Written by David F. Walker
Drawn by Bilquis Evely
Published by Dynamite Comics

PREVIOUSLY: Shaft #1

So, as per last issue, Shaft managed to get out of Harlem intact, despite refusing local gangster Junius Tate’s order that he take a dive in his boxing match. But this means that his nascent boxing career is over. This issue picks up an undetermined amount of time later, where we learn that Shaft had enrolled in NYU with plans of becoming a lawyer, but that didn’t work out, so now he’s applying for a job with a local Private Investigation and Security firm. He get hired, and his first assignment is easy and not too glamours. He gets hired to work undercover at a major department store, posing as a shopper but really keeping an eye out for shoplifters. At first the job seems to go well, as Shaft’s own criminal background makes him an expert at spotting thieves. He eventually catches the eye of beautiful Black female employee at the store, and soon enough Shaft is proving why he’s known as a sex machine with all the chicks.

Of course things can’t go too well for our hero (as that would make for one boring comic-book series), and the next morning Shaft and his lady love are confronted by two armed goons who are looking for the lady’s ex-roommate and are apparently willing to kill to find her. Before you know it, Shaft is forced into a hunt for this woman, without knowing why, and this takes him back to his old stomping grounds in Harlem, which may not be so safe for him…

This all leads to another action-packed and dramatic climax with a suspenseful cliffhanger. Once again David F. Walker proves that he really knows how to write this iconic character, giving us just enough insight into Shaft’s mind so that we can identify with him, but still keeping him a tad mysterious. And with the beautiful artwork of Bilquis Evely, they’re giving us the next best thing to an actual new Shaft film with this comic. I’m really enjoying this.

SHAFT #2