Three short stories before the new creative team takes over. They take a small stab at certain aspects of Jack Boniface being Shadowman. So enjoy this special one-shot style issue before the brand new story arc. Story #1: Follows Jack in the in the dead side taking a personal journey with the monkey whose becoming my favorite character. It comes to a point that focuses on a Mendacem stone that brings clarity. You must clear your mind before handling it.
Story #2: Here we change gears and focus on a dealer that crosses the path of Shadowman. The odd thing, he is lucky surviving encounters and not ending up in the hospital or jail. He just isn’t dealing for money, but for something more that is keeping him going.
Story #3: Jack now follows and searches for answers to the odd occurrences that are happening around New Orleans. Some of them are cars transporting into the swamp, meat men causing havoc and churches landing on freight ships. This all leads to an old friend that has quit practicing in the art since Jack’s father has disappeared.
These stories are gems in their own bringing to light the world of Shadowman. The first story captures the inner struggle of Jack but put a little spin with the monkey lead guiding but isn’t so serious. What shines through is the art and how dark but also beautiful it is. The color and detail just make you want to look at it over and over. The second story puts a different perspective with the view of the criminal. I like it because it shows the one person who is lucky enough to survive the encounter of Shadowman. It also shows that the job maybe dirty but there is a higher purpose to what he is doing. Art wise that stands out is Shadowman but that really is all. The third story takes Shadowman more to what he does and how he deals with the problems that arise. There is more action and fight as he is the new Shadowman but pushes to a good story even being a short one. I like the art all around in this story it captures the magic with color that light up the page. It had me looking for the LED light under the page illuminating it.
The best part about all three of these stories could make a great start to a bigger story arc. This issue might not be the strongest because it’s all short stories, but it does get you familiar with the characters. I would say pick this up to see all sides of Shadowman stories. I’m looking forward to the new story arc but pick up this one for your collection too.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Ales Kot, Christopher Sebela, Duffy Boudreau Artist: Cafu, Matthew Southworth, Diego Bernard Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 11/6/13