Shadow #4, August, 2012
Concluding our ongoing series celebrating multiple anniversaries for the classic pulp character, The Shadow.
Gravity. What a bitch.
Comic art (and animation) often defies gravity, and pretty much all other laws of science. (Not just physics.)
Didn’t care as a kid, don’t care now.
As long as the art is dynamic, the storytelling is clear, and we don’t push the boundaries into the realm of downright ridiculous, I’m good.
Also, consistency helps too. If Wile E. Coyote has a one-second mid-air pause before he falls helplessly to the earth, each and every time, no problem. Not realistic, but completely plausible within the context of the character and story.
Falling: always a bit slower in comic books than reality. And the character is often calm and composed about the whole thing.
Like our friend Lamont Cranston here. He’s not flailing; he’s carefully shooting at whomever caused his drop.
We know he’s going to finish getting some shots off, and, at some point in the drop, reach for a convenient flagpole. Or something. He will figure it out.
In “real life,” perhaps not so much.
A terrific cover, illustrated by the terrifically talented Sean Chen. Flailing not permitted.
