Presenting...Shadowman: Genesis (article)

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Presenting...Shadowman: Genesis (article)

Post by xoken »

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/a ... 337648.htm

Presenting...Shadowman: Genesis

By Brandon Thomas


Last week I professed my affinity for Acclaim Comics and simultaneously lost half my readership. (link to “The Great Acclaim Confession” here) This time, as promised, I present three proposals that I drafted in the attempts of breaking into this crazy industry as a writer for the aforementioned company. Yes, my attempts were a little heavy-handed but I couldn’t let statistics and the possibilities of success stop me. I had stories to tell dammit, and I chose Acclaim’s three biggest guns to tell them with. Following the small section of background information is a pitch supported by commentary from yours truly (in bold), explaining some of the thought process that went into each proposal.

Background-

Shadowman.

The guardian of the barrier that separated life and death. Anything foolish enough to attempt crossing the void met with this man in black, guns blazing with enchanted weaponry, nonchalant attitude and cool nature nearly betraying the importance of his mission. The fate of the world in the hands of a man that refused to smile, to feel emotion, to behave as a “super-hero”. Michael Leroi, who worked as a
late-night talk show host, was not interested in stopping bank robbers, muggers, and kingpins of crime. His only concern was with the demons, witches, and monsters that haunted the night. It was his job to send them back to Hell, and making the world a better place wasn’t relevant.



A child that can cross the barrier between life and death…

An object that can make the dead live again…

And the curse upon mankind that results…



SHADOWMAN: GENESIS (12 issue maxi-series)



Act I- First Born

She was born in a place where things only die. The young girl known as Nia has gone from newborn to preschooler in just seven days, and her young parents realize that something is terribly wrong. Nia possesses the ability to breach the void between life and death, which makes her a valuable prize to many.

Emerging from Deadside’s much-feared Valley is a band of creatures, led by a serial rapist known as Bryce who harbors a serious grudge against Michael LeRoi. Meanwhile in the land of the living, the covert government organization Obsidian and their leader the Faceless Man are readying their own plans for Nia, for only she can truly complete their assemblage of Deadside artifacts. And only Shadowman can keep her alive long enough to fulfill her role in an ancient prophecy, but one thing is certain…not everyone will leave this conflict alive.


Act II- The D Files

Nia’s demise has triggered something within Mike LeRoi he had believed long gone…his emotions. Perhaps that explains why the romantic wiles of Obsidian defector Lara Lopez prove to be so effective upon the half-dead peacekeeper of the gates when she convinces him to escort her into Deadside. The true reason for Obsidian’s pursuance of Nia is revealed as the legend of the Soul Staff is told. The staff can make the dead live again and Lara needs it to reunite herself with her husband whom Michael killed to protect Nia. This fact is unknown to the Shadowman, in addition to the knowledge that Lara’s promises to resurrect Michael’s own family are complete falsehoods. Only one soul per staff can make the journey from oblivion to renewed life. And to complicate matters, due to Obsidian’s examinations of Nia, they know how to let themselves in and out of Deadside, and the Faceless Man has his own plans for the staff…and for the traitorous Ms. Lopez.


Act III- Darque Days

Every action demands an equal reaction and this situation is no different. Through the use of a Soul Staff, a man has been reunited with his son, but as the Faceless Man can readily attest, there are consequences involved when cheating death. Each time a staff is used in Deadside, a random catastrophe occurs on Liveside. It could occur one week from now, or one hundred, but it will occur. On this particular occasion, the Earth is experiencing a plague like no other. Mankind’s population is decreasing by millions daily and there’s nothing that Shadowman and Obsidian can do to stop it.

Enter Master Darque who claims to hold the answer to salvation, but LeRoi is infinitely certain that this man cannot be trusted…but what choice does Shadowman have?? Only the final Soul Staff can be of use, and Nia must return to the land of the living and inadvertently cause the catastrophe that will repopulate the Earth with human life after the virus runs it course.

As legend has it, the first and last Soul Staffs cause the identical disastrous result. The activation of the first staff millennia ago cursed the Earth with humankind, and unless Shadowman wants to spend the remainder of his existence sharing the planet with burgeoning plant life…it must happen again.


