Re-Reading: Shadowman #6
Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg
Re-Reading: Shadowman #6
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 #6
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 #6
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Unblessed
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I gave this one a 7.
It just didn't have the feel of 1-3. Coming off the end of Unity just seemed like the story was missing something. I liked how Jack was searching for his girl and how he THINKS the good guys won, but isn't sure.
The "family" he fought seemed a bit on the nice side and were written a little cartoony. For example, when the one shot his sister, June, the look of shock on the family's faces was a bit over the top. I'm being pretty nit picky here.
~Unblessed
It just didn't have the feel of 1-3. Coming off the end of Unity just seemed like the story was missing something. I liked how Jack was searching for his girl and how he THINKS the good guys won, but isn't sure.
The "family" he fought seemed a bit on the nice side and were written a little cartoony. For example, when the one shot his sister, June, the look of shock on the family's faces was a bit over the top. I'm being pretty nit picky here.
~Unblessed
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Todd Luck
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Shadowman 6
Bob Hall’s first issue and it’s…average?!?
Hall puts in a decent plot here. It’s a little generic, but Shadowman taking down the baddies at the end could’ve been a sight to see.
Unfortunately, Ditko’s layouts don’t let that happen. They’re hard to follow and just kill the creepy mood. What should have been a bad a$$ fight scene at the end turns into a mess. I don’t know what happened but we all know Ditko’s a lot better than this.
And it’s very strange that a car drove Samedi away in issue one if these hillbillies where behind it. It doesn’t even look like they even own a car.
I want to give it a 7 for Hall’s story but I can’t ignore the terminal flaws in the execution. A 6. Don’t worry, it’ll get a lot better next issue.
Continuity Notes: Obviously the decision to make Nettie a voo doo priestess wasn’t made yet as Nettie seems to very much be a helpless old lady here. My “no prize” explanation is that she refrained from using her powers when captured in order to test Jack.
The suit reeking was cute. Notice they wanted to burn the suit, not the mask. This would’ve been the perfect set up for the new costume but I guess that got pushed back a few issues.
Why did they kill Mr. N’Dour? There were other ways to show how vicious the villains were. I noticed a lot of whole sale slaughter of supporting cast members in other titles after Shooter left in books like Magnus and Harbinger. Strange. In the U2000 prologues Shooter mentions N’Dour is alive in 1999 (in other words Shooter wouldn’t have killed him).
Bob Hall’s first issue and it’s…average?!?
Hall puts in a decent plot here. It’s a little generic, but Shadowman taking down the baddies at the end could’ve been a sight to see.
Unfortunately, Ditko’s layouts don’t let that happen. They’re hard to follow and just kill the creepy mood. What should have been a bad a$$ fight scene at the end turns into a mess. I don’t know what happened but we all know Ditko’s a lot better than this.
And it’s very strange that a car drove Samedi away in issue one if these hillbillies where behind it. It doesn’t even look like they even own a car.
I want to give it a 7 for Hall’s story but I can’t ignore the terminal flaws in the execution. A 6. Don’t worry, it’ll get a lot better next issue.
Continuity Notes: Obviously the decision to make Nettie a voo doo priestess wasn’t made yet as Nettie seems to very much be a helpless old lady here. My “no prize” explanation is that she refrained from using her powers when captured in order to test Jack.
The suit reeking was cute. Notice they wanted to burn the suit, not the mask. This would’ve been the perfect set up for the new costume but I guess that got pushed back a few issues.
Why did they kill Mr. N’Dour? There were other ways to show how vicious the villains were. I noticed a lot of whole sale slaughter of supporting cast members in other titles after Shooter left in books like Magnus and Harbinger. Strange. In the U2000 prologues Shooter mentions N’Dour is alive in 1999 (in other words Shooter wouldn’t have killed him).
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shadowmite
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Todd Luck
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Shooter's reality (the one with Solar in it). In the U2000 prologue in Shadowman Vol 3 issue 3, Nettie mentioned that her and Mister N'Dour went back to collect the bits and pieces they could find of Jack after the gater "killed" him.shadowmite wrote:Which reality is N'Dour alive in for Shooter U2k?
I'm reading between the lines but I assume N'Dour would've been the one who told Jack the portal in the bayou worked again. I can't think of many other reasons why Jack would've been trying to go through it to see Elya. Like I said, as far Shooter's universe in U2000 is concerned only Shadowman 1-5 exist, the rest of the series is another Jack Boniface altogether.
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shadowmite
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Thats right. I remember now. Well spotted.Todd Luck wrote:Shooter's reality (the one with Solar in it). In the U2000 prologue in Shadowman Vol 3 issue 3, Nettie mentioned that her and Mister N'Dour went back to collect the bits and pieces they could find of Jack after the gater "killed" him.shadowmite wrote:Which reality is N'Dour alive in for Shooter U2k?
I'm reading between the lines but I assume N'Dour would've been the one who told Jack the portal in the bayou worked again. I can't think of many other reasons why Jack would've been trying to go through it to see Elya. Like I said, as far Shooter's universe in U2000 is concerned only Shadowman 1-5 exist, the rest of the series is another Jack Boniface altogether.
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Todd Luck
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- Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 1:02:34 pm
- Location: Winston-Salem, NC
I'm actually about ten issues ahead on re-reading Shadowman and you can really see how they kept changing their mind about various aspects of the character. In issues 10-12 we'll get several hints at a completely different way the new origin they were constucting for the character could've gone.VH69 wrote:All these realities and who considers what to be canon make me kinda hope for a reboot...
