Review: Shadowman #15
Creative Team:
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Roberto de la Torre, Al Barrionuevo, and Brian Level
Color Artist: David Baron and John Rauch
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
The Issue:
Jack Boniface is the latest in a long line of Bonifaces to inherit the role of Shadowman. What he didn’t know until now is that accepting the role has it’s downsides. The Shadow Loa is slowing taking over attempting to corrupt Jack making him violent. In order to fight back Jack goes back to bury his personal demons.
Elsewhere Alyssa hatches a plan to help Jack fight against the Shadow Loa. But before that she has to find out where her loyalty lies. Is it to Jack, or is it to avenge the death of Dox?
Summary:
Where Shadowman struggled from its inception was a lack of depth. Jack Boniface was bonded to the Shadow Loa but it never bled over into his personal life. It was a perfectly harmonious relationship that didn’t make much sense. What Peter Milligan has done is add a level of grit and turmoil that was missing. The problems that Jack is facing aren’t an external threat, like Master Darque, but himself. This is where there is a new layer of interest added to the book. It becomes about a man battling to find out who he is, where he’s from, and what he’s turning into.
Jack’s idea to get control of himself is to bury former demons. The first on his list is a man that he brutally attacked and left paralyzed. When he arrives his intended act of kindness is taken as a taunt. He is chased off and the Shadow Loa sarcastically asks how it went. Feeling that Jack is taken over by anger the Shadow Loa attempts to get him to attack another Exile loa.
While Jack struggles with the Shadow Loa, Alyssa attempts to find her own way to solve his problem. Where Jack looks for forgiveness, Alyssa believes that if she can get Jack to fall in love with her that he’ll be able to take control of the Loa and himself. This plan is put on hold as she encounters a ghost of Dox who tells her she needs to avenge his death.
She discovers that the Dox she was talking to was merely a hologram, but it’s too late to stop as Senior Abettors make their way to Jack. The Abettors have a relative of Jack’s in hopes of killing him and gaining control of the Loa. As they attack the Loa begins to convince Jack that it is the only thing that he can trust.
Final Thoughts: I’m sure Justin Jordan is a nice guy. It’s just that if we’re being honest he didn’t do a good job on this title. There were some good moments but it was mostly a one dimensional tale with non-specific characters. While the story dealt with spirits, a version of hell, and demons it wasn’t dark. There were no real stakes, and despite being bonded to an evil spirit Jack was still a happy go-lucky kid in his downtime. That didn’t make sense.
Peter Milligan was an ideal choice for this title after his long run with Hellblazer. Having a character battle something he is possessed by isn’t new (We’ve seen extremely popularized versions of this with the Incredible Hulk or Spider-Man with the symbiote). It’s just that this struggle adds a dimension that this title badly needed.
My one main problem is the angle they’re working with Alyssa. Despite the title being around for as long as it has we don’t know much about the characters. Having her develop feelings (out of nowhere) for Jack is convenient. I really wish she had a purpose outside of Jack, but with this angle I’m not sure if it will happen any time soon.
Grade: 
Coatesvillain
Just a guy who was into this nerd stuff before it's popular. Now that is I'm just happy I have people to talk about it with.
