The Shadow #5
Published and © by DC, June-July 1974
Title: “Night of Neptune’s Death!”
Synopsis: The Shadow and his crew take to the seas to thwart an assassination plot by the mercenary General Sodom.
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Artist: Frank Robbins
Review: For some, the absence of Michael W. Kaluta’s art makes this a weaker issue of The Shadow. This disagrees. Much as with his work on Marvel’s The Invaders, artist Frank Robbins proves right at home with The Shadow’s period milieu. Robbins’ use of spot blacks is perfect for this series’ pulpy tone, as is his quirky, kinetic rendering. Admittedly, the artist’s anatomy and storytelling can be a bit awkward at times, but more than a few pages achieve an almost Eisner-esque quality. Add in Denny O’Neil’s appropriately purple prose, and this issue is surprisingly good.
Grade: B+
Second opinion: Included on Alan Brightmore’s “Individual Comics That You Should Not Be Without” list, from “A Consumer’s Guide to D.C. Comics, Part 2,” Comics Unlimited #51, October-November 1979. … “Frank Robbins … suited the series as well.” – Hassan Yusuf, FantaCo’s Chronicle’s Series Annual #1, 1983 … Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003.
Cool factor: General Sodom … gotta love the subtly of those Bronze Age villain names!
Character quotable: “The Neptune’s been pirated by a General Sodom – !” – Margo Lane, femme fatale
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Sept. 24, 2012.
Based on the image in your header for POTPOURRI 7/7-7/10, I was looking forward to the review of the KILLRAVEN GN. Is that still to be posted?
Hi, Frank. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, the BAM schedule got scrambled a bit as we had a recent death in the family. I’m in the process of getting plugged back in and hope to have that review up in the next couple of days. In the meantime, you might be interested in the reviews of the rest of the Killraven stories from Amazing Adventures. Cheers, TAW