Justin Jordan leaves Shadowman with issue #10

[krylox]

Numbers are funny and depend on how you look at them; The proportionate drop fro X-O Manowar from#1 to now has been the largest so should that be *more* worrying? (I would say no). That ~1 to June data would only be meaningful in context of the other ongoings arguably.



The VEI books sold in a range of 12k to 14k in June; only 3 books benefited from tie-in bumps. Shadowman sold 90% of the number of the strongest ongoing (X-O Manowar), and 85% of the strongest book (Harbinger Wars). Some other books improved month to month (Harbinger, Bloodshot and especially Archer & Armstrong) while some slipped (X-O Manowar; Harbinger Wars).

The point is that as Bugsysig says, those are not bad numbers for an independent.

One of the VALIANT books will have to be at the lowest end, just as one will have to be at the highest end, but a 10% differential from best to lowest selling ongoings is far narrower than the big two experience, or probably any comparable independent I would expect.

well, they're not climbing, as some others did. with x-o being taken care of with the unity x-over coming up soon and a lot of pr for his return to earth and the fight over new dacia, i'd say shadowman is the sick man of the batch. of course cou're right. the book's not in a crisis or anything. there's always a last one, and yes, it is shadowman, valiant's supposedly most well-known character. so, what does the mgmt do? trying to improve the performance.

[krylox]

Yet you seem to single out Shadowman above all which is slightly confusing.

Marvel and DC cannot be the benchmark yet, as VEI do not publish 50-60 books per month, so that only leaves independents. Image has such a unique publishing model, they are not an easy comparison, so the benchmarks have to be limited by neccessity.

I had massive doubts about VEI and the product they put out. I had doubts that they would publish anything, let alone regularly. They have been hitting their release schedule, have a market share they have developed in less than 18 months to be comparable to well-established publishers, yet that is based on only 7 titles maximum so far. They are building and it will be interesting to see their market share once EW and Unity have established (around issue 3-4).

Despite massive reservations, I would argue that VEI have made only a few mis-steps, but that has been down to some story-telling factors, and nowhere near major stuff in the grand picture.

The point is that despite a handful of commentators (the regular posters on this forum are likely to represent less than 1% of the Shadowman readership, so there is nothing generalisable about comments here, positive or negative), Shadowman is and has been holding up within the line based on most recent sales.

no i don't single it out. i do think the sales on the other books could and should improve soon, if this is meant for the long run. IF you want to read a shadowman 50, 12k for a number 7 is NOT a healthy level.
when you look at boom, even image and dynamite, they don't always plan for the long haul. the series just last as long as they can until a relaunch or cancelation. it's not the end of the world if a series doesn't hold up, right?

well, i'll argue that it would be pretty dramatic if valiant can't manage to pack their main properties (x-o, shadowman and, to a slightly lesser degree, harbinger) into successful books. look at marvel with iron man or dc with flash... they're pretty much bound in honor to do their most well known characters justice and keep them in print.

you do have some good points there, but i do think that in the mid-term vei mgmt do and have themselves compared to, at least, dc comics. why? cause it is their competition. if they can't lure audiences away from one of the big two or from both, they're not gonna succeed. there are only that many readers interested in "superhero universes", the other do buy those indie titles from the other companies you mentioned, but which are working autonomously, scaled back at a minimum level editorially, pr-wise, etc and therefore can be profitable at much lower print runs.

it doesn't always come down to how many books a company publishes every month to categorize them. vei is aiming for the big two (just read interviews with them, it's like they're mentioning them more and more), so i think it's fair to start judging them on that scale.

other than that, i agree that vei is doing a lot of stuff right and that the relaunch has been overall a very successful one. but that's over now. they're not brand-new anymore, they need to grow up fast, or they won't make it in the long run. i think that's what they are doing now, and injecting shadowman with some new juice is part of the second phase.

