To me, a clear sign of success comes when a title, series, or movie, gets a spin-off. When an expanded universe is created around one singular character or title, growing and attracting new readers and followers, something must be going right. For James Robinson’s Starman, it had only been going for less than three years before DC were keen to publish a spin-off. Okay, it wasn’t a full-blown ongoing series, but it was a four-issue miniseries – who was the spotlight going to shine down upon? Perhaps a spotlight metaphor isn’t a great one for this character – after all, where would any shade be with a bright light upon it? Moving away from my pretentiousness, the Shade hasn’t starred too often in Starman (vol 2) thus far, but he is easily my favourite feature of the run. An immortal with a slight morality complex – he’s neither a fulsome villain nor a fullhearted hero – the Shade has been revolutionised by Robinson. With his journals, love of history, and adoration for Opal City, Robinson has given the Shade more than simply a distinct personality. He has the capacity to make us laugh, to strike fear into us, and above all else, to make us think about the world around us, history, and literature. It would be wrong to describe the Shade as a mere advisor or guide to Jack Knight. He is an on-and-off teacher, a sharer of knowledge, wisdom, and mystery. But with no Starmen or Jack Knight, how does the Shade fare in his own miniseries?
The Shade (vol 1 ) 1-4 was released from April to July 1994. Written by James Robinson, each issue is drawn by different artists. They include Gene Ha (1), J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray (2), Bret Blevins (3), and Michael Zulli (4). For many years, DC had never reprinted this miniseries, but fortunately it stands front and centre in Starman Omnibus Volume Three.
Ever since his creation in 1942, the Shade has always stood out. Originally a foe of the Flash, and then later the Justice Society and the Justice League, the Shade has been tinkered with and altered around over the decades. But with Starman, we get the definitive Shade – an immortal English gentleman whose powers are augmented, but a living part of him. While we may have a redefined Shade, one consistent theme remains his mystery. One big question stands tall and it’s impossible to ignore – how the Shade obtained his immortality and shadowy powers. It’s a subject the Shade is coy to speak about, and alas it’s one which Robinson hides from readers for years – literally fifteen years from this miniseries! That isn’t the story of the Shade 1-4. What we get here isn’t an origin, but an exploration of the Shade’s past and how one family’s declaration of war on his very existence has accompanied his long journey…
Our story begins in 1838. Walking alone on the streets of London, we have the Shade. But this isn’t a Shade we’d recognise. This is a man with amnesia, rambling only of a lion and a dwarf. Before even us readers can ponder such ramblings, the forgetful man is met by Piers Ludlow, apparently a decent man who, sensing the Shade is in need, takes him from the cold streets and into his warm home. In the first issue, Robinson paints a humbler, more human Shade. Perhaps this makes sense for a character who has little idea of who he is, or what he has been through. It’s the Shade’s natural kindness that he is lured into a trap. Although the Shade is allowed to stay in the Ludlow house, it’s a strange place. Piers is the master of the house, and he has strict control over how far the Shade can wander. At first, Piers appears to want to help the Shade rediscover his past, but this is all revealed to be a rouse. Piers attempts to use the Shade as a plant after killing some former accomplices used in one of the many crimes Piers and his family have conducted over the years. The Shade of the present would not fall for such a trap, so witnessing a less mature and – at times – almost childlike version of the Shade is refreshing. But this is the moment where the Shade realises his true potential. As Piers and his family hunt the Shade and attempt to incriminate him, the Shade shocks himself by exploding with beasty black shadows, inky creatures that tear through many of the Ludlow family. This is the first time the Shade discovers his power, a power which unleashes his true personality and contempt for those who betray him. All of the Ludlows are killed. Well, all but two. The two children of Piers Ludlow pledge to their dead father that they will avenge him and make the death of the Shade the driving mission of the family for generations to come. With this, the stage is set for the great rivalry in the Shade’s life. Well, one of his rivalries anyway. While we know that the Shade’s long battle with Merritt comes to an end after the Hell and Back storyline, there is a brief mention here of another character. Culp. At the end of the Shade 1, the Shade returns to London and meets his best friend Charles Dickens (a fantastic touch by Robinson) – he mentions some of the events leading up to the Shade’s loss of memory. From a lion and to the Shade rescuing Charles from near-death, the binding glue is Culp – a figure of mystery. Although the Shade’s origin is not the main feature point of this miniseries, Robinson adds even more intrigue and mystery to the backstory of the Shade, a tale which readers are all eager to witness, but one they shall have to wait for. Sure, Charles Dickens could just tell Shade about the true events surrounding Culp and his origin, but where would be the fun in that?
