Kickin’ It Old School: Shadowman #2

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another new edition of Kickin’ It Old School, our weekly column in which we look to the past and review books from the original Valiant universe! This week, I’ll be discussing Shadowman #2.

Shadowman #2

Published in June 1992
Written by Faye Perozich and Jim Shooter
Penciled by David Lapham
Inked by Tom Ryder
Colored by Jorge Gonzalez

Synopsis

Jack goes to the doctor to try to figure out what’s brought on the strange changes he’s going through. After he saves a man from muggers during the night, he sleeps through most of the next day before being awoken by his housekeeper, Nettie, who sees the shadow Loa in him. Jack goes out at night again investigating the serial killer from the first issue and Lydia, trying to get a grasp on things. He discovers that the killer goes by the name Samedi and that there’s no sign of Lydia where she was living. While there, he almost gets caught by some kind of ops team.

After talking with his friend, Scott, about the changes he’s been dealing with, Jack is once again talking with Nettie about what to do. She advises him to go after Samedi, who she says is the Loa of death. She gives him a costume that she made for him. Since “shadow” means “soul” in voodoo talk, the costume depicts his soul coming out at night to fight. That night, Shadowman goes out to find Samedi in the bayou. They fight and Shadowman defeats Samedi.

Review

Samedi was one of the characters that I liked in the VEI version of Shadowman.  I was glad to see that this was another tie between the VEI and VH1 versions.  After reading just two issues, I hope VEI takes into account what made this title so good in the past when they bring the character back at some point, which I’m sure will happen.  I’m also glad that Jack is getting a grip on himself as Shadowman, as is evidenced by his conversation with his friend Scott on the last page.  The VEI version of Jack never got a grip on anything and the character always felt weak because of it.  It’s nice to see this Shadowman act with some courage and strength of character.

I really love the art in Shadowman.  I think the page layout and panel sequencing are the best in all the Valiant titles at this point.  Shadowman has a great mood to it thanks to the use of color and lighting.  The page layout often makes reality seem somewhat distorted, as if things aren’t quite what they seem.  The panel sequencing, however, creates a great sense of anxiety.

Kickin’ It Old School: Shadowman #1

Originally from ValiantCentral.com