[BugsySig]

it's a good thing the mgmt didn't wait for the sales to drop until they reacted. and it's a good move, almost nobody really cared about his writing on shadowman. what i don't get: how could he write probably the best issue of the vei with the #0 but relatively bland and boring stuff during the rest of the series? it's a mystery.

Mmmm, that's overly harsh, imo. I wouldn't call it bland. I think there was just a misstep in the way they tried to unfold the saga. The last few issues have been great.

sorry to call it how i see it. of course it's highly subjective. still, if those last few issues were that great, don't you think you'd hear more of an outcry at the departure of the man responsible for all the greatness?
and wouldn't warren&dinesh do everything to hold him back from leaving, now that's he's finally got it?

even in the original valiant batch there were some not so great series (hello hard corps!). it's pretty normal.
it's also a sign of good mgmt that they don't wait for an overtly long period of time until they change course.

I will be interested to see the reaction. Remember, an announcement hasn't been made official other than JJs twitter, so while hard care guys here are discussing it, I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else yet. Once there is an official press release or solicit with the new creative team/announcing JJs departure, then we will see what the other 80% of Shadowman readers have to say.

[BugsySig]

Numbers are funny and depend on how you look at them; The proportionate drop fro X-O Manowar from#1 to now has been the largest so should that be *more* worrying? (I would say no). That ~1 to June data would only be meaningful in context of the other ongoings arguably.



The VEI books sold in a range of 12k to 14k in June; only 3 books benefited from tie-in bumps. Shadowman sold 90% of the number of the strongest ongoing (X-O Manowar), and 85% of the strongest book (Harbinger Wars). Some other books improved month to month (Harbinger, Bloodshot and especially Archer & Armstrong) while some slipped (X-O Manowar; Harbinger Wars).

The point is that as Bugsysig says, those are not bad numbers for an independent.

One of the VALIANT books will have to be at the lowest end, just as one will have to be at the highest end, but a 10% differential from best to lowest selling ongoings is far narrower than the big two experience, or probably any comparable independent I would expect.

well, they're not climbing, as some others did. with x-o being taken care of with the unity x-over coming up soon and a lot of pr for his return to earth and the fight over new dacia, i'd say shadowman is the sick man of the batch. of course cou're right. the book's not in a crisis or anything. there's always a last one, and yes, it is shadowman, valiant's supposedly most well-known character. so, what does the mgmt do? trying to improve the performance.

In terms of climbing, Shadowman is the only book that hasn't had a major "first appearance" (remember Mirage was only leaked the day before the issue dropped) or "event" storyline. Harby & Bloodshot were both declining until Harbinger Wars. A&A got a boost from the EW appearance, went back down, and only recently started climbing after the #0 issue. XO got huge boosts from Enter: Ninjak and Planet Death's opening issues.

Sales are almost always going to decline, whether its Avengers or My Little Pony. All the VEI titles have seemed to settle and plateau at a decent level. VALIANT has done a good job of promoting these appearances, crossovers and events so as to continue drawing potential new readers. Maybe some will become hits and grow, maybe some will decline.

[CallMeBloodshot]

Numbers are funny and depend on how you look at them; The proportionate drop fro X-O Manowar from#1 to now has been the largest so should that be *more* worrying? (I would say no). That ~1 to June data would only be meaningful in context of the other ongoings arguably.



The VEI books sold in a range of 12k to 14k in June; only 3 books benefited from tie-in bumps. Shadowman sold 90% of the number of the strongest ongoing (X-O Manowar), and 85% of the strongest book (Harbinger Wars). Some other books improved month to month (Harbinger, Bloodshot and especially Archer & Armstrong) while some slipped (X-O Manowar; Harbinger Wars).

The point is that as Bugsysig says, those are not bad numbers for an independent.