With the first issue setting the scene, the Ludlows are the miniseries’s main antagonists. From 1838 we go to 1865 in the Shade (vol 1) 2. Walking around Hampstead as the oh-so-clever intellectual of Victorian London, the Shade is gunned down in the street. Who’s the shooter? Of course, it’s a Ludlow – Rupert Ludlow, the son of Piers. At this stage, the Ludlow family are not aware of the Shade’s immortality (not that that puts a cap on their ambitions). Although covered in his black blood, the Shade musters enough strength to kill Rupert.
For much of issue two, Robinson writes something of an illustrated story. We read extracts from the Shade’s diary, reminiscing about some encounters with the Ludlows in the following year. Meshed with some great art by J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray, capturing a sense of dominant darkness, Robinson’s words are powerful as gaps in the Shade/Ludlow spat are filled in. What makes the Shade-Ludlow rivalry such a powerful one is how its twists and turns transform the Shade into a more cynical and cautious character, one who struggles to allow his emotions to appear explicitly. 1931 is when the more enigmatic Shade emerges. The Shade usually isn’t one for romance, but the one time he falls in love – with Marguerite Croft – it's revealed she is a Ludlow as well! These final pages of the second issue are some of the bests in the miniseries. We see the Shade at his weakest – dying of poison, confused, betrayed, and emotional. He tries to reason with his love that she is continuing a pointless murderous trend, but her hatred of her lover is too much to overcome. Robinson’s conclusion to the second issue is conveyed with great implicitly – the Shade is forced to kill Marguerite, but he cannot watch. It’s a murder we don’t see, for who would want to see the death and murder of a loved one. The Shade is left with a corpse, and lots of memories…
Although the Ludlow curse upon the Shade acts the consistent plot of the miniseries, the overarching theme is biographical, exploring how the Shade has changed from 1838 to the present. For The Shade (vol 1) 3, we are in 1951, a year where us DC readers would recall the Shade as a terrorising force fighting the Flash of Earth-2. Happily we get to see some of that here, with Jay Garrick sporting his tin hat and red colours. However, the Flash is not an enemy of the Shade here. After many years fighting crime, the Flash decides to retire to spend more time with his family. Now the streets of Keystone City are under the protection of the Spider, an energetic archer endorsed by the Scarlet Speedster. The Shade, always being an honourable hero who often comes to live on good terms with many of his enemies, decides it’s time to meet the Spider. Although more brutal than the Flash, the Spider gets on with Shade, but something suspicious is going on. When, towards the end of the issue, it’s revealed that the Spider is a Ludlow, you’d think such a revelation would be typical and not at all surprising. That could have been the case were Robinson to pen a dreadfully dull tale. However, Robinson gives a personality and a love interest to the Spider, and it seems – at first – that the Shade’s worries may be hearsay. Therefore, when it’s revealed that the Spider is a Ludlow who wants the Shade dead, it’s a moment of impact and surprise.
What follows is less of a surprise – the Shade kills the Spider. But that’s not just because of good old-fashioned revenge for past sins. It’s because the Spider sent a killer after Jay Garrick’s wife. Again, the Shade has confusing morals. He isn’t a hero, nor a fully formed villain. This event leads the Shade to develop something of a friendship with the Flash. One thing that makes the Shade different from other villains is that he doesn’t want to steal for value, or murder for the sake of it. He’s a gamesman, a villain who enjoys the game of crime. As in all games, there are rules to follow, and there must be respect. It’s these values and beliefs which really fuel the Shade, making him stand out in the crowd. But after a while, all games must come to an end.
The Shade (vol 1) 4 takes us to the present – 1997. The Shade receives a letter from the wife of Craig Ludlow. Aware of the Ludlow hatred of the Shade, Craig Ludlow’s wife reveals that her husband doesn’t hate the Shade. What reason has he to hate someone who fought the family 159 years ago? Well, Craig Ludlow may not loathe the Shade, but his brother Gary does. These are the final two Ludlows – the Shade is summoned to end it once and for all, not with violence, but reason. Well, that doesn’t last too long. Upon meeting Gary, he turns hostile, and the Shade is forced to kill him. That leaves us with the Shade and Craig – and a wonderful dialogue scene. Craig lives on a farm with his family, forever scared of confrontation with the Shade. But this is no confrontation. It’s a personal conversation – the two characters laugh, listen to one another and their life stories. It’s the first time the Shade truly speaks with a Ludlow, and the Ludlow doesn’t answer back with hate. Because of the humanity, humour, happiness, and sadness present in this scene – a scene where both sides decide it’s best to end the Shade/Ludlow rivalry – it’s best left for readers to sit down and immerse themselves in some great dialogue and characterisation from Robinson. But with that, the Shade can rest easy, and the Ludlows no longer need to exert themselves in their pointless bloody quest. You would think that the Ludlows – upon realising that the Shade cannot be killed – would pack up and go home, but the hatred of the Shade is so deep that it overrides logic.
