Re-Reading: Shadowman 12
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Todd Luck
- Doomed to forever roam the black halls
- Posts: 4729
- Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 1:02 pm
- Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Re-Reading: Shadowman 12
Xoken asked me to keep the re-reading project going while he's out of the country...
I thought we could do a book a day (that way people can read one every day or catch up on weekends), talk about it on its own, in the context of whats next, in regards to what expectations it creates and vote on how good it is. I don't have to be the one that posts everyday. If I miss a day or if someone wants to take over please do
For voting think of your single favourite comic book (not just VALIANT) as the benchmark - thats a 10 - and grade according to that.
The voting (I'm hoping) will help new readers make more educated descisions. If this turkey files maybe we can even do a list of the books according to average voting grade.
Make sure to mention what you like'd about the book, what you didn't, what you wish they would have done, your favourite panels, lines of dialogue, little bits of trivia etc.
Shadowman 12
I thought we could do a book a day (that way people can read one every day or catch up on weekends), talk about it on its own, in the context of whats next, in regards to what expectations it creates and vote on how good it is. I don't have to be the one that posts everyday. If I miss a day or if someone wants to take over please do
For voting think of your single favourite comic book (not just VALIANT) as the benchmark - thats a 10 - and grade according to that.
The voting (I'm hoping) will help new readers make more educated descisions. If this turkey files maybe we can even do a list of the books according to average voting grade.
Make sure to mention what you like'd about the book, what you didn't, what you wish they would have done, your favourite panels, lines of dialogue, little bits of trivia etc.
Shadowman 12
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Todd Luck
- Doomed to forever roam the black halls
- Posts: 4729
- Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 1:02 pm
- Location: Winston-Salem, NC
One last lesson on how to write an effective Master Darque story:
Master Darque needs to win
. He doesn’t have to win all the way, mind you, but he needs to take some victory away. And so he does here. He doesn’t become God but kills hundreds in front of Jack and gets a massive amount of power. And, like he says, there is nothing stopping him from doing this again.
There are a lot of very nice scenes in here. Jack’s blood run, the epic gathering in the sky, the simple way Jack stops Darque at the end, the sad scene with N’Dour, the beginning of the new mystery of Shadowman’s origin. We finally discover Darque’s specific goal (to become a god-like being of pure energy). Darque’s statement on his motivation is great. “Because it amuses me and because I can” (a play on Superman’s famous motivation)
A fantastic ending to a fantastic plotline. A 9
.
Continuity Notes: The subplot of Darque and Sandra faking their deaths in 1977 is never followed up on after this.
Nettie says “we” created Shadowman but she doesn’t know anything about Darque. Again no explanation was ever given for her “playing dumb” that I recall. I think they had a different idea for Shadowman’s origin at this point, one were the coven (or whatever) didn’t create Shadowman to specifically to fight Darque. That’ll change in 5 issues, but it’s still interesting.
So what’s in the portal in the bayou? Originally I thought unreality. Darque wants Solar-like power. He seemed perfectly content to destroy the world with Solar’s powers when he had control over Phil Seleski over in Solar.
However, Secrets of the VU and Darque passages say Darque’s ultimate goal is to get assess to the Darque power, which is the necromantic energy created when Solar’s world died. This will grant him godhood. In Deathmate, Darque says he joined hands with Shadowman at that tree to harness the dark power and attain ultimate power. In Solar, Darque states his original goal in controlling Solar was to open the gate and stare into the evil there and make it his.
Chaos Effect later shows a Lost Land being created from necromantic energy from the death of our Earth sometime in the far future. Since the end of Unity 1 states the Lost Land never existed, it may be that it was recreated in Chaos Effect. If the Last Land was originally created by necromantic energy, maybe it was the energy from Solar’s homeworld and the Lost Land’s destruction freed up that power.
Honestly, I don’t have the foggiest clue. Anything involving the Lost Land and necromantic energy makes me cringe
. There’s a reason why Shooter kept very simple real science in his stories and avoided psuedo-science…. 
Master Darque needs to win
. He doesn’t have to win all the way, mind you, but he needs to take some victory away. And so he does here. He doesn’t become God but kills hundreds in front of Jack and gets a massive amount of power. And, like he says, there is nothing stopping him from doing this again.There are a lot of very nice scenes in here. Jack’s blood run, the epic gathering in the sky, the simple way Jack stops Darque at the end, the sad scene with N’Dour, the beginning of the new mystery of Shadowman’s origin. We finally discover Darque’s specific goal (to become a god-like being of pure energy). Darque’s statement on his motivation is great. “Because it amuses me and because I can” (a play on Superman’s famous motivation)
A fantastic ending to a fantastic plotline. A 9
.Continuity Notes: The subplot of Darque and Sandra faking their deaths in 1977 is never followed up on after this.
Nettie says “we” created Shadowman but she doesn’t know anything about Darque. Again no explanation was ever given for her “playing dumb” that I recall. I think they had a different idea for Shadowman’s origin at this point, one were the coven (or whatever) didn’t create Shadowman to specifically to fight Darque. That’ll change in 5 issues, but it’s still interesting.
So what’s in the portal in the bayou? Originally I thought unreality. Darque wants Solar-like power. He seemed perfectly content to destroy the world with Solar’s powers when he had control over Phil Seleski over in Solar.
However, Secrets of the VU and Darque passages say Darque’s ultimate goal is to get assess to the Darque power, which is the necromantic energy created when Solar’s world died. This will grant him godhood. In Deathmate, Darque says he joined hands with Shadowman at that tree to harness the dark power and attain ultimate power. In Solar, Darque states his original goal in controlling Solar was to open the gate and stare into the evil there and make it his.
