heroes to fight. Heroes fight tangible bad guys not world wide conspiracy theories.

Second - the way our heroes tackled the menace had no drama - they seemed to be fighting each other more than the villains. The strengths of the heroes - to fight from the Shadows - to use detective work - were wasted and a chance for them to interact in an interesting way was thrown aside. Robin (ninja that he is) seemed to be the only one with personality and working to take down the menace. He was more "Batman" and "The Shadow" than the real ones.

In the end, it was a very frustrating story to read. I love the characters and I am happy The Shadow is getting in some comic books - but his personality changes so wildly depending on who is writing him it starts to get frustrating. Orlando's take on him is thumbs down.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estuvo bueno. Me emocionó en algunas ocasiones, pero el diálogo interrumpiendo las escenas de acción no me dejó sentir el impacto de los golpes, tajadas o balazos. La gente no pelea y habla al mismo tiempo. Mucha exposición innecesaria, los personajes se estaban explicando cosas que lo más seguro sabían.

Esta es otra historia que quiere ser una gran entrega sin tomar en cuenta que la Sombra no necesita eso. La Sombra no necesita salvar al mundo tantas veces contra el mismo tipo (Shiwan Khan), y es quizás por eso que lo épico de la historia me pareció gran fuera de lugar para un personaje tan privado y a nivel callejero como la Sombra. Esto fue una historia más de Batman y un derroche de referencias para fans de la Sombra.

Quedé satisfecho pero no es algo que quiera releer en poco tiempo. Le doy 4 estrellas por el excelente trabajo del departamento de ilustración. Timpano y Dispenza se robaron el show con los paneles, las secuencias y los colores. Son embargo, la rotulación a veces era confusa y no podía seguir lo que decían personajes que estaban fuera de enfoque.

Cuando volveremos a tener historias al estilo clásico de las novelas de Gibson? Solo la Sombra sabe...


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[Kyle Berk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shadow/ Batman is a pretty fine Damian and Batman tale. There's also some interesting stuff going on with the shadow that reminds me of Jason Aaron's Doctor strange or an Iron Fist comic.

Overall this is pretty alright. The art is good save a few Janky poses of anatomy. The writing is solid at times but can boil down to shameless writing of "the heroes have to wait until they've experienced the proper amount of conflict until they can beat the bad guys." Which this time around is Ras Al Ghul and the Shadows main guy I assume, can't remember off the top of my head.

Other than some annoying boring sequences where the heroes are struggling internally (Not done very well I think, because there is just loads of dialogue and I think that sort of thing is done better with minimal dialogue.) The Damian and Batman relationship is solid, Damian is a little shit but he always is, Batman is fine for most of it but he moments I question, the Shadow is fine, Ras Al Ghul I think is done really well here.

It's a interesting off shoot from main continuity I enjoyed and got more out of then I thought I would.

4 stars.

[Eastham Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story for fans of the characters.

This is the follow up to Batman/Shadow: Murder Geniuses, which is a better story and better art (different writer/artist team). That being said, this story does intertwine the Batman & Shadow universes more in an else worlds type of way.

The story although enjoyable, reads a bit like fan fiction that a 5th grader would put together; this isn't a comment on the writing, just the story details. This is due to the antagonists being a team up of Al Gul & Khan, overly similar characters with the goal of total world domination from the shadows.

Overall it's a nice fast story that fans of the characters will enjoy, but nothing one would need to seek out and quickly check off their reading list. A disappointing following up to Murder Geniuses, but a fair entry into the Batman/Shadow Mythos.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I find Damian more annoying when he's not paired up with Dick Grayson. He just grates on me here to the point where I was secretly hoping The Shadow would slap some sense into him.

The story itself is interesting as it simply assumes in this world both Batman and The Shadow co-exist. No fancy multiverse portals, and it's nice to just get into this alternate reality because it means they can do things that don't break existing continuity as the story is it's own thing.

The artwork is nice, and seeing Batman and The Shadow together makes sense visually, they're both all about stalking criminals in the darkness of a foreboding city.

It was a cool, self contained crossover.

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the past couple of years, some bizarre crossovers have happened in comic book--Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Green Lantern/Planet of the Apes (at least the Star Trek/Planet of the Apes crossover has the cool title "The Primate Directive"), etc. I've avoided them like social contact at the height of corona virus paranoia. This crossover makes a lot more sense and immediately appealed to me.

