For history buffs and those...

For those wondering, this is not a current release, but was published in the days of the comic industry' early foray into the format that would later explode: graphic novels.

Marvel Comics tested the waters of expanded format with a series of books published under the banner of Marvel Graphic Novel, though that information was in small print on the cover, the series numbering being not even present in the book itself. Marvel started releasing these beauties in 1982, intended as original material for the more serious reader.

This book in particular was released in 1988, reviving the hero of the days of detective thrillers and film noir, The Shadow. Reprising his artistic role from the DC series from the '70's, Michael Kaluta provides a beautiful period look to piece, his work looking like a cross between the film noir and that of art deco refinement. My opinion is that inker Russ Heath's heaviness dampened Kaluta's work somewhat.

Denny O'Neil crafts a well paced story that provides a credible back story to what really motivated the drama of World War II.

Marvel presented this beauty in hard cover format, and it would please the comic fan or the fan of pulp detective stories.