One of the VALIANT books will have to be at the lowest end, just as one will have to be at the highest end, but a 10% differential from best to lowest selling ongoings is far narrower than the big two experience, or probably any comparable independent I would expect.

well, they're not climbing, as some others did. with x-o being taken care of with the unity x-over coming up soon and a lot of pr for his return to earth and the fight over new dacia, i'd say shadowman is the sick man of the batch. of course cou're right. the book's not in a crisis or anything. there's always a last one, and yes, it is shadowman, valiant's supposedly most well-known character. so, what does the mgmt do? trying to improve the performance.

In terms of climbing, Shadowman is the only book that hasn't had a major "first appearance" (remember Mirage was only leaked the day before the issue dropped) or "event" storyline. Harby & Bloodshot were both declining until Harbinger Wars. A&A got a boost from the EW appearance, went back down, and only recently started climbing after the #0 issue. XO got huge boosts from Enter: Ninjak and Planet Death's opening issues.

Sales are almost always going to decline, whether its Avengers or My Little Pony. All the VEI titles have seemed to settle and plateau at a decent level. VALIANT has done a good job of promoting these appearances, crossovers and events so as to continue drawing potential new readers. Maybe some will become hits and grow, maybe some will decline.

+1

Spot on about sales.

Theyre doing just fine actually if you understand that they're third in copies sold per issue. I don't know why anyone would try to compare a company with less than 4% of the market share with the big 2. Especially when the company in question is only in their second year! Saying they can't compete like this is nonsense as they already are. I dropped my DC titles when Valiant came knocking.

[lorddunlow]

+1

Spot on about sales.

Theyre doing just fine actually if you understand that they're third in copies sold per issue. I don't know why anyone would try to compare a company with less than 4% of the market share with the big 2. Especially when the company in question is only in their second year! Saying they can't compete like this is nonsense as they already are. I dropped my DC titles when Valiant came knocking.

I think VEI would be very happy that they keep being compared and judged against the big 2. You don't here any of the other publishers being compared to them, do you? VEI has said all along that that's who they want to compete with. It will take time, though.

[CallMeBloodshot]

+1

Spot on about sales.

Theyre doing just fine actually if you understand that they're third in copies sold per issue. I don't know why anyone would try to compare a company with less than 4% of the market share with the big 2. Especially when the company in question is only in their second year! Saying they can't compete like this is nonsense as they already are. I dropped my DC titles when Valiant came knocking.

I think VEI would be very happy that they keep being compared and judged against the big 2. You don't here any of the other publishers being compared to them, do you? VEI has said all along that that's who they want to compete with. It will take time, though.

I meant that its silly assume they can't compete when they're still so early on in their development. Not to mention they ARE competing with the big 2. Like I said, for me personally its already had its effects. Who knows, Unity and a movie coming out soon could go a very long way.

[Sir Sandrick]

I have always liked the idea of Shadowman and the original series has some of my favorite issues ever, but the new one is the weakest of the current titles imo. I feel like I really don't have any clue who Jack is, since we have barely seen him without the loa at all, or doing anything in the world of the living. Quantum and Woody already have more character to offer a new reader in 2 issues than Shadowman has given in 9.

I liked how in the early issues of the old series he was fighting psychopaths, swamp people, that pervy Sosa guy and the like before ever getting to Darque. It gave a tone to the world that Jack is from - How he reacts to it and deals with it.

I like the characters of Dox and Alyssa, but having everything explained away by them at the start seemed to take some of the wonder or magic out of it. #0 was amazing and maybe that is partially why the rest of the series feels so underwhelming? Still hoping that it can turn it around and crank it up - it has a great groundwork.

[xoharbinger]

+1

Spot on about sales.

Theyre doing just fine actually if you understand that they're third in copies sold per issue. I don't know why anyone would try to compare a company with less than 4% of the market share with the big 2. Especially when the company in question is only in their second year! Saying they can't compete like this is nonsense as they already are. I dropped my DC titles when Valiant came knocking.

I think VEI would be very happy that they keep being compared and judged against the big 2. You don't here any of the other publishers being compared to them, do you? VEI has said all along that that's who they want to compete with. It will take time, though.

