Valiant sets up a year of supernatural adventures for returning hero Shadowman

Shadowman is set to make a splash as he returns to the Valiant Universe. But he’s bringing a tidal wave of supernatural terror with him. Looks like it might not be the most comfortable year for the hero.

The loa reborn

Jack Boniface has only just returned home to New Orleans…but the Deadside won’t let him stay gone! From across the veil of life and death, the malignant presence of Baron Samedi – a ravenous voodoo deity bent on consolidating power at all costs – now seeks to infiltrate the mortal plane and claim the legacy of Shadowman for himself! But even as Jack and Alyssa marshal a defense to Samedi’s inhuman agenda, a monstrous new force – driven by killer instinct and a rabid hatred of the Shadowman – is about to turn the Big Easy’s back alleys into a hunting ground…

That’s the synopsis for the first arc of the new Shadowman book from Valiant. The Fear of the Dark story will run from issue #1 through #3. Creatively, it will feature the world of Andy Diggle and Stephen Segovia. Yes, there’ll be some special covers for these issues starring some big time talent too. Expect to see art from the likes of Tonci Zonjic, Renato Guedes, Juan José Ryp, and Ben Templesmith.

While the first issue arrives on March 28th, issue #2 lands on racks on April 25th. That’s the one that we’re previewing here. You can check out that unlettered sneak-peek below.

But that’s not going to be it for Shadowman here in 2018, not by a long shot.

Valiant has a whole year of content mapped out for this new ongoing series. And they’re ready to present what’s coming for their preeminent supernatural hero right now. Segovia will dip out for this arc, which will feature the talents of Shawn Martinbrough, Doug Braithwaite, and Renato Guedes.

Issues #4 through 7 will showcase the Dead and Gone arc, which is “an epic exploration into the true power and impact of the Shadowman legacy across the ages”. Yep, it’s a time travel storyline.

For years, Jack Boniface believed that he knew the true story of the Shadowman loa – the true story of the curse inside him. He was wrong.

For the first time, Jack Boniface is about to discover the long-hidden history of the supernatural power that became his birthright… Unmoored in time and space, the loa is about to reveal its untold dimensions…and now, the last defender of the wall between our realm and the Deadside is falling backwards through the astral void, finding himself face to face with his forebears across the centuries – from the paranoia-addled alleyways of 1940s New York to the fire-scorched plantations of the Civil War…all the way back to the primeval height of the African savannah in 40,000 B.C.!

Sound good? The followup might be even better, since it reintroduces arch-villain Master Darque.

Serving as a fresh jumping on point for new readers, Shadowman numbers 8 through 11 features the return of artist Stephen Segovia, as well as Master Darque, in the Rag and Bone arc. This isn’t the actual Darque of course, since the character is “dead”. This time, his very bones are in contention. And it seems as though we might just be seeing him again in some form.

For some men – like the sadistic necromancer Nicodemo Darque, whose eternal conflict with the Boniface family’s lineage of Shadowmen was bound in blood nearly two centuries ago – the true path to power lies beyond death… And even the last relics of their earthly remains can become a doorway themselves…

As Shadowman returns to New Orleans with a revelatory new understanding of the immense abilities within himself, he won’t have long to adjust…because a war for control of the ultimate magical artifact – the bones of Master Darque, his old arch-nemesis – is about to erupt out of the underground and into the harsh view of day!

On one side: The Brethren, a society of wealthy and powerful occultists obsessed with Darque’s resurrection and ushering in a millennia-long reign of darkness. On the other: Shadowman’s old allies from The Abettors…and Darque’s own sister, Sandria, who would like nothing more than to grind her brother’s bones to dust…