Shadowman Volume 3: Deadside Blues (SHADOWMAN (VU) TP)

This tpb includes one of the best issues VEI has produced to date.Shadowman #0 it tells the story of the Most evil villain in my opinion in the VEI universe to date.Master Darque he was born in 1812 along with his sister Sandria.To a very evil father who was a sorcerer.Their mother died giving birth.There father taught them "the art" magic.They learned why the plantation that their father own thrived magic.The kids learned the ways of magic.From the start it was apparent that darque was pure evil he killed his sisters pet rabbit when his sister was not paying attention to him.He brought it back to life as a mockery.Darques father was furious explain that you couldn't bring the dead back or you get a mockery dead is dead.Now after the father explained the true reason for the kids to get him to a magical realm called lyceum a place where all secrets are told..a place where only they could get him there.It tells of the true evil that is the father and a vision of lyceum where once mastering the art you could be beyond powerful.The father put enchanted tattoos on darque and sandria sacrificing them to try to get power to send him to lyceum..once the twins had power they made it snow outside in the summer and proved even nature bended to their will.What will become of Darque and Sandria and their father.it also tells the story of the first shadowman and why he was created it is worth buying for the Shadowman #0 alone not to mention the rest.

Remember the old Tootsie Pop commercial? The kid asks multiple animals how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. He's eventually directed to the wise old owl who fails to answer the question, and the commercial ends with the narrator concluding that, as far as the question goes, "the world may never know." This somewhat parallels the 2012 Valiant Entertainment relaunch of Shadowman through these first three volumes. In volume one, we're introduced to Jack Boniface, but we find out very little about him. At the same time we're introduced to a wide range of characters -- the abettors who aid the Shadowman (although we don't really know why); Master Darque, who is the arch villain (although we don't really know why); the Bretheren, a group of rich industrialists working to help Darque return to New Orleans (although no explanation as to why); Jaunty, a monkey in the Darkside who helps (or not?) Shadowman; and, via flashback, Jack's father (the previous Shadowman) and mother. We don't find out much about any of these characters, or their motivations -- we're just thrown into a story that's pretty good and leaves lots of questions and unresolved subplots. The second volume expands upon Master Darque somewhat and gives a bit more background on Dox (one of the primary abettors that aids Jack) and gives a better look at the Deadside. But, we get a couple of more characters (notably Doctor Mirage and Baron Semedi), with few answers about their background, abilities, or motivations. The story advances and sets the stage for a major showdown between our hero (Shadowman) and villain (Darque), but still -- no real new knowledge about either.So, that leads us to volume 3, which is a mixed bag. It collects 4 issues in the monthly serial -- the zero issue to go along with issues 10-12. The first two chapters (issues) focus entirely on the background behind Master Darque. We find out about his birth, his family, a good bit about his powers, and, at the very end, a bit about how his sister (who we also meet) created the original Shadowman. Then, we get a Halloween one-shot issue featuring Doctor Mirage as an emcee at a Halloween Party that's crashed by some sprite-like creatures that possess two party-goers while Shadowman pursues them. The issue is quite bad overall -- it doesn't fit with the storyline, isn't particularly good as a one-off, and doesn't have good artwork. The final chapter (issue 12) is a collection of three standalone short stories: one featuring Shadowman getting advice from Jaunty in the aftermath of the Darque confrontation from volume 2; a story that doesn't feature Shadowman hardly at all, but connects back to the Soma drug storyline briefly mentioned in Volume 2; and one that focuses on a former abettor. All three have very nice artwork, but they aren't terribly good stories. In the end, we still don't know what Shadowman can do. We don't totally know what the loa is.Overall, the book is probably 2.5 stars. I rounded up to 3 due to the strength of the first two issues, but one could make an argument for rounding down given how terrible the third issue is and how pedestrian the final chapter is.

Ok this is a tale of two cities. This Trade Paperback contains 2 of the best Valiant stories ever written- Shadowman #0 and Shadowman #10. These back to back issues exploring the origin of a young Master Darque along with his sister Sandria Darque and their manipulative father who trains them in the power of the dark arts which eventually leads to the origin of Shadowman is masterful, heartfelt storytelling. Justin Jordan's imaginative, thoughtful origin stories are inspired brilliant work. The artwork especially in issue #0 is flat out perfect with its southern gothic backdrop and subtle creepiness. Roberto De La Torre along with Lewis Larosa, Mico Suyan and colorist David Baron bring that issue #0 alive. Issue #0 is not as good artistically although it's still strong and the story as it continues from issue #0 is even more compelling and heartbreaking. Those 2 issues alone is worth the price of admission. The other 2 issues (#11 and #12) is mixed at best. Justin Jordan is replaced by a mix of different writers with issue #11 being a Halloween issue and issue #12 being an anthology with different writers taking on Shadowman and the dark corner of the valiant universe with mixed results. They are still interesting and worth reading but the strength of #0 and #10 is what gives this TPB a perfect score.

Very average series of comics - but ok for a quick read to pass the time. The first flash back tales are quite interesting, but the filler stories towards the back of the collection are below average and boring. I expected a lot more from this Shadowman series and have been pretty disappointed.