Adventures in 1944
THE GOOD
As always, I really enjoyed the story. The writing was fun, witty and felt accurate for the period. The art was great too. My favorite scenes are always the ones with Shadow-Matter edging its way in and around the panels - it isjust so artfully done.
The flow of the story, as it is narrated by the Shade, was really well done. Introduction to the main character of interest, Darnell Caldecott, and then the supporting characters, Vigilante and Madame Fatal - each in perfect timing with how the action plays out. It all felt very natural.
There was a nice twist built in, that I didn't see coming, and fit great with the style of story being told (old timey mystery/suspense).
Finally, the last three panels were a very nice addition to the story, and of course the series so far. I always enjoy learning more about character background - these Times Past issues fit that bill perfectly.
THE BAD
The lettering for the "written" (internal dialog) portions of the story was a bit hard to read, but hardly worth docking the book any points for it. In any case, it is easy to get used to - this combined with the fact that a good portion of the book is done in the normal non-artsy print and even many non-lettered panels.
THE VERDICT
Highly Recommended. I would definitely not miss this Times Past issue of The Shade! It was extremely enjoyable and filled with a lot of great characters. It has just the right amounts of action, dialog, twists and turns - all this with the completion of the back-story hinted in the last issue. I am very much looking forward to the next, and fifth installment of this series!