The Shade Special #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Shade Special #1 (Fall 1984) is a key artifact in AC Comics' pivotal transition from its full-color Americomics phase to the black-and-white one-shot format that would sustain the company through a turbulent period in the independent direct-market. It spotlights The Shade — Bill Black's own original creation, a character he had been developing since his Paragon Publications fanzine days of the early 1970s — giving that character a dedicated showcase just as the Femforce universe was being assembled around him. The issue's roster of characters, many of whom also populate the contemporaneous Femforce Special #1, places it at the very ground floor of the interconnected AC superhero universe that would anchor the publisher for decades. As one of the few 1984 AC one-shots to focus on a male lead while drawing on the same creative talent building Femforce, it documents the full breadth of Black and Levins' shared world at its formative moment.
In the dusty frontier town of San Clavel, outlaw Duke Cartee wields a chilling power—his hypnotic gaze freezes his enemies, giving him the split second he needs to kill. When Sheriff Porter falls to Cartee’s deadly stare, the town descends into fear, and only Latigo, with the help of Two Knives, can uncover the truth behind the outlaw’s unnatural control. But the past holds darker secrets, and the dead may not stay buried.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw / ungraded ▾ $2.12–$30 15 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The Shade as a character predates AC Comics itself: Bill Black created him for his Paragon Publications 'ground level' periodicals beginning in 1969, and the character received his first commercial color outing in Americomics #1 in 1983, written and drawn by Black. By late 1984, with a glut of hastily-produced independent comics having destabilized the direct-sales market and forced AC to rethink its color line, Black assembled The Shade Special #1 as a black-and-white anthology showcasing The Shade across four stories — 'Beginnings,' 'Voodoo Night,' 'Project Psion,' and 'Eyes of the Hypnotist' — with writing and art by both Rik Levins and Bill Black. The issue appeared in the same Fall 1984 window as Femforce Special #1, situating it squarely within AC's concentrated push to establish its universe through a series of affordable one-shots during that transitional period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Written and drawn by Rik Levins and Bill Black, published by AC Comics, Fall 1984.
- Contains four stories: 'Beginnings,' 'Voodoo Night,' 'Project Psion,' and 'Eyes of the Hypnotist.'
- Features The Shade, an original Bill Black character first developed in his pre-AC Paragon Publications fanzines beginning in 1969 and given his first color commercial appearance in Americomics #1 (1983).
- The Latigo Kid (alter ego: Charlie Starrett, later to become Captain Paragon) is specifically noted as a featured character in the issue's ComicBase index entry.
- Published during AC's strategic pivot to black-and-white one-shots in late 1984, concurrent with the landmark Femforce Special #1, as the publisher responded to a glut-driven collapse in the early independent direct-sales market.
- Shares much of its character roster with the nascent Femforce universe, including Miss Victory (Joan Wayne), She-Cat, Blue Bulleteer, Rio Rita, Tara (Tara Fremont), and Lady Luger — characters who would anchor AC's flagship ongoing series from 1985 onward.
- The Shade continued as an active supporting figure in the Femforce universe long after this special, appearing as recently as Femforce #207, demonstrating his enduring centrality to the AC shared world.
- AC Comics (then still transitioning from the Americomics imprint, formally adopting the AC name in 1984) was one of the first four independent color comics publishers to pioneer the direct-sales distribution model in the early 1980s.
Cast · 32 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Best of the West #12 (2000)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.