The Harlem Shadow was a straight after thought. I needed a superhero that inspired my flagship character, LUCIUS HAMMER, to become a superhero himself. So I created a quick noir-pulp mystery man of crime. THE HARLEM SHADOW. Of course I was already aware of the existence of Walter Gibson’s game changing creation, THE SHADOW…the DNA from which The BATMAN was certainly birthed along with literally thousands of other grim and gritty nocturnal crusaders. I tried to come up with another name but for some reason…adding the word “HARLEM” to Shadow evoked a series of fantastic images in my imagination that haunted me like the scenes of a great movie you can’t forget. The first thing I thought of was the fact that the Harlem Renaissance was a brilliant and apropos location and time for the appearance of America’s first Black Superhero. I was in love with the idea of it; I saw crystal clear images of a Jazz inflected Fleischer Studios animated superhero-noir epic filmed in black and white or muted colors like they’re Superman series. Starring in this adventurous “mind movie” of mine was a dashing hero in a trenchcoat, domino mask and the requisite slouch hat. He darted in and out of the street mist and shadows like a human ghost…beneath the neon glow of speakeasies and nightclubs he would patrol the avenues of Dark Manhattan…battling the warped and violent black underworld or the equally vicious and corrupt NYPD…his two guns firing and flashing mystically in a back alleyway confrontation with the cacophony of saxaphones and horns in the background as the soundtrack. I had to stick to my “guns” with the immediate name I had given him, THE HARLEM SHADOW because it just wouldn’t have worked any other way. I initially had the opportunity to publish my first comic book, LUCIUS HAMMER, in the summer of 2009. He debuted at what used to be called the Wizard World Comic-Con and this is actually the first appearance of The Harlem Shadow. He appears again in the second issue of LUCIUS HAMMER and then I was compelled to create his own book because quite frankly…fans seemed to be more excited about THE HARLEM SHADOW than Lucius. I had the great fortune of finding an artist named Rodolfo Buscaglia who was a fairly accomplished South American comic book illustrator. Upon first seeing his pencil work on The Harlem Shadow, I knew this gentleman would be the perfect collaborator because of his mastery of black and white (the book is black and white because it takes place in the twenties and I wanted it to have a film-noir look to it. Plus, I didn’t have money for colors. Heh.) Anyway…we released two issues between 2010 and 2011 before I would experience a few personal crises and be forced to direct my energies/finances elsewhere. In 2013 there was a slight ray of hope when the fledgling intellectual property that was THE HARLEM SHADOW was briefly optioned as an animated feature by DEF JAM ENTERTAINMENT. Nothing ever came of that option but it was an exciting time…exciting enough to keep me working on THE HARLEM SHADOW behind the scenes for the past 11 years till I got the opportunity to bring you this third issue which is a direct continuation of the second issue. For my substack subscribers…I wanted to give you a special preview. Here are a few pages with some great art and what I think is awesome dialogue. The Harlem Shadow Issue Three has been a long time coming but I will finally be launching it digitally on Septemeber 3rd, 2022 and the physical copies will go on sale two weeks later. Enjoy this quick glimpse of our superhero comic noir period piece we call THE HARLEM SHADOW. ISSUE THREE DAMMIT.
www.soulhammercomics.com
Purchase The Harlem Shadow issues 1 and 2 at www.comicfleamarket.com
Stay tuned for details on how to get your copy of THE HARLEM SHADOW ISSUE 3!!!