Chaos Effect later shows a Lost Land being created from necromantic energy from the death of our Earth sometime in the far future. Since the end of Unity 1 states the Lost Land never existed, it may be that it was recreated in Chaos Effect. If the Last Land was originally created by necromantic energy, maybe it was the energy from Solar’s homeworld and the Lost Land’s destruction freed up that power.
Honestly, I don’t have the foggiest clue. Anything involving the Lost Land and necromantic energy makes me cringe
. There’s a reason why Shooter kept very simple real science in his stories and avoided psuedo-science…. 
Wicked cover!
Interesting factoid from this issue that could be a Valiant trivial pursuit question:
Q:If you were a zombie brought back from the dead by necromantic energy how long would it take to spill the beans on Darque?
A: 34 mins
This, along with the last issue, work to introduce the real Darque - set up the rules. It's necessary and entertaining but nothing special. The end of this book is fun. Jack, of course, stops Darque from reaching ultimate power (I remember when I first read the book I actually thought he would fail...oh well). Darque is one bad mofo, he's so *SQUEE* at losing his chance he kills everyone around! That's just mean.
I give it a 6
Interesting factoid from this issue that could be a Valiant trivial pursuit question:
Q:If you were a zombie brought back from the dead by necromantic energy how long would it take to spill the beans on Darque?
A: 34 mins
This, along with the last issue, work to introduce the real Darque - set up the rules. It's necessary and entertaining but nothing special. The end of this book is fun. Jack, of course, stops Darque from reaching ultimate power (I remember when I first read the book I actually thought he would fail...oh well). Darque is one bad mofo, he's so *SQUEE* at losing his chance he kills everyone around! That's just mean.
I give it a 6
The VCB synopsis:
In Master Darque’s chambers, Sandria watches as Darque keeps a psionic link with Jack Boniface.
Boniface has started his Blood-Run and, as his life bleeds out, Darque levitates higher with the power.
Elsewhere, Jack runs and spouts blood. He recalls that Sandria warned him to remember the Day of his Death. It is then that he realizes he is fated to die horribly in 1999. Knowing this fact, Jack decides not to die today. The psionic link is broken and Darque is denied Shadowman’s life-force.
Back at home, Jack decides to get out of town before Shadowman takes over and gets him in even deeper trouble. But Nettie tells him that he isn’t meant to run away. She hints that she had a hand in making Jack into Shadowman, but refuses to elaborate on this. Finally, Jack resolves to stand and fight Darque.
Night falls and Shadowman visits Scott, one of Darque’s disciples. Scott invites Shadowman to the great meeting they will have the following night. Driving away, Shadowman almost runs over the zombie, Paul N’Dour. N’Dour wishes to end his undead existence and, as a zombie, he cannot kill himself. So, with Emilie and Devon in attendance, Shadowman burns the zombie and ends his suffering.
However, before N’Dour was immolated, he told Shadowman that if three more Blood-Runners died, Darque would receive the ultimate power he seeks. The next night, Jack rides with Scott to Darque’s great meeting. They arrive at a spot in the swamp near the cypress where Shadowman reached Unity. A group of Darque’s followers are already there. Then, just before midnight, Darque descends from the sky. He begins levitating his followers and taking their life-force. Shadowman must stop Darque by midnight to spoil the master spell. Levitated by Darque, Shadowman attacks the power-drunk mage. Shadowman’s contact disrupts Darque’s concentration and the spell is ruined. Nonetheless, Darque takes the life force of the remaining disciples. Shadowman falls to the swamp water below and Darque, filled with energy, departs. Shadowman finds that Scott is the only other survivor of the incident and wonders when he might meet Darque again.
/Magnus
In Master Darque’s chambers, Sandria watches as Darque keeps a psionic link with Jack Boniface.
Boniface has started his Blood-Run and, as his life bleeds out, Darque levitates higher with the power.
Elsewhere, Jack runs and spouts blood. He recalls that Sandria warned him to remember the Day of his Death. It is then that he realizes he is fated to die horribly in 1999. Knowing this fact, Jack decides not to die today. The psionic link is broken and Darque is denied Shadowman’s life-force.
Back at home, Jack decides to get out of town before Shadowman takes over and gets him in even deeper trouble. But Nettie tells him that he isn’t meant to run away. She hints that she had a hand in making Jack into Shadowman, but refuses to elaborate on this. Finally, Jack resolves to stand and fight Darque.
Night falls and Shadowman visits Scott, one of Darque’s disciples. Scott invites Shadowman to the great meeting they will have the following night. Driving away, Shadowman almost runs over the zombie, Paul N’Dour. N’Dour wishes to end his undead existence and, as a zombie, he cannot kill himself. So, with Emilie and Devon in attendance, Shadowman burns the zombie and ends his suffering.
However, before N’Dour was immolated, he told Shadowman that if three more Blood-Runners died, Darque would receive the ultimate power he seeks. The next night, Jack rides with Scott to Darque’s great meeting. They arrive at a spot in the swamp near the cypress where Shadowman reached Unity. A group of Darque’s followers are already there. Then, just before midnight, Darque descends from the sky. He begins levitating his followers and taking their life-force. Shadowman must stop Darque by midnight to spoil the master spell. Levitated by Darque, Shadowman attacks the power-drunk mage. Shadowman’s contact disrupts Darque’s concentration and the spell is ruined. Nonetheless, Darque takes the life force of the remaining disciples. Shadowman falls to the swamp water below and Darque, filled with energy, departs. Shadowman finds that Scott is the only other survivor of the incident and wonders when he might meet Darque again.
/Magnus
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betterthanezra
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A fine example of SM at it's very best....the whole Bloodrunner story IS a great read...period.
A solid 9
-Brian
A solid 9
-Brian
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