Some comics announce themselves with a bang, while others lure you in quietly before pulling the floor out from under you. Spirits of the Shadows #1 falls firmly into the latter, opening with a sense of calm that feels almost comforting before revealing just how strange, tragic, and unhinged its world is going to become. What begins as something resembling a dream or distant memory quickly spirals into a vivid descent through grief, identity, and a wildly imaginative afterlife. By the time the issue shows its true colors, after visually blasting you with color like no other comic will all year, it’s already clear this isn’t just another supernatural origin story but a visually bold, emotionally charged launch that understands the power of pacing, mystery, and pure creative swing.
At its core, Spirits of the Shadows #1 follows Erik Leroux, a once-mortal musician whose death has left him stranded in a surreal, psychedelic afterlife with only fragments of his former life intact. Intact, specifically in a book. Reborn as a phantom and cursed to wear the arcane costume he was buried in, Erik discovers his powers are deeply tied to music, giving him a strange kind of agency in a realm that otherwise feels hostile and unmoored. The story cleverly uses a mysterious book as a bridge between past and present, allowing Erik and the reader to slip in and out of his lost life among the living while navigating the trippy Spirit World around him.
Visually, the first issue is an absolute feast. The art crackles with the kind of kinetic energy you associate with Jack Kirby, splashed with a colorful, pop-art weirdness that feels straight out of a Mike Allred fever dream. Layer on top of that a Spirit World that echoes Steve Ditko’s Doctor Strange astral dimension, and you get a setting that constantly tickles the imagination.
The visuals are vivid and trippy.
Credit: Oni
The creature design is especially unhinged in the best way, from a bull-like monstrosity that looks like it wandered out of a Picasso nightmare to background details that beg you to slow down and take everything in. Erik himself is instantly iconic, his look landing somewhere between a sock monkey and the Phantom of the Opera, equal parts tragic and unsettling.
One of the smartest visual choices comes through the flashbacks. Rendered with a rough, crayon-like texture as if they’re literally being pulled from the pages of a book, they sharply contrast with the slick, modern feel of the present-day afterlife. The transitions between past and present are often striking, with one memory quite literally torn apart on the page, reinforcing just how fragile Erik’s sense of self really is.
That fractured identity drives the story. Erik is easy to root for: heroic, tragic, and armed with powers he’s only beginning to understand. At the same time, there’s an unsettling darkness lurking beneath the surface, something even he doesn’t fully grasp thanks to his missing memories. A clever narrative device involving a book allows the story to fluidly jump between who Erik was and who he’s becoming, blurring the line between memory, reality, and whatever passes for truth in this psychedelic realm.
Super powers!
Credit: Oni
The issue keeps you guessing at every turn. First, it’s about Erik simply trying to understand where he is and what he’s become. Then it widens, introducing figures from his past before narrowing in on a mysterious woman whose arrival reframes everything. By the final pages, the issue lands on a cliffhanger that promises deeper self-discovery for the hero and, intriguingly, offers readers compelling reasons to care about the villain as well.
The mystery of Erik’s life prior to dying can feel a bit too obtuse, however. The mystery will be unveiled in the five-issue series, I’m sure, but how the heck does he go from a poor creative musician to some kind of superhero costume-wearing wackadoo? Even with the trippy world around him, a little more detail could help sell the character.
Spirits of the Shadows #1 is bold, weird, and bursting with imagination. The debut issue takes big swings and lands most of its punches, delivering a supernatural origin story that feels more like a kaleidoscopic descent into memory and identity than a standard hero’s journey. Its imaginative visuals, clever narrative devices, and tragic, music-powered protagonist combine to create a world that feels alive, strange, and full of possibility. By the final page, the book has done exactly what a great first issue should: establish a bold identity, raise unsettling questions, and make it very hard not to come back for more.
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