I meant that its silly assume they can't compete when they're still so early on in their development. Not to mention they ARE competing with the big 2. Like I said, for me personally its already had its effects. Who knows, Unity and a movie coming out soon could go a very long way.

I agree as long as they do the movie right and I think VEI is already showing there teeth.... They have proved they can make good comics that rely on story and character first and I'm sure marvel and DC are keeping any eye on the little guy at the moment..... What I'm saying is we are two years in we should have this conversation again in three years if sales haven't gone up.... But with mor comics they release the more their sales profits go up. I'm think VEI is doing very well at the moment at least that's what I hear on the boards haha

[The Dirt Gang]

I liked how in the early issues of the old series he was fighting psychopaths, swamp people, that pervy Sosa guy and the like before ever getting to Darque. It gave a tone to the world that Jack is from - How he reacts to it and deals with it.

Good points. In particular, I agree with you on the above. One of the things I liked about the original Shadowman was that he was more man and less superhero. I liked that the stories were more in the street on a local level and they wanted to bring in the more grandiose elements like Darque. Also, I liked how his being a jazz musician influenced the way he fought. It made more sense for a normal guy and non-fighter who was suddenly given powers. This even continued into Unity where his story was much more grounded than the other characters. I think that might be my biggest problem with this new incarnation. I don't need all my heroes to being battling world altering forces and I miss Shadowman being more human. If that makes sense.

[leonmallett]

I liked how in the early issues of the old series he was fighting psychopaths, swamp people, that pervy Sosa guy and the like before ever getting to Darque. It gave a tone to the world that Jack is from - How he reacts to it and deals with it.

Good points. In particular, I agree with you on the above. One of the things I liked about the original Shadowman was that he was more man and less superhero. I liked that the stories were more in the street on a local level and they wanted to bring in the more grandiose elements like Darque. Also, I liked how his being a jazz musician influenced the way he fought. It made more sense for a normal guy and non-fighter who was suddenly given powers. This even continued into Unity where his story was much more grounded than the other characters. I think that might be my biggest problem with this new incarnation. I don't need all my heroes to being battling world altering forces and I miss Shadowman being more human. If that makes sense.

For me those early issues felt very disjointed and did not offer a clear direction; the very things the new runs is accused of by some. Until Bob Hall came aboard I thought the book felt weak and 'meh', but Hall's tenure pulled it around. The jazz muso thing felt very much a shoe-horned element that Englehart was determined to fit in there.

I guess my point is that the 'quality' of a book is subjective thing, while the sales data/performance is much less so.

[leonmallett]

+1

Spot on about sales.

Theyre doing just fine actually if you understand that they're third in copies sold per issue. I don't know why anyone would try to compare a company with less than 4% of the market share with the big 2. Especially when the company in question is only in their second year! Saying they can't compete like this is nonsense as they already are. I dropped my DC titles when Valiant came knocking.

I think VEI would be very happy that they keep being compared and judged against the big 2. You don't here any of the other publishers being compared to them, do you? VEI has said all along that that's who they want to compete with. It will take time, though.

I meant that its silly assume they can't compete when they're still so early on in their development. Not to mention they ARE competing with the big 2. Like I said, for me personally its already had its effects. Who knows, Unity and a movie coming out soon could go a very long way.

Until they are producing equivalent numbers of books and attaining comparable market share, the comparison is arguably not there to be made. Yet.

But for a line of 6-7 books, they are arguably doing very well.