Shadowman Commentary: I have a rule. Before I get too overly involved in the construction of a storyline I need to know two things…how it begins and how it ends. Sounds simple right?? The beginning is usually the no-brainer, and in this case it was the origin of Michael LeRoi. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely familiar with the particulars on how this radio show host became the guardian of the gates between life and death…and I’m still not. Originally intended as a four-parter, this frame or over-arcing theme became the vehicle that would allow me to tell the story without calling the thing Shadowman: Year One or the Origin of Shadowman. I intended to be a little subtler than that. Develop a main plot, and quietly slip Shadowman’s origin into the mix…after I found out what it was of course. But I still didn’t have an ending.

I had a cast of main characters that served only to ensure that I couldn’t tell this story in four issues leading to nearly uncontrolled expansion and before I knew it, not only was I relating the personal experiences of Michael LeRoi, but I was commenting on the government’s long running conspiracy regarding the existence of Deadside, and commenting on the source of human evolution. An example of how a story can run away from you and provide a more quality finish as a result. But still…I didn’t have an ending.

The more elaborate things became, the stronger the ending had to be, and I still didn’t have one…and then it came to me. How many stories have we seen that concluded in the complete annihilation of the human race?? A plague so terrible that humanity could never survive. But then I had to put things back right?? Enter the Soul Staff…

On a whole, I’m very satisfied with how things evolved (even though I cheated a little) and I hope to one day cannibalize some of these themes for another story. I mean, come on….the end of humanity?? That’s good stuff.

Peace,
Brandon Thomas

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Post by BIGNASTY »

:thumb:
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Arguably, this is what was conceived for Shadowman, Vol. 2

Post by Serge Clermont »

Hello, all.

For those of you who don't recognize the name of my log-in, and I'm sure there must be a lot of you, I was the noob comic book writer brought in on Volume 2, Issue #16, of Valiant's Shadowman. My stint with that title lasted precisely six issues before all but two titles were cancelled out by Acclaim's takeover.

Admittedly, it was a bittersweet pill to see Shadowman hit the stands again several months later, with LeRoi playing a radio show host. I never could bring myself to read the issues...I was still saddened at the way all had turned out for Zero and me.

I will also admit that seeing this post of a script intended to revive Shadowman kind of brought back some memories for me, as well as a little disappointment that my work on the character might not have been apocryphal enough for the audience. For that reason alone, I'd like to tell my story to anyone who would care to hear it here.

When I took over the writing for Shadowman at Issue #16, I was asked by Editor Jeff Gomez to hit the following points for sketching out the story arc (which met a premature death by #21):

1) Make Shadowman a hero again.

I don't argue the talent of Garth Ennis and Jamie Delano. I was pretty intimidated by the thought of being a first-time comic book writer following in their footsteps...doubly so when I was being assigned the task of boosting failing sales in addition to reviving interest in the character in the wake of Delano's peeve with Ennis over Hellblazer. Not too challenging, eh?

2) Lend authenticity.

This was originally in reference to the roots of the Shadowman character in Voudoun. Being Haitian-American and a nominal vouduisant lent me some cred in snagging the project, yet I hesitated on incorporating too much of the rituals and mysteries of my mother country's religion, for fear of misrepresenting it in the wrong medium. I had second thoughts about it when later on during the preliminaries that it was going to head toward being four-color.

Also, I can't remember who said "Stay away from making the title like something out of DC's Vertigo line," but I remember it being said during one of the planning meetings. Evidently, there were problems about how dark this new incarnation of Shadowman had become during the skirmishes between Delano and Ennis.

3) Make it a saleable merchandising property.

In other words, we want toys, we want material for video game sequels, we want animated series potential...Nicieza wanted the gold ring. Too little, too late, in the end. You saw new characters drawn in almost every issue: California Mah in the first two issues, along with Pere Jean, the voudou priest who redeems Michael LeRoi from Mama Nettie's enslavement, the mutated dino warriors spilling over from Turok, the Einheriar summoned by the Order of the Dragon Klan-wannabes 4th issue, and the introduction of Erebus and Galen Blacktower the Knight Templar in the last two issues.

4) Ground Shadowman firmly in the Valiant Universe (VH-2).

