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Shadowman (2012) (Collected Editions) #4
Shadowman, Volume 4: Fear, Blood, and Shadows
All-new creative team... All-new arc... All-new beginning!
Comics icon Peter Milligan and acclaimed artist Roberto De La Torre drag Jack Boniface into his blackest depths yet! When a troubled young man with a history of violence and a penchant for blackouts meets an overwhelming source of power with a mystical scythe, the results are doomed to be destructive. A voodoo loa has possessed Jack Boniface - or so he believes. But after Jack awakens in an alleyway covered in blood, he embarks on a journey across lands of shadows and death to discover if he can expel the dark force that's seized control of his life...and which may be responsible for a violent rampage throughout New Orleans.
Collecting: Shadowman 13-16
Comics icon Peter Milligan and acclaimed artist Roberto De La Torre drag Jack Boniface into his blackest depths yet! When a troubled young man with a history of violence and a penchant for blackouts meets an overwhelming source of power with a mystical scythe, the results are doomed to be destructive. A voodoo loa has possessed Jack Boniface - or so he believes. But after Jack awakens in an alleyway covered in blood, he embarks on a journey across lands of shadows and death to discover if he can expel the dark force that's seized control of his life...and which may be responsible for a violent rampage throughout New Orleans.
Collecting: Shadowman 13-16
112 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2013
8 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,307 books392 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 19, 2014
Justin Jordan did a fantastic job reintroducing Shadowman to readers new and old when Valiant relaunched a while back but unfortunately he’s long gone and has been replaced by Peter Milligan, a very sketchy writer whose work is sometimes good (Submariner: The Depths, New 52 Red Lanterns Vol 1) and sometimes terrible (New 52 Stormwatch Vol 2, Batman: The Bat and the Beast). His Shadowman though is not only the worst book of his I’ve read but also manages to be the worst book Valiant have put out since they returned.
Jack Boniface is having problems with the Shadowman loa - he’s waking up in alleys surrounded by dead or dying bodies whom he’s beaten severely the night before but can’t remember doing. The Abettors - who abet hosts for the loa, real imaginative name! - have noticed and want to kill Jack and put the loa into someone more stable, so Jack has to find a way of controlling the loa or he’ll be dead.
So even though he’s been Shadowman for three books already, he’s only now having problems controlling the loa because of his past? Riiiiight.
The worst thing about this book is the confused plotting. At various points the reader is told: a) that the loa is killing Jack and that he has to ignore it and somehow defeat it to survive, b) he needs to find a saviour to help him, c) the loa is actually helping him by taking him back to a critical point of his life that he needs to face and resolve, d) Jack needs to fall in love with Alyssa to control the loa. A and B actually turn out to be irrelevant because C is what the book is really about and D is a total waste of time.
The idea behind the half-assed “love” subplot is that Marius Boniface, Jack’s ancestor and the first Shadowman, and his love for Sandria allowed him to control the Shadowman loa - if Jack could fall in love with someone, ie. Alyssa, he could maybe control the loa too. So Alyssa is doing this maybe because she wants to help Jack and/or maybe because she really loves him, and Jack refuses because he doesn’t love her - I think that’s it. But then they fall in love at the end out of nowhere?! It’s one of the lamest and most unconvincing “love” stories I’ve ever read!
Then out of nowhere, once Jack’s miraculously gotten control of the loa luckily as the book’s coming to a close, a completely different villain shows up called Tremble Loa whom he has to conveniently defeat to prove that Shadowman is back - it’s so damn contrived!
The screaming whip, a magical whip made from the skins of slaves which especially hurts people of African descent, was a cool addition to the story in a creepy way, in keeping with Shadowman’s dark magic themes, but that’s really the only plus I can think of with regards this book.
Shadowman Volume 4 has absolutely diabolical plotting and features a very weak story that isn’t the slightest bit interesting. Milligan’s taken Jordan’s good work and driven the series off a cliff. I like the Shadowman character but, wow, you can really see how crucial it is to have the right writer to make him work well.
