Shadowman #6
Written by Justin Jordan
Art by Patrick Zircher, Lee Garbett and Neil Edwards
Color by Brian Reber and Guy Major
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Patrick Zircher and Dave Johnson
Valiant Entertainment
Release Date: April 3, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99
Welcome to my first review of a Valiant Entertainment comic! I present to you the delightfully dark Shadowman #6. Set in New Orleans, Louisiana, it really draws on that creepy voodoo-like vibe that one feels when they visit ‘The Big Easy.’Â But it’s not just drawing on the world as we know it, Shadowman also reveals to us a world that we are completely unaware of in our mundane lives. We are shown the Deadside, a parallel universe of horrific nightmares that seeks to break down the tenuous barriers that separate our two dimensions from one another.
First off, we have Jack Boniface as the new Shadowman, having had his powers bestowed upon him by a loa (keeping with the regional theme of voodoo). His current (and ongoing) job is protecting our world from the Deadside. And while he may still be learning about his new abilities, he is being kept quite busy dealing with a group called the Brethren. We learn that these powerful Brethren are desperate to restore a necromancer named Master Darque to our world, which would bring about untold horrors and destroy our very existence. Then we have a very mysterious, tattooed gunman who is working a different angle against the Brethren at the behest of an old, almost forgotten, local deity named Baron Samedi. But this demi-god is in negotiations with Master Darque–negotiations that could prove troublesome for the Shadowman. Though, as with every underworld deal, not everything is as it seems.
This issue is plot-building, concentrating on connecting all the characters through knowledge and conflict. In the beginning we see Shadowman rescuing some children from one of the Brethren’s many Soma production facilities. We are also given a short glance into the resistance group known as the Abettors, but not much more than the tease of a sub-plot (one that I think we will see more of in subsequent issues). Rounding out this issue is a meeting between the Shadowman and Baron Samedi (or at least his avatar, in the flesh). And though there is a bit of a fight, the truly interesting part is the conversation on the last page. But, of course, this is where it ends with that ever frustrating “to be continued” in the bottom corner of the page…
Written by Justin Jordan, this comic piqued my interest and I’m going to have to go pick up the first ones in the series so I can get a firm grip on what’s going on here. I’m not overly familar with Jordan but I really liked what I read today and that’s enough to make me look a little deeper into this series. But don’t discount the art, either. Patrick Zircher, Lee Garbett and Neil Edwards did a bang up job delivering some great visuals to compliment the story. I’m a long time fan of Zircher and was excited to see him on this project.
I enjoyed this team’s work and how the book was presented. The catch-up page at the beginning was nice since I was completely out of my depth going into this review. But the incorporation of information throughout the issue was also extremely helpful without breaking up the current storyline at all. So I say give this a try, although you might want to pick up the previous issue , too. It appears that the current arc started with issue five. I enjoyed it and hope you will, too!
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Leave a comment