See above in 3); tying Shadowman everywhere was problematic, in that I never got the opportunity to talk to any other writers about their use of Shadowman in their comics books, much less brainstorming their main characters' appearance in the Shadowman title...but I did my best.

With all that on the table, I tried attacking the challenge in small bites...

I'll let anyone who's interested in hearing the rest of my story post something to that effect before I go on, because it is...involved, to say the least. :)
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Re: Arguably, this is what was conceived for Shadowman, Vol.

Post by magnusr »

Serge Clermont wrote:I'll let anyone who's interested in hearing the rest of my story post something to that effect before I go on, because it is...involved, to say the least. :)
Sure am interested. Thanks for stopping by and hoping to see more from you.

/Magnus

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Post by Schmakt »

wow... VERY cool to read both of those posts. Thanks, guys!

I'm sad, now, to say that I don't have any of the post VH-1 issues although Shadowman was definitely the best title in VH-1 up to its end.

I think I'll make it a point to work on post VH-1 Shadowman as soon as I can find my Solar 43 and Timewalker 6... god, I keep thinking I have the set, and SOMETHING always pops up missing...

regardless... thanks, both, for sharing.

It's kind of disheartening to hear a primary source in regards to the necessity of marketability outside the comics realm. I guess it's just a sign of the times and something that comics, in general, need to be conscious of. Just annoying that creators sometimes aren't able to just concentrate and telling the best stories they can with the characters they are given.

Also regarding the lack of communication... VERY disapointing, but not that surprising. That seems to be a general trend in comics these days as well. Not only cross-titles, but often in the same title. The recent interview with Ed Brubaker regarding taking of Daredevil post-Bendis was amazing. He spoke about how closely he and Bendis were working to make the handoff as seamless as possible. I LOVE that, and that kind of community seems to be lacking more often than not b/t comics and their creators. I like for my comics to have continuity and a real sense of community. Being unable to really get in touch with other creators certainly doesn't help that.

Reading ideas from former (and potential) Valiant creators really gets my hopes up that some of the stories could, potentially, see the light of day with the new publisher.

Ideally, I'd like to see VH-1 continued, more-or-less, directly, but I'd really like to see older story ideas get into print. Even as an Elseworlds type thing. Valiant should definitely get some What If...? / Elseworlds tales. :)

sorry... rambling off-topic there... Thanks for sharing!

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Post by ManofTheAtom »

Hey Serge.

Personally I thought that your version of Shadowman was more faitful to the concept than anything Ennis and Delano ever did.

For me your version felt more like the original VH 1 Shadowman and that's why I liked it.

I was glad that Shadowman stopped trying to be a second rate Vertigo book and moved more towards a VH 1 direction (not necessarily super heroics, but still be supernatural and credible).

I also thought the art was great.

I'd like to see more of your story (skirmishes between Ennis and Delano? Over what exactly?)
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Post by Byrneout »

Please share!

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Post by Daniel Jackson »

Thanks for posting on this Serge, I always felt that the title was lacking direction until the #16 issue and then it really seemed to take off and make sense. It's too bad it was so short lived after that. I'm not big on the Mike Leroi night time DJ thing from the third run, but I still liked the character and the stories were really not too bad.

Please feel free to share the rest of your story, I am anxious to hear it.

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Post by ManofTheAtom »

Mike as a DJ was just sad.
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Post by betterthanezra »

Thanks for sharing Serge.....Being a defender of VH-2 I really liked what you were doing with SM....I remember a grass roots campain started by Joe Petrilak back in the day to have SM #16 break into the TOP 100 books ordered for the month.....We all ordered 10 copies at the time.

I know orders were higher for the issue but........well we all know the rest of the story.

Please share more.

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Post by dellamorte »

I would love to hear more as well. I really liked the direction you were taking the book in prior to the end. Thanks for stopping in and sharing.

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Post by hulk181man »

Serge - thanks for kindly sharing your insights. It's a great thing to hear from the actual creators. I agree with others here - your issues combined with Krain's art were (by far) the most enjoyable of the series :thumb: It seemed the book was finally hitting stride.....

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Post by depluto »

Thanks for the post Serge, and I'd certainly like to hear more.