Jack Boniface is having problems with the Shadowman loa - he’s waking up in alleys surrounded by dead or dying bodies whom he’s beaten severely the night before but can’t remember doing. The Abettors - who abet hosts for the loa, real imaginative name! - have noticed and want to kill Jack and put the loa into someone more stable, so Jack has to find a way of controlling the loa or he’ll be dead.
So even though he’s been Shadowman for three books already, he’s only now having problems controlling the loa because of his past? Riiiiight.
The worst thing about this book is the confused plotting. At various points the reader is told: a) that the loa is killing Jack and that he has to ignore it and somehow defeat it to survive, b) he needs to find a saviour to help him, c) the loa is actually helping him by taking him back to a critical point of his life that he needs to face and resolve, d) Jack needs to fall in love with Alyssa to control the loa. A and B actually turn out to be irrelevant because C is what the book is really about and D is a total waste of time.
The idea behind the half-assed “love” subplot is that Marius Boniface, Jack’s ancestor and the first Shadowman, and his love for Sandria allowed him to control the Shadowman loa - if Jack could fall in love with someone, ie. Alyssa, he could maybe control the loa too. So Alyssa is doing this maybe because she wants to help Jack and/or maybe because she really loves him, and Jack refuses because he doesn’t love her - I think that’s it. But then they fall in love at the end out of nowhere?! It’s one of the lamest and most unconvincing “love” stories I’ve ever read!
Then out of nowhere, once Jack’s miraculously gotten control of the loa luckily as the book’s coming to a close, a completely different villain shows up called Tremble Loa whom he has to conveniently defeat to prove that Shadowman is back - it’s so damn contrived!
The screaming whip, a magical whip made from the skins of slaves which especially hurts people of African descent, was a cool addition to the story in a creepy way, in keeping with Shadowman’s dark magic themes, but that’s really the only plus I can think of with regards this book.
Shadowman Volume 4 has absolutely diabolical plotting and features a very weak story that isn’t the slightest bit interesting. Milligan’s taken Jordan’s good work and driven the series off a cliff. I like the Shadowman character but, wow, you can really see how crucial it is to have the right writer to make him work well.
August 4, 2020
Robert De La Torre’s art is simply amazing. It’s also wasted on a disjointed, emotionally vapid story. Come on! This just didn’t resonate.
Alyssa loving Jack didn’t make sense. Jack not killing those meddling abettors didn’t make sense. Also, the Loa lore was not consistent with the backstory we got in the Jordan run.
I like the tonal shift (mostly brought on by the art,) and J see potential in what Milligan is trying to do with the title... namely, making it more like Spawn... but I feel like the execution for this arc was awkward. Hopefully he gets it together for the next tpb volume.
Alyssa loving Jack didn’t make sense. Jack not killing those meddling abettors didn’t make sense. Also, the Loa lore was not consistent with the backstory we got in the Jordan run.
I like the tonal shift (mostly brought on by the art,) and J see potential in what Milligan is trying to do with the title... namely, making it more like Spawn... but I feel like the execution for this arc was awkward. Hopefully he gets it together for the next tpb volume.
July 22, 2019
Full review to come!
June 8, 2017
Wow...this is terrible.
World: The art is the best part of the book, it's stylish and the color scheme is dark and broody like the book. However, it is not without it's faults, the action is stagnant and because of the dark style of the art sometimes readers don't know what's happening, especially in action panels were things are blurry and muddled. The world building here is solid for what it was, it further expands on the world and the Abettors giving the story a wider scope.
Story and Characters: I need to put these to categories together in order to express how much this story is garbage. Let's look at the characters first, what they did with Jack which is a huge rewrite pretty much falls flat, the idea of bullying and making him unworthy when in the entire first fun of this character readers have been dealing with the idea that Jack was chosen and not unworthy is ridiculous and too much of a stretch. Add to that the bullying angle and simple characterization of people going through bullying was pretty bad. The resolution of this issue will make you laugh cause it's so ridiculous it feels like a 10 year old wrote the story (it's an utterly ridiculous and stupid scene). Then there is Alyssa, what the fuck are they doing to this character? From badass independent woman to stupid, naive, simple love interest. Wow this characterization of Alyssa I find offensive in her role. Her sole reason for existing in this arc and in the world now is because she "LOVES" Jack and her "LOVE" can tame him. The dialogue between them is so cheesy I don't even thing Soap Operas would approve. It's so assumed that she must love him and she does exactly that is rather idiotic, it's just bad bad bad writing. I don't care about the rest of the story with the unworthy and the whip and all the Exiles, this story was just terrible.
