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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Talkin’ Chaykin pt. 1: The Shadow
This is the first edition of a short series where I spotlight a different work by Howard Chaykin. This is all gearing up towards the release of two trade paperbacks and a hardcover edition of the first 12 issues of Chaykin’s American Flagg. Maybe Image and Dynamic Forces will send me over a copy, but probably not. Don’t mind me; I’m just a comic pundit getting out the word on a big release of theirs.
Whoring aside, though, I picked the four-part Shadow mini-series that came out in 1986 because it’s the first major work by Chaykin that I read. I had known of his work but before had only read his contributions to both Batman: Black and White volumes. The Shadow is a textbook example on how to do a comic book mini-series and also raises questions about updating the character to the time of that mini-series. Let’s look at what evil lurks in the hearts of men, shall we?
Chaykin’s pacing for this mini-series is not only excellent; it’s a blueprint for any other creators out there who want to know how to structure their plots. The first issue we got some hints of The Problem. By hints I mean people being shot through peepholes, people getting stuffed into water coolers, a massacre at an orgy and other people, all senior citizens, meeting a grizzly end. The villains and the hero’s supporting cast are introduced; setting up what will be some of the conflicts in the series. The title character does show up, in his civilian identity, on the very last page of the book. This is a way of ending first issues that Marvel can’t seem to do enough.
The second issue is the origin of The Shadow a.k.a. Lamont Cranston a.k.a. Kent Allard. We get sex, violence, drug smuggling and a mystical land named Shambala. In fine pulp fashion we get villains who betray like it’s going out of style and heroes that are only slightly better. This is The Shadow in his own element. When he arrives back to the U.S. in 1986 from his second, longer trip to Shambala we soon we get to see him in a whole new world.
Issues three and four are part one and two of the real adventure of the story. Tracking down a nuclear missile, finding out more of this mysterious villain who happens to be a dark figure from the past and The Shadow dealing with life in 1980’s America. Keep in mind the Shadow isn’t the kind to go around saying “gee whiz, New Coke!” The Shadow makes the 1980’s adjust to him. This is especially prevalent in his handling of women, something that was a just one of the many controversial aspects of this book, but I’ll get to that later. Soon enough the world is safe, lots of people are dead and The Shadow is back just in time for a continuing series to start two years later. In the end Chaykin has crafted a great adventure yarn that serves as a simple yet effective display of his, master letter Ken Bruzenak and colorists Alex Wald’s talents. The plot is as tight as it gets, the characterization and dialogue are smart and really, who doesn’t like a lot of bloodshed with their pulp heroes?
A few people it seems. With The Shadow Chaykin created a great story with the very confusing continuity of The Shadow character. The text pieces in the back by Shadow historian (and sometimes comic book colorist) Anthony Tollin are wonderful looks at the character, but there’s no mistake reading those that the long career of The Shadow got plenty confusing. It’s the way that Chaykin straightened everything out that left a few cranky.
In Chaykin’s accomplishment we see a character that was cherished by many since its creation in 1930 re-imagined in a tale that was one of the first comics put out by DC that bore “for mature readers” on it. Keep in mind that when the first issue of The Shadow came out Dark Knight Returns was one month away and Watchmen was five months away (described by editor Len Wein in the Meanwhile… column as “the most eagerly awaited 12-issue maxi-series since the already legendary Camelot 3000”). The content of this book was nothing new to readers of the already three-year-old American Flagg series, but it certainly surprised many readers who were unfamiliar with Chaykin’s work or were simply shocked that a company owned character (a licensed one, no less!) be treated in such a way.
Harlan Ellison had a radio show on the Pacifica affiliate in Los Angeles called Hour 25. Three broadcasts were dedicated to some of the changes happening to superhero comic in the 1980’s. The rebirth of Superman, Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen were just some of the books brought up on those shows. On one of his shows he referred to Chaykin’s interpretation of The Shadow mythology as “vile and detestable.” Ellison also asked “at what point do we say, ‘You’re mucking with out myths?’” The issue is still a controversy today as creators consider whether to continue creating somewhat new stories with the established version of characters or start over with a new image of those characters. All these quotes are from The Comics Journal #111 by the way.
I’m inclined to declare the only thing that matters is if the story is good or not. The Shadow by Howard Chaykin is more than just good, it’s a Hell of a ride and still looks better than most other comics out today (Chaykin’s own Challengers of the Unknown being one of the exceptions). DC and Conde Nast have parted ways so don’t expect any reprints of this story coming out soon. Your best bet is to check eBay, the back issue bins or various on-line retailers for the four original issues of the trade paperback. They shouldn’t be too hard to find and it is worth it.
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