Kickin’ It Old School: Shadowman #5

It’s Tuesday, 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 #5

Shadowman #5

Published in September 1992
Story by David Lapham and Jim Shooter
Written by Jim Shooter and Bob Layton
Penciled by David Lapham
Inked by Paul Autio
Colored by Mike Cavallaro, Maurice Fontenot, Mark Csazar, and Carol VanHook
Additional Background Inks by Maria Beccari
Lettered by George Roberts
Edited by Don Perlin

Synopsis:

After Jack is burnt to a crisp stopping Solar from killing Erica Pierce, she uses her advanced technology to reconstruct him. Jack then stays with Elya, but gets tired of sitting there watching her go to war while he does nothing. He escapes to see what he can do, stumbling across Archer and Armstrong. He manages to stop them from blowing up a fusion reactor, but Albert and other troops show up. Archer and Armstrong split, so Albert takes a shot at Jack. He flees, prompting Albert to call him an outlaw.

After reporting the development to Erica, Albert has a search party set out to hunt Jack down. He then departs to the speakeasy, where he has a bim dress up as Erica and beats her to death. Jack witnesses this and attempts to make Albert pay. When Albert has Elya tell Jack the truth of what Erica is attempting to do, he makes Albert lead him to where Solar is being kept. He discovers Archer and Armstrong there, but they assume he’s the enemy and cause him to be buried by debris. By the time he gets out, Unity is beginning, and he realizes that he’s been serving the demon.

Review:

Not only was this a great issue of Shadowman, but it was also a great view of Archer and Armstrong. Archer’s fight with Jack did more to show both of their skills than has been showcased for a while. Armstrong’s story about losing his legs is one of the best things that I’ve ever heard. We’ve seen how truly disgusting Albert is and we’ve come so close to seeing him get his comeuppance. There’s now reason to believe that Solar is alive, but the issue ends with seemingly no hope left. Four chapters of Unity left, and things are heating up all around.

Coming up next is the fifteenth chapter of Unity, Rai #7.

Kickin’ It Old School: Shadowman #1

Originally from ValiantCentral.com