I've read Milligan before in Hellblazer and Red Lanterns and I was not impressed with those runs, but wow this takes the cake of the worst Milligan I've ever read, the treatment of the female characters and the main character is so atrocious...and the viewpoint of bullying from him...wow.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is the best part of the book, it's stylish and the color scheme is dark and broody like the book. However, it is not without it's faults, the action is stagnant and because of the dark style of the art sometimes readers don't know what's happening, especially in action panels were things are blurry and muddled. The world building here is solid for what it was, it further expands on the world and the Abettors giving the story a wider scope.
Story and Characters: I need to put these to categories together in order to express how much this story is garbage. Let's look at the characters first, what they did with Jack which is a huge rewrite pretty much falls flat, the idea of bullying and making him unworthy when in the entire first fun of this character readers have been dealing with the idea that Jack was chosen and not unworthy is ridiculous and too much of a stretch. Add to that the bullying angle and simple characterization of people going through bullying was pretty bad. The resolution of this issue will make you laugh cause it's so ridiculous it feels like a 10 year old wrote the story (it's an utterly ridiculous and stupid scene). Then there is Alyssa, what the fuck are they doing to this character? From badass independent woman to stupid, naive, simple love interest. Wow this characterization of Alyssa I find offensive in her role. Her sole reason for existing in this arc and in the world now is because she "LOVES" Jack and her "LOVE" can tame him. The dialogue between them is so cheesy I don't even thing Soap Operas would approve. It's so assumed that she must love him and she does exactly that is rather idiotic, it's just bad bad bad writing. I don't care about the rest of the story with the unworthy and the whip and all the Exiles, this story was just terrible.
I've read Milligan before in Hellblazer and Red Lanterns and I was not impressed with those runs, but wow this takes the cake of the worst Milligan I've ever read, the treatment of the female characters and the main character is so atrocious...and the viewpoint of bullying from him...wow.
Onward to the next book!
December 26, 2016
I Cant believe I'm still reading this , I Can't believe this comics is actually praised by people like IGN . I Can't believe I spent my time reading this !
So Jack Boniface the new shadowman wakes up to find himself surrounded by a bloody mess , hints suggest he is the reason for this mess . Later we find that indeed he is the reason for this mess . And as it turns out there's a long history of the Boniface losing it and becoming bat-shit crazy . So what happens is the helpers of Shadowman set out to kill Shadowman & Transfer the Loa to another Boniface who's there just in time for Convenience .
So let's forget for a minute that the book is filled with irritating flaws , like 'if the Shadowman's team of sidekicks were capable enough to beat Shadowman , who is in turn the big heavyweight of the Supernatural world , Then Why the Fuck did they ever bother to allow Shadowman to exist ? , i mean they could have beaten all supernatural-baddies by themselves', the Story just doesn't make sense most of the times , and then the forced romance becoming true romance so that shadowman doesn't turn into a psychopathic killer thing really pissed the hell out of me .
Even the Art looks wayward here , and this used to be the only thing saving this books face all this time .. Overall this was one of the worst thing I ever read , Kind of reminded me of Marvel comics these days , except worse , way worse
So Jack Boniface the new shadowman wakes up to find himself surrounded by a bloody mess , hints suggest he is the reason for this mess . Later we find that indeed he is the reason for this mess . And as it turns out there's a long history of the Boniface losing it and becoming bat-shit crazy . So what happens is the helpers of Shadowman set out to kill Shadowman & Transfer the Loa to another Boniface who's there just in time for Convenience .
