Spoiler Saturday--Shade #4!!

A fair warning: I'm about to spoil the living hell out of Shade #4. And it's really a nice comic, quite good in fact, and so you shouldn't have the nice surprise spoiled. So if you haven't read it yet, go away, come back after you've read it. The post will still be here...

SPOILERIFIC DISCUSSION to commence after 3 unrelated pictures of The Shade:

3...

2...

1...

Spoilers ahoy!

Anyway, long-time readers know that one of the regular features at Slay Monstrobot is Golden Age Idol, wherein we look at some long-forgotten and (presumably) public domain super-heroes, and try to determine who is worthy of modern-day revival (and potentially immense profits!). Despite my best efforts, though, no one has really taken up the challenge of actually resurrecting these lost heroes...until now.

One of my favorite Golden Age Idols was the infamous Madam Fatal. You can go here to read my full write-up on her. Long story short? Back in Crack Comics #1 (1940), Actor Richard Stanton had his daughter kidnapped by a gangster (and his wife died of a broken heart!). In his quest to find her, he realized that the only chance for success was...to dress up as a elderly grandmother and beat up goons:


He never found his daughter, but he continued to beat up crooks (and show off those great gams) while in drag. And then, like so many Golden Agers, he/she was never heard of again...

Until this week. In a flashback to 1944, The Shade recalls an industrialist whose life was being threatened by Nazi agents. And the industrialist had an...interesting...employee:


And when the Nazis finally strike?






OMG!! James Robinson (with Darwyn Cooke & J. Bone) brought back Madam Fatal!! All those thousands of Golden Age Idol posts have finally paid off!! Now I just have to sit back and watch the dough roll in!!

What...? That's not how it works...? Not even a finder's fee?

Crap.

Anyway, I've got to say, that was a nice grace note, to give some closure to Stanton's story, some 70 years later. This is the James Robinson I love, not the Justice League: Cry For Unnecessary Death And Mutilation guy.

And that's why I'm excited to see him helming the forthcoming Earth-2 series. Think who else he can revive: Airmale & Stampy!! Lady Fairplay!! Red Rube?!? The Marksman?!? Swing Sisson?!?!?!? The Bouncer!!!!! Soon, I'll be rich beyond my wildest dreams!!

Oh, yeah, right. Still, revive 'em all, James Robinson...revive 'em all!

Oh, yeah, this issue of Shade ALSO has Shade teaming up with Vigilante (the cowboy one) against Nazis and a dame. So read it.