12. Shadowman vol 4 #5 to 9 ... Valiant

First up, I didn't even know that this latest relaunch is volume 4! I have always thought there was 2 volumes before this. Ah well ... it just goes to show that for some reason, through my 30 years of comics collecting, Shadowman in its original incarnation was not on my pull list or discount searching list

Anyway, here in the now, this is tradepaperback vol 2 collecting issues 5 to 9 and they are roaring from the word GO! Patrick Zircher provides art and for those who know, it means you are going to get pages that have great storytelling yet with enough posturing and line detail work and for this book, it works .. it works majorly, at least for me!

So this second TPB is a straightforward continuation from 1 and as it is not your typical superheroics, I strongly recommend everyone to go get vol 1 first. Hey! It's valiant. Vol 1 comes at huge discounts anyway so no harm starting in on the ground, right?

Okay?

Good. Spoilers ahead. In this second chapter, we see our protagonist, Jack learning more about his parents and the people he finds himself with while simultaneously trying to cope with the force that is now within him. Unfortunately it is not on his own schedule as many forces come into play.

First is Mister Darque who has ended up in the realm where dead spirits roam and he is constructing something horrifying down there as his dreams of grandeur are indeed huge and crazily delusional. On the other side, there is lord of the undead, Baron Samedi and he is being given another stab at our world as well thanks to the machinations of Darque

So it's team ups galore and backstabbing at every turn as our new hero goes to town and trying hard to do the right thing and hoping not to fail. Because failure? Equates a heavy price!

(7/10)