Shadowman #9 Review

Shadowman #9 is probably the weakest issue of this series so far. It's confusing, jumbled, and messy. It's a little disappointing, because a few issues ago, this title reached new heights of creepiness and atmosphere. You could do much worse than this -- Shadowman #9 is still a decent comic book with some great moments -- but the overall package sits firmly in “okay” territory. Hopefully, this promising series can refocus and get back on track, because the early issues were so damn good.

The big problem with this issue is the same big problem the past couple of issues have had: too many artists. There are five listed on this issue and the results are not good. While each artist might produce some fine pages, the end result is a seriously shifting tone from page to page. It's just all over the place. Things really only lock into place at the end when Roberto De La Torre – who should really be this title's sole artist – comes in and saves the day. Those last few pages look amazing, but they also look and feel completely different from what came before. It's like a whole different comic book.

Art isn't the only problem, as the ending of this arc is a confusing one. Justin Jordan brings everything together in this issue, but how and why events fit together isn't clear. Even after reading the book twice, I'm still not sure how Shadowman defeated Master Darque. He used Darque's own magic to suck Darque into a magic tower that then exploded? I think? Maybe. Anyway, there are some cool scenes here, but they get lost in a convoluted ending that tries too hard to bring everything together.

Benjamin is a drinker of root beer and a lover of fine cheeses. Follow Benjamin on Twitter @616Earth, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com