1st Impression: SHADOWMAN # 12

SHADOWMAN # 12
Written by Ales Kot, Christopher Sebela, Duffy Boudreau & Neil Dvorak
Art by CAFU, Matthew Southworth, Diego Bernard & Neil Dvorak
Valiant Comics

FLIPPING THROUGH:
                We got Four tales of the Shadowman and the world he lives in. Each other dealing thing a different facet of Shadowman.

ART:

                I am gonna go through the art of each story quickly since there are 4 different artists.  Deadside Blues’ art was pretty solid from CAFU.  The lines were detailed enough to show people and things of different sizes and colors while still be abstract enough to fit the mood of the Deadside.  CAFU and Andy Troy really captured a nice moody tone with their work. The coloring was perfect. And CAFU does a great job convey expression well. Good job.

                Lucky Charms art was … well, serviceable. There were just enough lines of detail to tell who a character was. It is an interesting style. Yet, overall, there is a lack of consistency from panel to panel. The cartoon style works with the darker colors. Honestly though, Southworth’s style is just okay. It does not overly excite me but it does capture the spirit of the story that it is conveying. It was an okay piece.

                Valiant has stated, on more than one occasion, that Diego Bernard is a rising star. And with Blackout, he proves it. The nice solid lines with a more traditional comic book style worked well for the story that he was telling. It was solid work that really showcased emotion, some great panel composition and angles as well as so good backgrounds. Bernard, along with colorist Hannin and inks by Sicat, make this a strong showing. And while there is still room for improvement, I really enjoyed the art for this story.

                And Neil Dvorak’s very abstract story at the end was charming with the line work. It was clean with good definition on it. Overall, a good job.

WRITING:

                We start our first tale written by Ales Kot who does a great job giving us a personal look at Jack dealing with his anger. It also was a great character piece for Jaunty, who gives out some great wisdom in the story. I provided great character development for Jack and Jaunty with a couple surprises. It was also well paced.

                Next up is Christopher Sebela’s story. While some people might find it wordy,  I honestly loved the tale. Going into a complete stranger and see how they are affected by their own actions and Shadowman was well done. The dialogue felt natural. It was really well paced. And it had a great human quality that really made you feel for a drug dealer.

                Duffy Boudreau did Blackout, which definitely seemed like typical Shadowman fanfare. Yet, it was a good piece that provided character development, not only for Jack but for the character Hosho. The plot itself was well constructed with a nice and impactful ending. I admit, the actual climax caught me off guard.

                Finally, Dvorak’s tale was vastly entertaining, giving some spotlight to Jaunty again in a different way.  It was inventive and Dvorak said a lot with what few pages he had. A good job there.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                I got to admit. I have really enjoyed the issue over all. Good to great stories. And while the art went from meh to good, it was still a strong showing.

RATING:

   I give Shadowman # 12, over all, an 8 … out of 10. Pretty good job. Buy  it on November 6^th.