[The Dirt Gang]

For me those early issues felt very disjointed and did not offer a clear direction; the very things the new runs is accused of by some. Until Bob Hall came aboard I thought the book felt weak and 'meh', but Hall's tenure pulled it around. The jazz muso thing felt very much a shoe-horned element that Englehart was determined to fit in there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they were good stories (outside of Unity - which might be the best thing since sliced bread), I just saying I liked the approach they took. The whole jazz bit was no doubt way overdone (and cheesy at times) but I liked it as an explanation of how Jack kind of worked with the loa and used this new power. I, also, feel like the early stories were fairly forgettable but I did like the atmosphere of those stories and that Jack would fight sort of local baddies as opposed to a super villain. I think it made Master Darque a bigger deal when he entered the scene. However, I can understand why VEI would want to use him right away. He is an interesting character and clearly a draw.

I think VH1 had a lot of great concepts, world building and a few great stories but overall I would say a prefer VEI's approach to storytelling. XO Manowar is a lot more interesting with Venditti writing him and I'd say the same for Harbinger with Dysart. As for Shadowman, there is clearly something there as Shadowman #0 is still one of my favorite issues but I've always been lukewarm on this new iteration of Shadowman. I liked the VH1 concept better even when the execution wasn't great.

[leonmallett]

For me those early issues felt very disjointed and did not offer a clear direction; the very things the new runs is accused of by some. Until Bob Hall came aboard I thought the book felt weak and 'meh', but Hall's tenure pulled it around. The jazz muso thing felt very much a shoe-horned element that Englehart was determined to fit in there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they were good stories (outside of Unity - which might be the best thing since sliced bread), I just saying I liked the approach they took. The whole jazz bit was no doubt way overdone (and cheesy at times) but I liked it as an explanation of how Jack kind of worked with the loa and used this new power. I, also, feel like the early stories were fairly forgettable but I did like the atmosphere of those stories and that Jack would fight sort of local baddies as opposed to a super villain. I think it made Master Darque a bigger deal when he entered the scene. However, I can understand why VEI would want to use him right away. He is an interesting character and clearly a draw.

I think VH1 had a lot of great concepts, world building and a few great stories but overall I would say a prefer VEI's approach to storytelling. XO Manowar is a lot more interesting with Venditti writing him and I'd say the same for Harbinger with Dysart. As for Shadowman, there is clearly something there as Shadowman #0 is still one of my favorite issues but I've always been lukewarm on this new iteration of Shadowman. I liked the VH1 concept better even when the execution wasn't great.

Although we may not agree upon our opinions of the iterations of Shadowman, I can't fault your reasoning.

[lorddunlow]

I agree as long as they do the movie right and I think VEI is already showing there teeth.... They have proved they can make good comics that rely on story and character first and I'm sure marvel and DC are keeping any eye on the little guy at the moment..... What I'm saying is we are two years in we should have this conversation again in three years if sales haven't gone up.... But with mor comics they release the more their sales profits go up. I'm think VEI is doing very well at the moment at least that's what I hear on the boards haha

I agree, but I just wanted to point out we are only a little over one year in. Makes your point even more.

[shadow5555]

Check out Multiversity on Twitter, apparently it's a friendly split and Justin will work with Valiant again. No news on the replacement writer.

I only saw one (or two) mentions of his name in the thread, but the only answer is Bob Hall. The long term fans would dig it, the newer fans would adjust as well, and we'd all get great stories too.

My original pitch was bring Bob Hall on board to do backup stories to continue where Shadowman left off, but now just give'em the damn book whole hog, he's still game to write the character. And let him do an 8 page backup each month to continue the adventures of OG Shadowman and then have where OG and new Jack team up in a one off (multi-verse and all that) issue cross over. And then run the 8 page backup until Bob completed the story he wanted to finish telling all these years.

Sales would improve or get better, the storyline would (arguably get better) but most importantly we'd get character put back into the character, as we all know Bob is the master of that. (Rotwak, Sandria, etc.)

VEI should be on the line with him now, and if they aren't they are stupid for not taking this opportunity to do something like this. I give them full permission to use my idea, it's what I'd like to see so feel free, special thanks or not, I don't care, MAKE THIS HAPPEN VEI.

