‘Batman/The Shadow’ To Team Classic Detectives For An Unsolvable Murder Mystery (Exclusive Art)

This April, more than one person will know what evil lurks in the hearts of men as two classic creatures of the night team up in the first issue of Batman/The Shadow, a six-issue comic book crossover from the all-star team of Scott Snyder, Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo — and The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive look at Rossmo’s interior artwork.

In the series, Batman’s investigations into the murder of one Gothamite seem to identify Lamont Cranston as the prime suspect, but there are only two complications. Firstly, Cranston is, unbeknownst to the Dark Knight, none other than the Shadow himself … and secondly, Cranston appears to have died half a century earlier.

“To bring together the World’s Greatest Detective and the World’s Greatest Mystery is an honor,” co-writer Steve Orlando (Midnighter, the upcoming Justice League of America) said in a statement. “Batman/The Shadow will pay tribute to legacies in comics and pulp fiction, as the two characters meet in a generations-deep conflict unlike any they’ve seen before, with a case that stretches back to the origins of time and which will redefine murder.”

The new series, published by DC Entertainment in partnership with Condé Nast and Dynamite Entertainment, isn’t the first time that the Dark Knight has run into one of his primary inspirations (The Shadow debuted on an episode of radio show Detective Story Hour in 1930, nine years before the Detective Comics No. 27 debut of Batman); the two first met in two issues of Batman’s regular monthly comic in 1973 and ’74.

Batman/The Shadow No. 1 will be released in comic book stores and digitally April 26. Below, get a glimpse at Rossmo’s line work for that issue.

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