Batman travels to New York City where he joins forces with The Shadow and Robin (the Damian Wayne version, who has gone off on his own even though he's only a teenager). Their tense triangle of crime-fighting is interesting, especially as the story assumes The Shadow trained Batman, who trained Robin. The family theme runs through the book. The Batman bad guy is Ra's al Ghul who is Robin's biological grandfather on his mother's side. The bad guys are part of an evil conspiracy that has dominated the world from the background for decades, even resurrecting certain people to maintain control. Bruce Wayne uses his financial power to try and force them into the public, an act that only invites devastating retribution.

I enjoyed the story for its noir styling and old-fashioned feel. The dialog is well written and the confrontations are exciting. It's just as much a Shadow story as a Batman story, which is nice. The art is great. Timpano worked on a Shadow comic before this, so he's had plenty of practice with the style. The only problem was the bonus material at the end where the author goes page by page through the first issue commenting on the creative process. The first few pages have the uncolored art that matches what he is talking about but pretty quickly the art switches to other pages from later issues and have nothing to do with the commentary. Whoops!

Recommended.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard for me to rate anything with the Shadow in it as a three, but I felt it was a fair assessment of this work. Usually Dynamite excels in all areas of its presentation, but not so much in this case. First off, the story. Unless you are well versed in the previous plot lines you will have no idea of what is going on here. The entire first issue is just plain confusing. Eventually, some pieces come together the farther you read, but a synopsis or brief flashback would have helped immensely here.

Next, While the art work was excellent, the layout suffered. Quite often it was difficult to tell where on the pages you should look to continue the dialogue. It was not an organic flow and having to figure out the narrative structure really slowed the story down. Third, there is an extra section at the end where Steve Orlando comments on the first issue's story, however the attached artwork was in most cases from the last issue, so the writing did not align with the story boards that were shown. I found that to be very sloppy work.

Once you get into the story, you get the gist and it moves along, but I found that is was not sufficient to detract from the other issues. This is not meant to totally pan this work. I am going to seek out the other stories in this series so I can revisit this volume at a later date. Perhaps that will change my mind, but not about the sloppy preparation.

[Mouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork in this is amazing, especially the covers!
I’ve always been a fan of both Batman and the Shadow. I love the old radio dramas and pulps with the Shadow. I remember finding an old back issue at a shop when I was a kid, which was done in the 70’s. I remember Batman telling him he was his biggest inspiration and that’s definitely true that the Shadow was a huge inspiration to Bob Kane and Bill Finger in creating Batman.
The story in this is pretty cool how it blends magical mysticism along with action and martial arts. The plot is a bit much and I wish they would’ve aimed a bit smaller. I mean, blowing up Wayne Manor is a bit much and having a whole army of dead people for a hundred years is definitely out there. The last couple of issues got kind of goofy what with the Shadow becoming a sort of mystical Plastic Man falling apart and being all rubbery! Lol.
Some people seem to hate on Robin… and let’s be honest, he’s a real asshole, but that’s how he’s written and it was interesting to see him in this. I don’t hate on him and actually sort of enjoyed his presence in this, although honestly, I think it would’ve been better to have just Batman and the Shadow together.
Overall a good read, great artwork and good action.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to Batman/The Shadow: The Murder Geniuses, and there are some references to that book in this one, and although this one mostly stands on its own, it would be better to read that one before this one. The Shadow and Batman team up with Damian Wayne to confront the world's most powerful cabal, headed by Shiwan Khan and Ra's Al Ghul. Although there are no direct clues, I assume this story exists outside the regular DC continuity, because if it doesn't, there are some strange things going on that would have huge repercussions on the DC Universe. I liked that our heroes used their brains and not just their brawns. But in the end this was a bit convoluted and not especially believable, even for a comic book. I am always a bit dismayed when modern writers show The Shadow as having mystical powers, since that was not in his original characterization, so it's basically just another hint that this takes place in an alternate universe. The artwork by Giovanni Timpano is excellent, and many of the variant covers are exceptional.

