There have been a lot of portrayals of The Shadow over the years...




...but none quite like the Archie Comics version!!

Wha...?

When Archie picked up the licence in 1963, they played it more or less straight for oneissue:

But it didn't take long for them to decide they would rather make it a super-hero comic than a pulp crime series:

And when Jerry Siegel took over as writer, well, all connection to the past sort of vanished, as the book tried harder and harder to look like Marvel comics of the day:


Hey, who needs powers of hypnosis and mind control and a blood-curdling laugh...

...when you can have utility belt gadgets and quips!

Hell, the book even mocked the very idea of the "old" Shadow:

Still, you can't argue with Shiwan Khan's death traps:



Archie's The Shadow ended after 8 issues, leaving a cliffhanger unresolved, and mankind will never know if he ultimately triumphed over the insidious Elasto!