Structurally, Robinson gives The Shade (vol 1) 1-4 a tried-and-tested structure that works perfectly. It’s great to see the changes throughout history and Robinson – ever the enthusiastic and faithful writer – captures the different time periods brilliantly. We witness an evolution of both the Shade and the Ludlow family, culminating in a warm and satisfying ending. It is something of a rollercoaster for the Shade – we learn more about his backstory and how the Ludlows have caused him to contain his inner-emotions. We really do get to see how the Shade has evolved and changed with these events and immorality. Some moments, like the death of his lover at the end of the second issue, stand out as moments that define the conservative figure of the Shade in the present. Robinson’s style oozes creatively as the Ludlows don’t appear as simple assassins – making one a superhero in the form of the Spider was a stroke of genius. It’s rare when I say this, but there’s not a single fault with this miniseries that springs instantly to mind. Okay, one might be that the Shade is immortal and the Ludlows are on a pointless mission, but what does that matter? This hatred is ingrained throughout the generations, and it leads to some excellent moments of drama. When you read this, make sure to absorb every syllable and word of dialogue – it’s pretty much near-flawless in terms of the narrative, plotting, drama, and characters.
Throughout all four issues, Robinson is aided in his quest to recreate eras and convey drama by some formidable artists. Gene Ha’s misty and greyscale style perfectly captures the aura of early-Victorian London, but it contains a sense of smoothness ideal for the rich Ludlow family. It’s a style which the sharp and aggressive black shadows of the Shade shatter at the end of the first issue. For the second issue, there’s the wonderfully gothic and dark artwork of J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray. Their horror-style visuals mesh incredibly soundly with Robinson’s writing for the Shade’s journal, while also conveying the final scene of the Shade with his dead lover with such power. Bret Blevins pencils and inks the third issue with the energy and colour of a late-golden age comic, but there is a due sense of darkness too to accompany. Lastly, we have Michael Zulli. His Sienkiewicz-style would usually turn me off, but its ugliness is made up by some strong and emotional storytelling. So, we have four very different styles, accompanying four issues with four different styles. Robinson’s fantastic script is brought to life by their styles and the wonderful artwork seen throughout.
A WORD ON THE SHADE’S JOURNALS…
Throughout Starman’s seven-year run, several of the issues contain a few paragraphs and pages from the Shade’s journal. Although we readers have read extracts and brief lines from such thorough diaries in some of the Times Past issues, these journals are conveyed differently. During the Starman run, Robinson pens somewhere between twenty and thirty A4 pages of prose – autobiographical accounts from the Shade’s quill. Prose is a very different form of writing compared to comics – some writers are naturally skilled at the prose style, while others are very flat and dry. Thankfully, Robinson is no bore. As ever, he captures the wit of the Shade flawlessly and his unique personality and perceptions throughout. Some pages of the Shade’s journal feature in this Shade miniseries – it’s the story of another Ludlow who wants the Shade dead in a dramatic tale featuring poker and a pursuit on a train. Although I think some of these tales may have been better off pencilled and inked, I think the prose style is a fantastic method of adding more to the Shade’s lore. Another great insert in the Shade’s journal comes from Starman Secret Files and Origins 1, with the Shade asking Ted and Jack Knight about what Opal City means to them – Opal being Robinson’s geographical lovechild. But the best of the Shade’s Journal has to come with the title’s later issues, especially when the Shade comes face-to-face with business magnate Howard Hughes. Hunted by fairy-tale characters that come to life, Hughes enlists the Shade’s help. Throughout, deep questions with seemingly few answers arise and Robinson creates a perfect mystery story with a good cast. Ultimately, it’s a tale of betrayals as Howard Hughes and pretty much every other character in the story turns on the Shade, with the revelation being that Hughes desires the shadowy powers of the Shade. At about fifteen pages, Robinson writes a real-page turner. Sure, there are naturally one or two prose pieces which don’t work as well, but the vast majority are astonishingly good. Happily, all of these pieces of prose have been collected in the six Starman omnibuses. Some may be tempted to skim through these, or miss them out altogether, but you’d be missing out on a rich vein of adventure, character development, and an enjoyable quantity of pretension.
VERDICT
Overall, the Shade (vol 1) 1-4 is a real treat. While we learn more about the Shade, the mystery behind his origin and life expands deeper. Using a family as a rivalry for the Shade is a creative idea that helps develop our understanding of the star character throughout history. It’s far more attractive than a regular story whereby another immortal is constantly chasing the Shade – that would grow tiresome and predictable, but with Robinson at the helm, accompanied by a great array of artists, and twists and turns to really elevate the drama of the story, the Shade miniseries is a joy to read.
Next Week: Something unusual...
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