I always thought Ennis' take on Shadowman was too much of a shock, and then the video game character was based solely on that version ... another shock. And I love Ennis' writing, too, but that was just too far from the character's VH1 roots. Every VH2 writer after had to deal with that; that was probably pretty tough for you to work with.

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Post by Chuck »

MORE :thumb:

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Post by slym2none »

I concur with all the fanatics - MORE, PLEASE!!!



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Post by k_c_collectibles »

I'll admit - I'm not a big Acclam fan, but the later Shadowman issues were some of the better ones of the bunch! I would really like to hear more from you as well if you are willing to share with us. :thumb:

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Post by Heath »

k_c_collectibles wrote:I'll admit - I'm not a big Acclam fan, but the later Shadowman issues were some of the better ones of the bunch! I would really like to hear more from you as well if you are willing to share with us. :thumb:

Chris
The way you guys are raving, I'll have to see what I can do about getting some of those later issues of the Acclaim Shadowman. I think I gave Garth Ennis two or three issues before dropping it in disgust and protest. Being such a HUGE fan of the Valiant Shadowman, I found what Ennis did intolerable.
I would agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong.

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Post by Daniel Jackson »

Heath wrote: The way you guys are raving, I'll have to see what I can do about getting some of those later issues of the Acclaim Shadowman. I think I gave Garth Ennis two or three issues before dropping it in disgust and protest. Being such a HUGE fan of the Valiant Shadowman, I found what Ennis did intolerable.
A lot of Valiant fans did the same thing; they read the first few horrible issues of VH2 Shadowman and wanted no part of it. It was way too dark and violent, plus the stories were very confusing. The character really did not start to develop to any real interesting point until issue #16. After that the book takes off and I liked it until the end of VH3.

The book still had its flaws, but for the most part it was a very enjoyable read. I really like Jack Boniface as Shadowman, but I would also hate to see Mike Leroi simply cast aside in the new universe. He eventually became a very interesting character as the new Shadowman.

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Wow.

Post by Serge Clermont »

Right off the bat, thank you all for your effusive welcome. Up until now, I really hadn't gotten a sense of the audience reading Shadowman Vol. 2, with the exception of the fan letters printed in the back every issue.

I am moved by the enthusiasm Valiant fans show for their favorite characters, even years after the books were cancelled. That I should even be remembered in such positive ways for a six-issue run is more than I could have asked for...and, had I taken the time to learn more about the fan base back then, I might have been encouraged to stay in the business. It actually gives me hope that my novel might be read and published one day. :)

That said, time permitting, I will post a new topic wherein I will tell all that's relevant about the creative process behind the incarnation of Shadowman for which I was responsible, all six issues. :)

Thanks again for your support.

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Post by SiBill »

See what you Shadowman fanatics caused? I was hoping to snag this bad boy for about $150.00. Once I saw this thread, I knew it was a wrap. :D

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Post by Serge Clermont »

I realize that this is very late in coming....but I wanted to let you all know that, in lieu of posting an issue-by-issue breakdown of the creative process behind my writing duties on Shadowman, Volume 2, I figured it might be easier to meet you at the Valiant Comics Reunion at the Big Apple Con in NYC. If anyone can make it, I'd love to chat with you, barring any co-opt of my time there. :D

Take care, all.
Last edited by Serge Clermont on Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by dellamorte »

See you in NY Serge. :thumb:

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Post by Daniel Jackson »

Sounds great Serge, I wish I could be there.

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Post by slym2none »

Serge Clermont wrote:I realize that this is very late in coming....but I wanted to let you all know that, in lieu of posting an issue-by-issue breakdown of the creative process behind my writing duties on Shadowman, Volume 2, I figured it might be easier to meet you at the Valiant Comics Reunion at the Big Apple Con in NYC. If anyone can make it, I'd love to chat with you, barring any co-opt of my time there. :D

Take care, all.
Yet another bonus to attending the show.

:thumb:



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Post by Vault-Keeper »

I would appreciate if someone would please take the time to conduct an interview with Serge about his issues of Shadowman, and reprint it here, for those of us who can't attend the Con.---Steve

PS---Shadowman #16 (Glow cover) would make a cool Acclaim VfVSS project, signed by Serge... :thumb:


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