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• Price: $3.99
• Rated: 12+
• Pages: 30
• On Sale: Digitally April 28, 2021
• Writer: Cullen Bunn
• Artist: Jon Davis Hunt
• Publisher: Valiant 

From the Publisher – From the bestselling master of horror Cullen Bunn (Venom) and bone-chilling artist Jon Davis-Hunt (Clean Room) comes a shocking supernatural odyssey. Jack Boniface is SHADOWMAN, a powerful protector who keeps humanity safe from the demons that claw at the fabric of our reality. The forces of darkness are awakening and they are hungry for life. Will Shadowman be able to save us all, or will the darkness devour the world as we know it?

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Jack Boniface is back with a new #1 issue from Valiant, providing a solid starting point for those who wish to follow along with his horror themed, super hero adventures as Shadowman.

Written by industry veteran Cullen Bunn, you can be sure of a well crafted, polished story, and Bunn doesn’t disappoint. The first issue moves along at a quick pace, proving to be both a self-contained story that still manages to hint at a larger, more grand narrative that is to come within the pages.

Artist Jon Davis-Hunt, known primarily for his work on The Wildstorm, shows a strong sense of panel to panel storytelling. His focus on the characters helps avoid distraction in the art, and he draws a very cool looking Shadowman. As a book with heavy voodoo and gothic elements present, setting the proper mood is key, and he manages to do it very nicely.

A Few Critiques

There are few serious criticisms to be had with this work. The use of the first person captions doing the narrative is not a favorite artistic choice for me, but really, that’s just personal preference. Also, while the issue is complimented for it’s solid pace, it could be argued it is too fast as it reads in just over 5 minutes. That may not be enough content for some people, who may instead choose to trade wait.

As for the story itself, the only real nitpick is that perhaps there is too much presumption by the creators that the readers know the character well already. As one example, for someone like myself, I understand Jack Boniface is a Jazz musician and get the subtle references. That’s less likely for new readers this is likely to go over their heads. I understand the dilemma, as it’s a precarious balance to give enough details to draw in new readers and make them feel welcome, while not boring long time readers with unnecessary details.

Overall this is a fine comic book, if  hardly groundbreaking. It’s the start of what I’m sure will be a solid storyline, and is worth picking up if you have a little spare change in your pocket.

Rating –  Fine+(FN+) or 6.5/10

Review by Morten Styrishave Kristiansen

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