What could have been cooler than the Shadow having his own comic? The Shadow teaming up with another pulse-pounding pulp hero like the Avenger (who also starred in his own comic, Justice, Inc. at the time)! In one of the few issues of the Shadow not written by Denny O'Neil, DC's pulp-heroes finally crossed paths courtesy writer Michael Uslan (yep, the movie producer) and artist E.R. Cruz (who was taking over from Mike Kaluta and Frank Robbins).Lemme tell ya, Groove-ophile, The Shadow #11 (March 1975) was one beauty of a comicbook! Kaluta provided a stunning, moody, ya-gotta-buy-me cover, and Cruz's interior art was nearly as moody as Kaluta's had been, making him a perfect choice to take over the series' artistic reins (though, sadly, the mag would only last one more issue). Uslan's plot was strangely Marvel-like, with our two heroes (and their agents) mistaking each other for enemies before finally teaming up to battle their common foe, but it was fun, and quite a thrill to see he-who-"knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men" and the leader of Justice, Inc. in the same mag. See if ya don't get a kick out of "Night of the Avenger!" yourself, Groove-ophile!
Making myself popular by saying I prefer Frank Robbins to either Kaluta or Cruz.
ReplyDeleteCreepy your posting this today! I just got on a Avenger kick. I bought half of the 42 novels off eBay. I've also been looking at those beautiful Michael Kaluta The Shadow issues. Man those blew me away when I first bought them in 72/73? Beautifully detailed artwork. I was so disaapointed he didn't stay on The Shadow alot longer. Or atleast Dc should have had Jim Steranko replace him. I'd had loved to see them draw Justice Inc/The Avenger as well! I completely forgot about this issue & his appearance in The 11th Shadow novel.
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