Shady Lady (One-Shot) Review

Writer: David Whalen

Artist: David Whalen

Rating: 7 of 8

Shady Lady

Sometimes the best stories are one and done. They don't need to continue into sequels or, in the case of comics, further issues. They tell their story, then they're done. That's not always the case with One-Shots, but it definitely is here.

Though I wasn't impressed by The Offspring #1, I was a lot happier with this. Done entirely in black and white, it tells the story of the titular 'Shady Lady', someone who helps out when she can, but doesn't suffer fools. Her do-gooding's often done in a memorably destructive way, something which draws the attention of the local police - though that might be exactly what she wants...

The black and white style fits for a couple reasons. It fits the grimy nature of the world, while also gelling well with the noir feel of the book. Throughout, Whalen does a consistently good job on the art. Early in, we get a big explosion, with most characters cast in bright white, while Lady's inked in a striking jet black, which really makes her stand out. About halfway through, he delivers a brief, but effective, action scene, all told in just four panels.

Overall, the art's pretty good, though I think Whalen could've done a better job showing someone was a girl, as they look a lot more like a boy. In that scene, Lady's confronting a belligerent woman, who at one point says 'You can't do that', but she replies 'You will do it', so I think the woman should've said 'I won't do it' before that. Sometimes, there's a bit of misspelling, but it's not frequent enough to let the issue down.

Overall, a very good issue, that I definitely recommend. Though it works well as a One-Shot, I can see it working well as a series, similar to Jessica Jones. Definitely worth a read.