Bob Halls first book, voodoo comes into play and its a great addition.
ditkos pencils are interesting, very classic comic book poses.
real life bad guys, a little weak but a nice way to train shadowman
Its nice to see shadowman in regular clothes. I really like the costume but it always felt too comicy.
The bayou stuff was fun but doesnt reach the potential shadowman has.
a strong 6
ditkos pencils are interesting, very classic comic book poses.
real life bad guys, a little weak but a nice way to train shadowman
Its nice to see shadowman in regular clothes. I really like the costume but it always felt too comicy.
The bayou stuff was fun but doesnt reach the potential shadowman has.
a strong 6
I'm a big fan of those one issue stories too. Shadowman is the rare comic that has such a unique atmosphere and feel that you want to visit every month. I'm almost disappointed when someone else cameos. The book with his friend killing random women to cover up his wife's murder is an example to comes to mind.depluto wrote:I'm a sucker for the standalone issues ... I really liked this one. Gave it a 9.
Nice evil family and a lot of Louisiana flavor to this one. The kind of thing that set Shadowman apart from other comics.
The VCB synopisis:
In the Louisiana Bayou where Nettie and Paul N’Dour wait by the cypress tree, Shadowman suddenly surfaces, screaming for Elya. She was separated from him by the forces ending Unity, but Shadowman continues searching in vain for her beneath the enchanted cypress. Nettie and N’Dour can only watch as Shadowman inexplicably exhausts himself. When he finally calms down, Shadowman explains that he was gone for six months in the Lost Land. Nettie claims he returned an instant after he went beneath the cypress. But Nettie wants only to leave the Bayou now, for it becomes dangerous after dark. So she and N’Dour leave Shadowman to his searching and head for home.
It is morning before Shadowman accepts that he has lost Elya forever. He walks toward home and encounters Paul N’Dour’s corpse along the way. Someone attacked him and took Nettie with them. It’s too late to help N’Dour, but he can still save Nettie.
At a house in the middle of the swamp, a family of inbred serial killers holds Nettie captive. They are all killers, but all live in fear of their mean-spirited “Ma”. Ma berates the young ‘uns for bringing home such an old woman. They require younger women for breeding. They lock Nettie in the shed with the dead bodies. Some mention is made of the brother, Darryl, who is in jail. This was the killer Shadowman defeated in issue #2.
Back at home, Jack calls around to see if anyone’s heard from Nettie. Later, police come by to question him on Nettie’s disappearance and N´Dour’s death. Finally, night falls and Shadowman demands action. He goes to the widow of N’Dour, who informs him of the swamp family serial killers. She sends him to avenge her husband.
Back in the swamp, Shadowman comes upon a shack and decides to investigate. It belongs to an honest family whose daughter was abducted by the killers. They are only too glad to tell him where the killers are. Shadowman proceeds to the killer family’s house. He finds Nettie in the shack, but is then discovered by the killers. An off and on battle follows as Shadowman takes them out one-by-one. Finally, the other swamp family arrives. Encouraged by Shadowman’s fearless pursuit of the killers, the victimized family avenge their dead daughter by shooting the rest of the killers. With the threat ended, Shadowman takes Nettie home.
When the police return to Jack’s home with a warrant, Nettie is there to cover for Jack.
/Magnus
In the Louisiana Bayou where Nettie and Paul N’Dour wait by the cypress tree, Shadowman suddenly surfaces, screaming for Elya. She was separated from him by the forces ending Unity, but Shadowman continues searching in vain for her beneath the enchanted cypress. Nettie and N’Dour can only watch as Shadowman inexplicably exhausts himself. When he finally calms down, Shadowman explains that he was gone for six months in the Lost Land. Nettie claims he returned an instant after he went beneath the cypress. But Nettie wants only to leave the Bayou now, for it becomes dangerous after dark. So she and N’Dour leave Shadowman to his searching and head for home.
It is morning before Shadowman accepts that he has lost Elya forever. He walks toward home and encounters Paul N’Dour’s corpse along the way. Someone attacked him and took Nettie with them. It’s too late to help N’Dour, but he can still save Nettie.
At a house in the middle of the swamp, a family of inbred serial killers holds Nettie captive. They are all killers, but all live in fear of their mean-spirited “Ma”. Ma berates the young ‘uns for bringing home such an old woman. They require younger women for breeding. They lock Nettie in the shed with the dead bodies. Some mention is made of the brother, Darryl, who is in jail. This was the killer Shadowman defeated in issue #2.
Back at home, Jack calls around to see if anyone’s heard from Nettie. Later, police come by to question him on Nettie’s disappearance and N´Dour’s death. Finally, night falls and Shadowman demands action. He goes to the widow of N’Dour, who informs him of the swamp family serial killers. She sends him to avenge her husband.
Back in the swamp, Shadowman comes upon a shack and decides to investigate. It belongs to an honest family whose daughter was abducted by the killers. They are only too glad to tell him where the killers are. Shadowman proceeds to the killer family’s house. He finds Nettie in the shack, but is then discovered by the killers. An off and on battle follows as Shadowman takes them out one-by-one. Finally, the other swamp family arrives. Encouraged by Shadowman’s fearless pursuit of the killers, the victimized family avenge their dead daughter by shooting the rest of the killers. With the threat ended, Shadowman takes Nettie home.
When the police return to Jack’s home with a warrant, Nettie is there to cover for Jack.
/Magnus