I hope whomever they get for this book creates a stable direction. Lately reading Shadowman has been kind of 'all-over-the-place'

I would agree. It feels like 8 issues in and the book is still trying to find its identity. I think Jordan was heading in the right direction and then tried to take Shadowman too far too quickly which led to holes in the book.

Not to toot my own horn, but if you look at my Amazon review, I said this about the Vol. 1 TPB, and also the HC and the earlier pre-Bob Hall issues, Jack wasn't Jack until Bob became Jack's voice, but with becoming his new voice Jack became a stronger character, we learned his back story, felt his frustrations and this is why Shadowman was the ONLY book in the post-Birthquake launch that survived untouched, it was not a coincidence.

I'm not even sure the damage can be undone at this point, since the comics biggest flaw was the entire unfolding of the Shadowman saga. There was never much build up for the reader, we've been dropped into the middle of a movie halfway over. I've been scratching my head ever since the last panel of the first issue: "I'm Shadowman!"

I disagree, if you look at the OG series, it has that same issue the first six issues were written by six different people and didn't come together until Hall came in and built things up his way and we all know how successful and beloved the original series is to this day, so it can be saved, thing is VEI and editorial need to let some one in like Bob Hall, to do their own thing, give their character a strong voice and let them go off (same thing Bob had with Layton, as he says in the HC introduction)

have to agree with the majority here. I think Shadowman was just not a good fit for Justin. I really hope we do get his other 0 issue. It seemed as interesting as the 0 they went with. I sure do miss me some bob hall right about now. Even image/apperarance wise, this new shadowman just didn't do it for me so much (minus the 0 issue).

Didn't want to be only one who thought that, since I have a Bob Hall love fest going.

I have always liked the idea of Shadowman and the original series has some of my favorite issues ever, but the new one is the weakest of the current titles imo. I feel like I really don't have any clue who Jack is...

I liked how in the early issues of the old series he was fighting psychopaths, swamp people, that pervy Sosa guy and the like before ever getting to Darque. It gave a tone to the world that Jack is from - How he reacts to it and deals with it.

Still hoping that it can turn it around and crank it up - it has a great groundwork.

For me those early issues felt very disjointed and did not offer a clear direction; the very things the new runs is accused of by some. Until Bob Hall came aboard I thought the book felt weak and 'meh', but Hall's tenure pulled it around. The jazz muso thing felt very much a shoe-horned element that Englehart was determined to fit in there.

I guess my point is that the 'quality' of a book is subjective thing, while the sales data/performance is much less so.

This mirrors what I've already said in both of my reviews of the TPB and HC, identity was the theme of both series and I was concerned that Jack was going to suffer in the new series by not having an identity and that's what's coming to bear from what you've all said it's going that way since the first four issues, which is a shame, that's not to say he didn't do some excellent work on run, but the book isn't The Nefarious Master Darque, it's called Shadowman.

Ok, I'm done now.

[bygranddesign]

I'm not even sure the damage can be undone at this point, since the comics biggest flaw was the entire unfolding of the Shadowman saga. There was never much build up for the reader, we've been dropped into the middle of a movie halfway over. I've been scratching my head ever since the last panel of the first issue: "I'm Shadowman!"

I disagree, if you look at the OG series, it has that same issue the first six issues were written by six different people and didn't come together until Hall came in and built things up his way and we all know how successful and beloved the original series is to this day, so it can be saved, thing is VEI and editorial need to let some one in like Bob Hall, to do their own thing, give their character a strong voice and let them go off (same thing Bob had with Layton, as he says in the HC introduction)

Lets also remember Shadowman has a long legacy to mine great stories from

5 Shadowmans' before Jack ... and how many Shadowman's after Jack..?

If you are a writer you should be licking your chops to take over a title with so many possibilities - I think Justin Jordan left the ball on the tee for someone else to hit it out of the park. Maybe approach it like Greg Pak is doing with EW - tell more stories of the past and have it parallel with present day Jack. For example maybe an issue in which Jack has to solve a satanic serial killer case that his father never solved..? Something that is grounded but meaningful to the character. I never understood why Justin didn't take more advantage of that. You see how Asmus is able to pack in so much history in just two issues of Q&W by showing flashbacks to understand the characters when they were just regular people. That's what Shadowman is missing right now ... some air needs to be taken out of the superhero balloon.

