Playing With Shadows

One particularly notable stylistic point present in many of the Crime and Suspense comics was the presence and use of shadow. In particular, the various usages of shadows around characters often enhance or alter the atmosphere of the story. In many of the comics shadows interact with characters in two distinct forms, either the characters themselves are placed in varying degrees of shadow, or the shadows of the characters themselves are deliberately drawn into the panels.

With respect to the latter method, one example lies in the comic Backlash on page 115 in the middle of top row. In this panel, the shadow of the protagonist is cast onto the wall behind him by the lamp he is knocking over. Not only does the falling lamp foreshadow his own fall into the metaphorical darkness of crime and murder later in the story, but the presence of the black shadow also represents both the darkness within him and the darkness approaching him. We see his shadow again in the top left panel of page 119, which begins the last scene of the story. In this panel the source of light is no longer visible indicating his complete fall into metaphorical darkness, but his shadow still remains hovering behind him. Furthermore, compared to the previous panel, the shadow takes up far more of the wall since more of the wall is covered in shadow. This creates the illusion that the shadow is growing since it fills up more of the visible wall, and indicates the protagonists impending doom on the following page.

As for the shadows cast on the characters themselves, I had far more difficulty pinning down a satisfying conclusion concerning the intent behind their usage. While it's certainly true that many characters have their faces shrouded by shadow when distressed or contemplating misdeeds there are many similar panels in which the characters are not covered in shadow. One example lies on page 120 in the second and third panels of the first row. While both panels represent a continuation of the same thought process, shadows only cover the protagonist in one panel. This poses an interesting question that addresses the intent behind using shadows, and one I find myself unable to answer.