Welcome back to another edition of Parlay Points, the complementary blog to the ODPH Podcast! For this blog, we are gonna talk about Valiant Entertainment’s latest restart of Shadowman! If you’re like me that read Valiant in the 90’s, you know who Jack Boniface is & what supernatural/horror elements follow him . For anyone else, he’s one of Valiant’s more well-known characters that is still making noise since his debut in 1992. Jack is getting a brand new series from the creative team of Cullen Bunn & & Jon Davis-Hunt dropping April 28th & we were lucky enough to get a preview of this issue. Let’s discuss:
SHADOWMAN #1
Written by CULLEN BUNN
Art by JON DAVIS-HUNT
Colors by JORDIE BELLAIRE
Letters by CLAYTON COWLES
Cover A by JON DAVIS-HUNT
Cover B by ROD REIS
Cover C Horror Movie Homage Variant by DAVE JOHNSON
Preorder Variant Cover by TONY MOORE
1:250 Variant Cover by JEFF DEKAL
Image from Valiant Entertainment/DMG Entertainment
***SPOILER- FREE***
Right from the opening (after the great “Character 101” page which I’m always a huge fan of for first issues & new readers jump-on points), Bunn establishes the dark feel to the book quickly. This is a staple for Shadowman comics & it delivered right from the jump. It was a perfect introduction into new readers as well.
The reader is given just enough info on Boniface to know what he’s about without feeling like a whole retelling of his entire history. For someone who’s read Shadowman before, I thought this was a great move & had me invested earlier in the story. Speaking of the story, this issue was very balanced between the horror & heroics element. It was a solid read that was matched by the artwork.
Art by Jon Davis-Hunt & Jordie Bellaire (Valiant Entertainment)
Davis-Hunt’s art on this issue was a perfect compliment to the story. His style of art felt brand new for Shadowman. Great action sequences to balance out the dark elements. The imagery on the pages delivered that message while mixing in the superhero moments when it needed to. Nothing felt forced to be either a horror comic or a superhero comic.
Obviously, this is important with a horror comic. You need to really sense the danger & Davis-Hunt really hit that point home. The creatures you will see really looked the role you would expect & want with horror elements. The images let the story lead & they played their part to take the reader on Boniface’s latest adventure.
Overall, Jack Boniface’s latest is a must-have addition to your weekly pull list. Bunn, Davis-Hunt & the rest of the creative team did a great job establishing a new take on a classic character. The biggest takeaway is this isn’t your same old Shadowman. There’s a different vibe to this character & readers are in for a real treat. Don’t miss this issue when it hits your local comic shop!
For more things Shadowman, check out the panel at Wondercon@Home this past weekend!
Till next time, hit me up on Twitter & let me know what you think of Shadowman’s return!
Thanks for reading.