So let's forget for a minute that the book is filled with irritating flaws , like 'if the Shadowman's team of sidekicks were capable enough to beat Shadowman , who is in turn the big heavyweight of the Supernatural world , Then Why the Fuck did they ever bother to allow Shadowman to exist ? , i mean they could have beaten all supernatural-baddies by themselves', the Story just doesn't make sense most of the times , and then the forced romance becoming true romance so that shadowman doesn't turn into a psychopathic killer thing really pissed the hell out of me .
Even the Art looks wayward here , and this used to be the only thing saving this books face all this time .. Overall this was one of the worst thing I ever read , Kind of reminded me of Marvel comics these days , except worse , way worse
September 30, 2017
Cinco estrellas por el dibujo de Roberto de la Torre, espectacular, me ha encantado y es el dibujante perfecto para este comic, pero la verdad es que la trama está muy mal estructurada y me ha aburrido, no sólo por el mero papel de comparsas de los protagonistas, sino por los cambios sin sentido de trama (ahora quiero eliminar al loa, ahora es malo, ahora es bueno, ahora lo domino porque sí y es mi colega) y las resoluciones infantiles (la historia de amor que se saca de la manga sin venir a cuento, pues hasta ahora no había ni un indicio, es muy endeble y rematada de forma mediocre, Jack no la quiere y unas páginas después todo lo contrario). Creo que tiene algunas ideas muy buenas, la aparición de la mambo o detalles como el látigo aullador y el loa de los temblores, por ejemplo. Y la lucha por dominar a umbra me parece un buen punto de partida, así como la construcción de la mitología con esos expulsados.
Mención aparte la historia del Jack joven, típica a más no poder y resuelta de forma bochornosa.
Una lástima por el personaje, me encanta la ambientación, la premisa, el arte y los villanos, creo que tienen mucho potencial y espero poder leer en el futuro historias que les hagan justicia.
Mención aparte la historia del Jack joven, típica a más no poder y resuelta de forma bochornosa.
Una lástima por el personaje, me encanta la ambientación, la premisa, el arte y los villanos, creo que tienen mucho potencial y espero poder leer en el futuro historias que les hagan justicia.
November 2, 2017
With a new creative team on board, the Shadowman must face his worst enemy yet - himself!
I'm...not sure how I felt about this one. On the one hand, it was an interesting concept that explores the history of Shadowman in a different context to what came before, and the relationship between Jack and the loa reminds me very much of Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote, which is a good parallel to draw. But then, on the other, this seems to kind of spit in the face of everything that was brought up before, tearing down the Abettors and Jack himself in the name of telling the story. It's...odd.
The art's pretty solid though. Roberto De La Torre has got an Alex Maleev thing going on, and it works really well for this book, dark and dingy as it is. There are some fill in pages by Al Barrioneuvo that stick out a little, but the colouring is pretty consistent so it's okay. De La Torre is definitely the star on this book though.
I...hmm...yeah, I dunno. I'm having trouble articulating what I want to say about this one, so we'll just go with 3 stars, middle of the road, and move swiftly on.
I'm...not sure how I felt about this one. On the one hand, it was an interesting concept that explores the history of Shadowman in a different context to what came before, and the relationship between Jack and the loa reminds me very much of Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote, which is a good parallel to draw. But then, on the other, this seems to kind of spit in the face of everything that was brought up before, tearing down the Abettors and Jack himself in the name of telling the story. It's...odd.
The art's pretty solid though. Roberto De La Torre has got an Alex Maleev thing going on, and it works really well for this book, dark and dingy as it is. There are some fill in pages by Al Barrioneuvo that stick out a little, but the colouring is pretty consistent so it's okay. De La Torre is definitely the star on this book though.
I...hmm...yeah, I dunno. I'm having trouble articulating what I want to say about this one, so we'll just go with 3 stars, middle of the road, and move swiftly on.
February 9, 2019
Weirdly enough, almost the entire time I was reading this volume, I felt like I had already read it. I don't mean that as a slight against the story because a lot of that feeling came from the art. I'm not sure if there were some callbacks to this volume in the recent series that is coming out or what.
