Gibson's characterization of The Shadow laid the foundations for the archetype of the superhero, including stylized imagery and title, sidekicks, supervillains, and a secret identity. Clad in black, The Shadow operated mainly after dark as a vigilante in the name of justice, terrifying criminals into vulnerability. Gibson himself claimed the literary inspirations upon which he had drawn were Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's "The House and the Brain." Another possible inspiration for The Shadow is the French character Judex; the first episode of the original "Judex" film serial was released in the United States as "The Mysterious Shadow", and Judex's costume is rather similar to The Shadow's. French comics historian Xavier Fournier notes other similarities with another silent serial, "The Shielding Shadow", whose protagonist had a power of invisibility, and considers The Shadow to be a mix between the two characters. In the 1940s, some "Shadow" comic strips were translated in France as adventures of Judex.