[Alex Sarll]

Correctly proceeding with the previously established crossover fact that Bruce Wayne is Lamont Cranston's failed pupil, this expands that lineage in both directions. There's a big role for the silly little rich boy's more promising son Damian, with all three of them going up against the Silent Seven, a conspiracy too big to detect or shoot, and which stretches all the way back to James Moriarty, thereby reminding me that Jeremy Brett would have been as perfect a Shadow as he was Holmes. Orlando's introduction talks a lot about the Shadow as primal, cthonic force (and doesn't bother to mention Gotham's answer to Elon Musk once), so I was surprised when the story spent so long on his doubts and regrets - but fortunately he eventually sorts himself out and rains terrible vengeance on those who thought themselves untouchable, slightly assisted by a confused man in fancy dress.

[Jessica Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Shadow/Batman is dark and action packed featuring enemies of both our heroes. A secret sinister group is moving to take over the world run by none other than Ra's al Ghul and Shiwan Khan. With Shamba-La destroyed, the darkness in the Shadow threatens to overtake him as he struggle to remember who and what he was. Damien Wayne sets out on his own to put a stop to the plot taking on his own grandfather and is taken. The Batman must use his skills as the world's greatest detective to find them. It will take the combined forces of the Shadow, Batman, and Robin to save the world. Full of action and dramatics and with Damien's one of kind snark, the story moves quickly and violently with an old school style of art for a satisfying read.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A modo de continuación del primer crossover, el nuevo encuentro entre ambos vigilantes muestra a un The Shadow muy extraviado y un Batman preocupado de los movimientos de su hijo Damian en New York. La Sombra no está en su mejor forma y eso lo hace presa fácil de un antiguo enemigo mientras Wayne trata de enfrentar una (otra) conspiración secreta.

A tono con su aventura conjunta anterior, a esta versión de La Sombra falible y fuera de su tiempo se suma un Batman complicado por los riesgos tomados por su hijo (personaje de sorprendente solidez), volviéndose así más vulnerable. Son los villanos, en su aparente omnipotencia, quienes resultan mejor logrados.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it quite middling, with bits I enjoyed and bits I didn't. The financial games were fun but all too brief, the Damien subplot was enjoyable, but the main Batman/Shadow scenes didn't feel particularly true to character and seemed like endless bickering. Not a huge fan of the mind state stuff either, as the rules aren't really clear. (Granted, I hadn't read the previous miniseries to which this is a direct sequel to) However, I did enjoy the artwork at times, particularly some of the 2-page spreads.

[Auctor Trevel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman and The Shadow return again, only this time with Damian Wayne/Robin thrown into the mix. Without spoiling too much, this sequel to Batman/The Shadow: The Murder Geniouses helps develop the frayed relationship between Bruce Wayne and Kent Allard as they try to solve a mystery involving Shao Kahn and Ra’s al Ghul trying to take over the world. The story as well as the artwork is well-crafted.

If you enjoyed the previous outing of these two dark heroes working together, I also wholeheartedly recommending giving this one a read.

[Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will also credit Steve Orlando's writing with making this series better than I would have expected. I was not so big on last year Batman/The Shadow cross over. I think now that I have a better understanding of The Shadow as an overall character, I will go back and reread the previously mentioned series from last year.

The enemies are great, the story is decent enough, and the final couple of pages give us a really unexpected conclusion and new vision of reality.

[Ken Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last collected graphic novel of the series. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the series. But I’m a fan of both characters. So maybe I’m biased.

If you take this series as an “elseworlds” title, everything makes sense (and opens some unique ideas for other character team ups). If you try fitting this into the regular DCU or Shadow universe, you’ll only make your head hurt.

My only regret, I wish it were longer. The story seemed a little rushed at the end.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but not at all the story I was expecting, more's the pity. As far as I know (which means little when it comes to comics) this is the first pairing of the Batman and the Shadow and yet the story hints that there are previous comics out there featuring this team up. I'm curious to find out if it's true. What's here is interesting, to be sure, but I was truly hoping for a noir mystery in the 30s/40s pulp style. This is not it.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three Loners learn to work together ,paradise results

The Batman ,shadow and robin are heros with the same flaw. They tend to live in their own heads. Even when opposing a vast organization with powerful leaders they each tend to move along their own path, with very little regard for teamwork. With all these sand zombies walking around, why don't other heros notice? Zatana or Dr fate have a lot of magical abilities.