Review - Shadowman #4

All hell breaking loose is typically bandied about as a loose threat against humanity. Often, some demon will mention it as part of his/her monologue prior to things really going sour. In the case of Shadowman #4 though, the threat is real and turns out to actually happen.

The issue is written by Justin Jordan and Patrick Zircher, with art by Zircher, colors by Brian Reber and letters by Rob Steen.

Jack Boniface is rapidly coming to terms with his newfound abilities, using them to help Alyssa out of a tight spot. Meanwhile, Dox is in a tight spot of his own, sharing some face to face time with Mr. Twist, who's hellbent on assisting his master Darque's return to the Earth. Mix it all together and you've got a good recipe for mayhem, evil and portal jumping. Can never go wrong with portal jumping.

The fourth issue of the series seems to conclude the first story arc. Darque is in an interesting position (sparring verbally with Jaunty), while Jack has gotten a better handle on his abilities as Shadowman. There's the introduction of an Illuminati of sorts as well, who will likely play a big part in future issues. The issue moves along at a very comfortable pace, with a healthy blend of action and exposition.

Jordan and Zircher make sure they don't knock you over the head with the obvious. Instead, they let the story unfold around the characters, which makes for very good reading. Twist is just as sinister as ever and that's gotten across both via his actions and other characters speaking in fear of him. The characters all play their part and play them well.

Zircher's art is wonderful. He makes Twist look, well, twisted and the scenes with Shadowman surrounded by ghosts are very well done. The art has a very corporeal feel to it, which seems counter-intuitive in a book about ghosts, but it works really well. All the scenes really capture their moment as a snapshot in time and all could easily be standalone posters; they just look that good.

Shadowman #4 moves really quickly and at the end you wonder what just happened. It hits you like a freight train, but leaves you wanting more. There are plenty of plot threads made available for the series to continue and it will likely do so with as much fun as the fourth issue.

Shadowman #4 is in stores today with interiors below.