A shadow-wielding immortal and former supervillain turned morally-ambiguous gentleman, The Shade (otherwise known as Richard “Dickie” Swift) has changed a lot throughout DC’s crises and reboots. Here are some comics to get you started on his history! This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, just a bit of a highlight reel of his very long and storied career. Bolded issues are personal favorites.
Flash Comics (1942): issue #33 [first appearance]
The Flash vol. 1 (1959): issues #123, #151, #298-299
Starman vol. 2 (1994): issues #1-4, #6, #24-26, #35, #41, #43, #46-47, #50, #56, #60, #62-72, #80
The Shade vol. 1 (1997): issues #1-4
JSA vol. 1 (1999): issue #81
Justice League of America vol. 2 (2006): issues #54-59
Blackest Night: Starman (2010): issue #1 [Starman vol. 2 #81]
The Shade vol. 2 (2011): issues #1-12
The Flash vol. 5 (2016): issues #10-12
Hawkman vol. 5 (2018): issues #15-17
The Flash: Bad Moon Rising Special (2025)
As no content warnings are included on this list, I encourage you to message me if you’d like to have them for a specific comic. Happy reading!
