Story: "Grand Guignol, Cinqieme Partie: A Villain's Tale" (22 Pages)

Credits:

James Robinson (plot, script)
Peter Snejbjerg (pencils, inks)
Bill Oakley (letters)
Jason Wright (colors)
Jamison (color seperations)
Peter Tomasi (edits)

Supporting Characters:

Shade (also in numerous flashbacks)
Rene (in flashback)

Villains:

Culp (also in numerous flashbacks)
Trimby Ludlow (first appearance; in 1882)

Guest Appearances:

Captain X (last in The Shade #3?)
Oscar Wilde (appearance same as panels of #6)

Other Character:

Jason Mayville (appearance same as panels of #6)

Synopsis:

Culp, now revealed as the mastermind behind Opal City's troubles, explains how he came to be in the position in which we now find him. Long ago, in London, he and the man who would become the Shade were involved in an incident which gave them both shadowy powers and set them forever at odds with one another, clashing in numerous different locales worldwide.

In World War Two, when the Shade was fighting alongside Captain X, the two had a huge confrontation, which left only the Shade standing, or so it seems. In actual fact, the essence of Culp was transferred into the Shade's body, gaining dominance when the Shade was tired and weak. Culp then set out to discredit the Shade, being responsible for most of the villains' more genuinely evil acts, and discovered the facts which led to his current plan.