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“Shadow Doctor” #1

By | February 19th, 2021
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Writer Peter Calloway expertly tells his grandfather’s story without flinching in “Shadow Doctor” #1. (Warning: may contain minor spoilers.)

Cover by Mark Chiarello

Written by Peter Calloway
Illustrated by Georges Jeanty
Colored by Juanchoi!
Lettered by Charles Pritchett

Years in the making, this is the true story of writer Peter Calloway’s grandfather, Nathaniel Calloway, a Black man who graduated from medical school in the early 1930s. Unable to get work at any Chicago hospital (because he was Black) and unable to secure a loan from a bank to start his own practice (because he was Black), Nathaniel turned to the only other source of money in Prohibition-era Chicago: the Mafia, run by none other than Al Capone. One of the most profoundly fascinating, startling and significant stories AfterShock has ever published, SHADOW DOCTOR features the artwork of Eisner Award-winner Georges Jeanty (The American Way, X-Tremists) and covers illustrated by the inimitable Mark Chiarello!

Growing up in small-town Wisconsin I absorbed the convenient myth that racism may still be rampant in the South, but ancient history in the North. The North never legalized slavery – so the story went — and Jim Crow laws were a regional problem, not a national one. My teachers and my text books were quick to note that virtually every high profile clash over Civil Rights had erupted in places like Greensboro, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Sadly, legally prescribed segregation and institutional racism also polluted virtually every aspect of public and private life in the North as well, we just never got the same publicity. “The tendency when talking about segregation in the North is to say that it’s more episodic, and more personal, and not state-sponsored—except that we know that’s not the case,” says Jeanne Theoharis, author of the book A More Beautiful and Terrible History. Without question, schools and neighborhoods were highly segregated, plenty of businesses proudly displayed signs that read “Whites Only” and there was seemingly endless list of implicitly racist rules and practices. Black families, for example, found it virtually impossible to get a mortgage for a home in a neighborhood protected by literal red lines on the municipal map. For African Americans, life was separate and anything but equal.

In 1931, Nathaniel Calloway – the real-life protagonist of his grandson Peter Calloway’s new series “Shadow Doctor” – faced this bitter reality firsthand. Despite his stellar grades at medical school, Nathaniel was unable to get a job at the local hospital because he was Black. Trying to get bank loan to launch his own practice, he was turned away because he was Black. “Son, I hope you understand it’s not personal,” one of the white gatekeepers tells him as he leaves, dejectedly. “No, no, God no. Not personal,” he tells himself. “It was only the color of my skin.”

From the explosive opening scene to the final reveal, Peter Calloway’s script is tightly written, well plotted and surprisingly restrained, especially in light of the fact he’s writing about his grandfather. The pacing and structure are also great, but Nathaniel’s interior monologue is the highpoint, providing great commentary without giving too much away. In a lull after the opening ambush, Nathaniel muses, “The only thing more terrifying than the chaos was the silence that followed.” Later, knowing he has to eat, but feeling like he’s out of options, he thinks, “Most decisions are quiet things, born of an idea, a moment of contemplation. But the ones born from desperation – they aren’t quiet things.”

As Peter Calloway explains in the endmatter, the story isn’t meant to simply glorify his grandfather by showing us his perseverance and ability to survive an oppressive system. Rather, the author wants to show how his grandfather’s story “represents the promise of America,” while simultaneously exposing the worst of it. As Calloway rightly suggests, the story he tells is not only more accurate, it’s more “compelling, exciting and, ultimately, important.”

As important as all those themes are, the book doesn’t skimp on action. It’s still a gangster story set in the 1930s. Here, illustrator Georges Jeanty’s inks suit the material nicely. The shapes are soft and the lines are thin, with very few framings that ware wider than medium close-up, reminding us these are humans, not larger-than-life mythic figures. Other than a bright blue, some red and a few aqua panels, Juancho!’s colors are heavy on earth tones. While it certainly underscores the old-timey, retro look, it can sometimes get a bit muddy. The hospital scenes, in particular, seemed overly similar to the other locations. A shift in color palette may have been nice. Charles Pritchett’s letters pump up the drama without calling too much attention to themselves.

The characters are compelling, the dialogue is well written and the sequences are seamless. Unfortunately, the art doesn’t quite keep pace. There nothing wrong with it, but the visual treatment doesn’t feel special. Instead, it’s all pretty straightforward with few, if any, surprises. This book is still well worth your time, but if the artwork was stronger it could’ve been stellar.

Final Verdict: 8.1 The script for “Shadow Doctor” #1 is outstanding, but the artwork is somehow off target.


John Schaidler

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