Anyway, this book tries to give Jack Boniface some personality and sort of acts as a call back to the original series from the 90s. Jack is having some anger issues and finds himself waking up in alleys covered in blood. The Abettors, who were introduced as a group meant to assist Shadowman, are looking to usurp Jack because of his unpredictability. Meanwhile, Alyssa is trying to fall in love with him? I don't really know what is going on there. It makes sense that they might have a romantic relationship at some point, but for all the talk of it in this book neither of them really seem into it.
But the art works well with the story. It is as dark and brooding as the story is. There are some decent story ideas presented in this volume. I like the fact that the shadow loa gets an opportunity to show off its goals. The execution is a bit lacking though. None of the story beats really got me excited for the character. Through the first four volumes of this series the story has been pretty fractured and it shows.
Anyway, this book tries to give Jack Boniface some personality and sort of acts as a call back to the original series from the 90s. Jack is having some anger issues and finds himself waking up in alleys covered in blood. The Abettors, who were introduced as a group meant to assist Shadowman, are looking to usurp Jack because of his unpredictability. Meanwhile, Alyssa is trying to fall in love with him? I don't really know what is going on there. It makes sense that they might have a romantic relationship at some point, but for all the talk of it in this book neither of them really seem into it.
But the art works well with the story. It is as dark and brooding as the story is. There are some decent story ideas presented in this volume. I like the fact that the shadow loa gets an opportunity to show off its goals. The execution is a bit lacking though. None of the story beats really got me excited for the character. Through the first four volumes of this series the story has been pretty fractured and it shows.
January 24, 2021
Roberto de la Torre's art is wasted on this terrible re-re-re-re-re-reboot of Shadowman. We're on issue 14 of a series, and I feel like we're on the fourth version of the protagonist. He's gone from Nice Guy Drifter Orphan Who Inherits Magic Powers And Is Trying His Best To Understand Them to Occasionally Irrationaly Violent Sociopath Whose Recklessness Endangers Everyone.
I don't want to read this character.
Apsrt from his X-Force/X-Statix run, I've never connected with Milligan's work. Whenever he takes over a book from another author, he makes changes that make no sense to the narrative. His X-Men run, and his involvement with Batman: Knightfall being prime examples.
I recommend this as an art book, but I think even fans of the previous thirteen issues of this book will have a hard time enjoying this.
I don't want to read this character.
Apsrt from his X-Force/X-Statix run, I've never connected with Milligan's work. Whenever he takes over a book from another author, he makes changes that make no sense to the narrative. His X-Men run, and his involvement with Batman: Knightfall being prime examples.
I recommend this as an art book, but I think even fans of the previous thirteen issues of this book will have a hard time enjoying this.
June 23, 2018
2.5 Stars
So after a strong start, this volume sort of broke the streak. It's like everyone immediately started acting out of character. The abettors, who have always supported the Shadowman, suddenly decide Jack Boniface is a psycho and the Shadowman Loa needs to be taken from him. They decide this in all of one page, with this whole idea never having been broached before. Then the Loa starts talking to Jack and sort of rebelling against him, another thing that has never happened. If you can ignore the fact everything happens too quickly and the characters are totally out of character, the story itself isnt terrible but it's too jarring of a change for me to accept.
I did enjoy the art as at times it reminded me of both Neal Adams and Berni Wrightson, my two favorite artists of all time. But the art wasn't enough to save this arc which was just too different.
So after a strong start, this volume sort of broke the streak. It's like everyone immediately started acting out of character. The abettors, who have always supported the Shadowman, suddenly decide Jack Boniface is a psycho and the Shadowman Loa needs to be taken from him. They decide this in all of one page, with this whole idea never having been broached before. Then the Loa starts talking to Jack and sort of rebelling against him, another thing that has never happened. If you can ignore the fact everything happens too quickly and the characters are totally out of character, the story itself isnt terrible but it's too jarring of a change for me to accept.
