Shadowman [2021] #5

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grendeljd
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Shadowman [2021] #5

Post by grendeljd »

Finally made time to read this latest issue. I enjoyed it well enough - I’m interested in seeing where this ‘Deadside Loa’ concept goes. A Loa that seems to draw its power from the souls of the multitudes of every single entity that inhabits it is a very powerful being, indeed - and that is a pretty cool idea overall.

Fun to see Jack doing a sax performance at the beginning, and he also re-connects with Alyssa. I have not re-read the Andy Diggle run in quite a while so I’m struggling to remember how they left off after that ended but my impression is of it being in a bad way… as such, I’m not sure if this current meeting played out as a good continuation of that or just token continuity jammed into the story. I think it’s a good step forward to see some new Abbetors arrive on the scene, but that story beat was definitely the most briefly awkward part of the story.

The art is generally quite as good as I was hoping, based on the previews I had seen leading up to it - lots of great pages of supernatural horror, and Pedro Andreo brings lots of energy into his work overall.

I do find his figure drawing and facial expressions a little too cartoonish, which is not a style that I am generally too keen on - especially in a supernatural book. Even some of the Deadside entities look a bit less scary or monstrous as a result. It takes me out of enjoying scenes that would otherwise feel more creepy or moody/atmospheric when the people all have that cartoony look to them. But he draws Shadowman in costume *very* well, Baron Samedi looked great, zombies etc all looked great - and there was a really cool Cthulhu-esque structure on one page depicting the Deadside that I really liked too. The pantheon of Loa’s generally looked good, with the the exception of one clumsy looking cartoon-cyborg entity that didn’t fit with the rest… not sure what’s up with that guy :lol:

All-in-all a good issue & entertaining read though - I’d give it 3.5/5 I-tried-to-reject-my-loa-but-I-find-I-still-like-it-taimo’s
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SwiftMann
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Re: Shadowman [2021] #5

Post by SwiftMann »

Love the new artist. Was digging the story until the last four pages where Bunn decides to personify everything into human form.
"If you think any of these [older comics/shows/movies] do not carry a political content and is not using the medium of science fiction to explore real-world ideas, than you have not been paying attention." - Dan Abnett, VCR #246


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