I really enjoyed this comic/graphic novel. I struggled back and forth with whether or not I'd read another if a fifth one came out but settled on no. I think the story was finished up nicely in this set of 1-4 and I found it quite interesting.

Made it through some of this one before my time ran out but I didn't get it finished for review, sorry.

I will be honest, I have only the most vague idea what The Twilight Zone is and most of that come from references in other pop-culture. I am not a fan of black and white TV at the best of times, I find it loses my attention too quickly, but I have seen one episode of the series all the way through and it had an effect on my younger self more so than many other series.

However I do know the Shadow quite well, and that leads me to my questions; how in hell do you cram The Shadow and The Twilight Zone into a single comic. To me that is like asking a chef to mix smoked salmon and red bull and make something edible from it. The writer gives a long explanation in the preamble of how it was obvious to him, which makes me glad I am not the one writing these books, merely the one enjoying them.

Well I have an answer to that question; you cram the two together by making the entire book so complicated that by the beginning of chapter two I needed to take a rest for fear of my brain running out of my ears. Were it not for Google and Wikipedia I would have been utterly lost because characters come and go with no explanation at all and people who I recognise turn up in a fashion that is unrecognisable. The problem is part of that is supposed to be the case, you are meant to sit there and think ‘hang on, that’s the same person, what the heck is going on’ but when it happens with everyone who appears, you lose some of the effect.

By chapter three I was really starting to get the hang of this story in a story in a story concept, at least it was simpler than trying to understand Inception! And then by chapter four it went and spoilt it all by being too normal. In some ways after it did such a good job of converting my initial confusion and scepticism, the return to a normal Shadow book rather much spoiled it. It needed to have a subtle hint at the end that it could have been real. Even just an unexplained figure or shadow on the wall would have won me over completely, instead it is merely an entertaining, if initially confusing read.

If you are a long term fan of The Shadow, this will probably give you far more than it gave me. The trip through the creation of the character working backwards in time was interesting, but ultimately lost on me without me doing additional reading. I don’t mind doing the research, but it rather spoils what would otherwise be a flowing read. But I suppose at least next time I read something like this I will have a far greater knowledge of The Shadow and his alter egos than I did before.

This works far better as a trade than it would have as individual issues. Sure the four chapter breaks each end with a suitably Twilight Zone like ending, but due to the very convoluted storyline, reading this monthly would have been a chore for me and I would have needed to re-read each issue as the new one was released.

The art is suitably Dynamite and is very similar to all their other pulp character stories, but it is not consistent enough for the confusing nature of the story to be easily followed. When people who were supposed to look like each other, didn’t look enough like each other from page to page, it is easy to miss the connection. Conversely when a character is supposed to look different, but still looks the same, it is also hard to spot that. The art is perfect for a standard Shadow story, with lots of dark corners and muddy colours, but for this to work really effectively with the complex storyline, the art needed to be perfect, and it just wasn’t quite up to the task.

Overall, this was a decent, interesting and effective story, let down by a predictable ending and inconsistent art. Like many of the other Shadow comics I have read and reviewed for Dynamite, it is good enough, but none of them have ever made me want to buy the next series, and surely that is really the point?

The Twilight Zone: The Shadow is a fantastic illustrated novel,

Keeping within the confines of the classic 60's television show, this graphic novel is a wonder and joy to read. With its top notch illustrations and excellent stories. This is a definite must buy for anyone who is a fan of the show or anyone who really wants to delve into a classic sting in the tale story.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was beautifully written an wonderfully drawn. The story was fantastic and deep and keep me entertained. I would love to read more by this author.

I loved the way the shadow and twilight zone were mixed in the story. Thoroughly enjoyed the book