I did enjoy the art as at times it reminded me of both Neal Adams and Berni Wrightson, my two favorite artists of all time. But the art wasn't enough to save this arc which was just too different.
September 15, 2017
First of all I like the Shadowman twist with loa. The deamon cannot be controlled and the madness and total loss of control will follow and it is only a matter of time. But this whole issue is Jack just brooding doing nothing and Alyssa is contemplating if she will betray him or not. Jack tries to control loa by seeking forgiveness from the person which he crippled. Because that makes sense :D. And the way he reaches this goal is really laughable. Art is nice but not as nice as in previous volumes.
October 23, 2017
Fear, Blood, and Shadows (13-16). Milano takes a different tack on Shadowman, one that's much more intellectual than its predecessors. Backed by dark, moody art, it generally succeeds. The result is a storyline that lays a great foundation for who VH-E Jack Boniface is, and what he's capable of. It might be a little shallow in the end, but it's nonetheless a terrific foundation for Milano's (short) run on the book [6+/10].
January 8, 2021
Umm...what? What was this? There is such tremendous potential here and its such a disappointment. You can have all these Loa's that could be interesting but instead we have no idea what's going on with what. Peter Milligan has done so much better with supernatural in the past. I enjoyed the artwork but this story was very bad. Shockingly bad knowing Milligan's previous work. Overall, a giant mess.
September 25, 2017
That's the one. This is the story I knew this character could be.
The new writer and artist breathed new life into the series and gave it the nudge it needed to be a 5-star read for me. Of course...it was the last in that run. But, as I understand it there is one more mini-series for Shadowman that continues the story line.
I'll be reading that soon.
The new writer and artist breathed new life into the series and gave it the nudge it needed to be a 5-star read for me. Of course...it was the last in that run. But, as I understand it there is one more mini-series for Shadowman that continues the story line.
I'll be reading that soon.
April 30, 2018
Good storyline...
Vol.4 features a impressive new story arc. The art is very dark, scratchy, and bleak feeling with almost no color. The story captures and keeps you coming back for more.
Vol.4 features a impressive new story arc. The art is very dark, scratchy, and bleak feeling with almost no color. The story captures and keeps you coming back for more.
October 5, 2018
I liked it's
Its a cool ready with original visuals. I like the previous shadowman a little more because his motivation s are more tangible.
Its a cool ready with original visuals. I like the previous shadowman a little more because his motivation s are more tangible.
April 22, 2019
are they working on a Shadowman movie yet
November 23, 2019
Milligan tears the roof off.
October 14, 2021
He llegit només este fascicle però s'intueix una història complexa i madura ben acompanyada de diàlegs intel·ligents i unes il·lustracions potents.
July 10, 2017
Before getting into my thoughts on this book, I want to highlight that FEAR, BLOOD AND SHADOWS is a 'soft' reboot of the series; meaning some concepts remain whilst others are reincarnated albeit slightly anew.
From my perspective, reading this book retrospectively, the biggest thing to come from FEAR, BLOOD AND SHADOWS is Punk Mambo, the character which spawned the excellent one-shot Punk Mambo #0 also written by Peter Milligan.
The art is moody and evocative and certainly adds the requisite element of horror, however the direction and end product of this story arc missed the mark for me. Jack Boniface, the current iteration of Shadowman bares almost no resemblance to the protagonist of the previous 12 issues. Additionally, this book just didn't feel new reader friendly making me wonder what the point of it was (Shadowman is currently nowhere to be seen post the next story arc).
For a character, and premise that had so much scope, this really was let down.
On a positive note; art-wise this is what you'd expect from a dark graphic novel such as this and by far outshines the story.
*reread in July 2017 along with Shadowman 13X - unfortunately the story just didn't get any better with the passing of time. 2 / 5 stars.
Originally reviewed on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
From my perspective, reading this book retrospectively, the biggest thing to come from FEAR, BLOOD AND SHADOWS is Punk Mambo, the character which spawned the excellent one-shot Punk Mambo #0 also written by Peter Milligan.
