The return of Shadowman under Cullen Bunn and Jon Davis-Hunt was exciting, action-packed, and enlightening as it built out the world and set up a major threat. The series has been on hiatus since its first story arc wrapped up, but today Shadowman #5 is in comic shops, ready to continue its bold new direction for the character.
Shadowman #5 also sees Pedro Andreo join on art, who brings plenty of superhero vibes to this moody horror series. Speaking of horror, this issue opens with a horror movie setup complete with a creepy kid who has risen his mother from the dead. He’s been given the ability from a mysterious force, which further proves Shadowman’s fight is evolving in new ways.
Set in New Orleans, Shadowman enters the story playing jazz in a club and stunning the crowd. Bunn captures the character’s nervousness and very human nature with a short conversation with a young woman who has surprises of her own. The story moves at a good pace, introducing new characters and new wrinkles in Shadowman’s fight against Deadside, as well as the Gods of the Loa who see Shadowman as their soldier.
Hell yes!
Credit: Valiant
It’s interesting to see these developments and guess where it goes from here. Even Shadowman’s role is in question, making him far more understanding and mellow than in the past. At the same time, key figures are introduced, giving this a new-reader-friendly feel. It’s somewhat simple in a way since it introduces new figures in about five scenes. That gives the issue a stiffness to its plotting, but it works nonetheless.
That isn’t to say there aren’t horrific monsters to smite and protect humanity against. Andreo gets to show that off with an intense fight sequence that puts Shadowman’s powers and abilities on display. Colored by Jordie Bellaire, the scene makes up two of the coolest pages in the book. The art maximizes the scary horror elements, never forgetting what makes Shadowman unique, yet makes him look cool as hell when he’s fighting.
Shadowman #5 features kinetic art that blends superhero coolness with metal as hell horror visuals. Bunn continues to elevate the story while also making this new reader friendly. It’s pretty much a win across the board.
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