So many great writers out there ... I hope they find someone that is passionate about the character because right now Jack/Shadowman/Loa are pretty much blank slates. Master Darque has been DEFINED more than Jack. Another writer can pretty much write Jack anyway he wants (within reason) and it wouldn't feel like its out of place because he really hasn't been fully defined yet.

[bygranddesign]

And if you really want to start fresh with Shadowman ... how about when the time comes rebooting him as a 4001 character?

Especially if they never get Magnus and Solar back in the fold .... having an important character to Valiant like Shadowman to go along with Rai would be a huge boost for the 4001 timeline.

[jmatt]

I liked how in the early issues of the old series he was fighting psychopaths, swamp people, that pervy Sosa guy and the like before ever getting to Darque. It gave a tone to the world that Jack is from - How he reacts to it and deals with it.

I agree. It set the stage and the mood for the book, gave it some buildup. Ample opportunity for characterization of not just the protagonist but the title itself.

[String]

I'm a firm believer in that a consistent creative team leads to a cohesive vision for a title. This seems readily apparent for Shadowman given it's lack of a solid identity (Is he a superhero or a horror/supernatural figure?)

Granted, I've only read one issue of Shadowman so far, so I really can't say that I'm upset over Jordan's departure, but if true, then hopefully VEI will allow the new writer the space and the time to grow Jack into the proper character that his fans want him to be.

[swtor1091]

I agree as long as they do the movie right and I think VEI is already showing there teeth.... They have proved they can make good comics that rely on story and character first and I'm sure marvel and DC are keeping any eye on the little guy at the moment..... What I'm saying is we are two years in we should have this conversation again in three years if sales haven't gone up.... But with mor comics they release the more their sales profits go up. I'm think VEI is doing very well at the moment at least that's what I hear on the boards haha

I agree, but I just wanted to point out we are only a little over one year in. Makes your point even more.

I caught that too haha that's my sixteen year old brothers name got him into valiant but he isn't as overly crazy as I am I corrected him but he said no one but me would notice hahah looks like he was wrong

[lorddunlow]

Well, after reading Shadowman 9, I'm even more bummed about this news. Issue 9 was awesome. I hope it will continue to be a good book.

[GGSAE]

Well, after reading Shadowman 9, I'm even more bummed about this news. Issue 9 was awesome. I hope it will continue to be a good book.

+1000. Read it last night, a very emotional read, and the best issue hands down.

I really hope it doesn't go like this: issue ten - amazing, issue 11 - confusing as hell.

[tchalla8]

I did a complete re-read of 0-9 last night. And the second time through it reads better. Things that were very unclear when reading month to month are helped greatly when doing a marathon read. Clearer? Yes. Make sense narratively? Not always. But it's definitely a more coherent story even if I'm not entirely crazy about some of his choices.

The art....still disruptive....especially late. There's no way of getting around the fact that the artistic inconsistencies were a detriment.

But I wanted to give JJ some props after chewing on it a second time.

[BugsySig]

Well, after reading Shadowman 9, I'm even more bummed about this news. Issue 9 was awesome. I hope it will continue to be a good book.

+1000. Read it last night, a very emotional read, and the best issue hands down.

I really hope it doesn't go like this: issue ten - amazing, issue 11 - confusing as hell.

Well #11 is the Halloween one shot, so hopefully it will work as a self contained exploration of Jacks character. Then whoever comes on with #12 will have to take it from there. At that point, though, you have Jack and Alyssa with plenty of history on Darque and that's about it, so its pretty much a blank slate.