The art is moody and evocative and certainly adds the requisite element of horror, however the direction and end product of this story arc missed the mark for me. Jack Boniface, the current iteration of Shadowman bares almost no resemblance to the protagonist of the previous 12 issues. Additionally, this book just didn't feel new reader friendly making me wonder what the point of it was (Shadowman is currently nowhere to be seen post the next story arc).
For a character, and premise that had so much scope, this really was let down.
On a positive note; art-wise this is what you'd expect from a dark graphic novel such as this and by far outshines the story.
*reread in July 2017 along with Shadowman 13X - unfortunately the story just didn't get any better with the passing of time. 2 / 5 stars.
Originally reviewed on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
April 29, 2015
All the Peter Milligan staples are here. Punk rock, bodily fluids, and grim-dark turns in tone. Milligan's Shadowman is a much darker book than Jordan's was (and that's saying something), with Jack murdering (vomiting-spewing I guess) thugs in alleyways, with big ole' blind spots in his memory where the murderizing should be. All the fun is sapped away, as Jack does the internal struggle-shuffle with his kooky loa, and a group of elder abbetors who are pretty sure he's no good at Shadowmaning and needs to be put down. Jack takes on a violent history too, really shuffling the status quo, bringing the tone closer to 90s Valiant Shadowman.
This is neither good or bad, and honestly, Roberto de la Torre's art is moody, and tonal as hell, matching the weird new direction. The story is written pretty well, and we get some new background on the loa, but there's some serious cheese here too (The whole 'love' thing is a real eye-roller, that steals Alyssa's personality). Oh, and the 'smoke-and-mirrors' in issue 14 was pretty ucky too.
Anyway, it's readable, and I like the character, plus the art is bomb. Three stars sounds good. Maybe read the thing, I don't know, how much do you like Shadowman? If you want something LIKE Shadowman, but better, skip this and go straight to Death Defying Doctor Mirage. I could sing that book's praises all day.
This is neither good or bad, and honestly, Roberto de la Torre's art is moody, and tonal as hell, matching the weird new direction. The story is written pretty well, and we get some new background on the loa, but there's some serious cheese here too (The whole 'love' thing is a real eye-roller, that steals Alyssa's personality). Oh, and the 'smoke-and-mirrors' in issue 14 was pretty ucky too.
Anyway, it's readable, and I like the character, plus the art is bomb. Three stars sounds good. Maybe read the thing, I don't know, how much do you like Shadowman? If you want something LIKE Shadowman, but better, skip this and go straight to Death Defying Doctor Mirage. I could sing that book's praises all day.
January 2, 2015
É uma pena que justo o personagem que lide com os mortos, que explore a cultura africana e flerte com vodu esteja capengando com as vendas e sua equipe criativa. Nesse volume, 145 páginas, #13-16, O Justin Jordan largou a série e entrou a equipe do Peter Milligan. Quem curtia o reboot mais pop do Jordan não deve ter gostado de vê-lo encerrado prematuramente, o que já cria uma divisão de opiniões. E o próprio Peter Milligan já tem seus fãs e haters por outros trabalhos.
Acho que o mais interesse desse re-reboot é que ele não parte do zero. Ele aproveita as tramas da fase do Jordan e acrescenta um tom mais sombrio a elas. A grande mudança é que o Jack Boniface não incorpora o espírito do Shadowman de forma tranquila. Os 4 números mostram o Shadowman tentando assumir o controle do Boniface, e o Boniface tentando entender como domar o espírito que lhe dá força para enfrentar o mundo dos mortos. Foi uma mudança interessante, que se refletiu na arte, inclusive, mais 'hellblazer' e menos 'novos 52'. O arco se fecha direitinho, sem nenhum gancho para o futuro.
Acho que o mais interesse desse re-reboot é que ele não parte do zero. Ele aproveita as tramas da fase do Jordan e acrescenta um tom mais sombrio a elas. A grande mudança é que o Jack Boniface não incorpora o espírito do Shadowman de forma tranquila. Os 4 números mostram o Shadowman tentando assumir o controle do Boniface, e o Boniface tentando entender como domar o espírito que lhe dá força para enfrentar o mundo dos mortos. Foi uma mudança interessante, que se refletiu na arte, inclusive, mais 'hellblazer' e menos 'novos 52'. O arco se fecha direitinho, sem nenhum gancho para o futuro.
May 19, 2014
Volume 4 of Shadowman was a great group of stories and a quick read. I had read a few issues of Shadowman under the previous creative team and found it to be good but not good enough to keep on my pull list. I saw that the book was getting a new creative team and was curious about the new direction that they would be going so I picked up volume 4. After reading it I was so glad that I did buy it. The stories are darker, edgier, and more in line with what the topic is about. It lives up the title of volume 4 Fear, Blood, and Shadows. As for the artwork it was out of this world great. The style was perfect for this book and the only style that I can see being the perfect compliment for it. Volume 4 is a great jumping on point so I suggest that everybody jump on and be prepared for a wild ride into the depths of darkness.
January 20, 2015
So 14 issues in and the book's being rebooted. We still have Jack as the Shadowman, but this volume deals with him fighting an internal battle with the Shadowman Loa. It spends way too much time being introspective, taking the metaphor of battling inner demons way too far. And Alyssa becomes a mopey, wishy-washy love interest instead of a strong female character she had been before. The only interesting character in the book is newcomer Punk Mambo, whose basically a female version of John Constantine. There are a couple of powerful images (a loa casting its spell over New Orleans specifically), but they seem to be in spite of the story, not part of it. This just spends way too much time focusing on the inner balance of Shadowman, at the expense of developing any real forward-moving plot.
March 23, 2015
This was certainly the best Shadowman trade thus far, for me. Peter Milligan takes over, and the title changes from a gory, dark superhero book into something we would have seen from vertigo in the late 90s or early 2000s. The character of Shadowman is developed far more than he was in the first three trades, and the lore behind his power becomes far more complex. You can tell Milligan did legitimate research into Voodoo mythology for writing this one. I think it was too little, too late, and the book got cancelled, but this was definitely worth the read.
September 6, 2016
Peter Milligan has taken the character and turned him into an introspective snoozefest. All of the characters are all acting differently as soon as Milligan takes over. Jack is now a guy with anger issues who blacks out and beats people half to death. Alyssa is instantly in love with Jack all of a sudden. The abettors suddenly want to kill Jack. It all makes no sense. You can't just change all of the established characters' motivation just so you can tell the story you want to tell. The one bright spot was the addition of Punk Mamba. She is pretty great.
July 23, 2014
A new creative team and it feels like Shadowman fundamentally changes with the Loa being a character and almost acting like Firestorm.
There are really two villians overlapping and it gets confusing as we jump between the two with one getting limited panels.
The big bad situation resolves way too quickly.
There are really two villians overlapping and it gets confusing as we jump between the two with one getting limited panels.
The big bad situation resolves way too quickly.
November 8, 2015
3.5/5.
Milligan instills the the back story of both Boniface and his loa companion with a deeper backstory. The writing is a little choppy, and there are some cheesy moments, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm unsure why we needed this little reboot-y thing this early in the series, but whatever.
And the art still looks incredibly moody and fitting.
Milligan instills the the back story of both Boniface and his loa companion with a deeper backstory. The writing is a little choppy, and there are some cheesy moments, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm unsure why we needed this little reboot-y thing this early in the series, but whatever.
And the art still looks incredibly moody and fitting.
July 25, 2016
As expected, Milligan steps up the challenge and knocks it out of the park. His take on the character is chillingly good.
Milligan also shows us why the concept of the Shadowman works so well. This is the quality of writing that the other Valiant reboots are sorely lacking.
Milligan also shows us why the concept of the Shadowman works so well. This is the quality of writing that the other Valiant reboots are sorely lacking.
November 6, 2015
I'd love to give this zero stars because what is present is barely legible, just across the board terrible writing. It doesn't surprise me in the least the series ended after one more volume. The only nice thing I can say about this book is that Robert De La Torre's artwork looks fantastic.
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