Jim Zub goes down to the Big Easy for a Shadowman Halloween Holiday Spooktacular with Miguel Sepulveda. Dark Horse founder Michael Richardson’s concept for a young Doctor Strange came to him in a dream, so he’s found the dream team of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton to take on The Occultist #1. A present day ‘Lamont Cranston III’ takes up The Shadow Now in a limited series plus Moth City continues to be the best use of the ComiXology app with #5.
SHADOWMAN #11
WRITER: Jim Zub
ART: Miguel Sepulveda
Publication Date: October 2, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Valiant Comics
UPC: 85899200307901111
Buy it HERE
If there is one dude that can take on writing a one-off Halloween Voodoo parade story set in the boozy Big Easy, it is our pal Jim Zub of Skullkickers fame. Jack Boniface has been battling Master Darque in some very exciting tales written by Justin Jordan.
Taking a break from the mayhem, Jack is faced with a very Peter Parker problem of being locked out of his apartment for not paying rent, his iPhone is on 1% and it is Halloween night. Time for a good ol’ patrol, he thinks!
Across town in the many watering holes on Bourbon St., three drunken yahoos invade a voodoo store to look for Halloween costumes and end up getting sick all over the joint, obviously unleashing some bad vibes and scary creatures into the New Orleans city night.
A rooftop chase scene ends with a run in with Dr. Mirage and even more ‘Parker-luck’ for our hero at the Halloween Parade.
This is a great jumping on point for new and old Shadowman fans, Buffy-verse fans or pick this up to get the Halloween mask variant if you are that lazy about your costume this year!
THE OCCULTIST #1
WRITER: Tim Seeley, Michael Richardson
ART: Mike Norton
Publication Date: October 2, 2013
Price: $3.50
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
UPC: 76156823021500111
Buy it HERE
Ahhh. A brilliant book in many ways.
Working on the concept that our hero and college student Rob Bailey must juggle life and school and the occult as he is possessed by a book called The Sword, this makes him an ersatz Sorcerer Supreme of his world. The boy is bouncing hormonal tension off of his friend Detective Melendez while fighting demon babies in abandoned orphanage.
Part Dr. Strange, part Spider-Man or Invincible, The Occultist is mentored by a Mr. Charles, a normal looking enough middle aged fat guy addicted to hamburgers and ice cream. Will Mr. Charles’ diet be the death of him, or is something more mystical at stake?
Any chance to see Mike Norton’s art is a true pleasure, and we can tell he’s having fun with this one. In a dream/mind meld sequence we see a monkey riding a pig, a bee riding a tricycle and day of the dead skulls. Why? No reason. Just a trip through a young lady’s brain while she sleeps.
Tim Seeley is on fire as well, this book has a classic feel to it, and though I think a first series has already come out, these characters and this world is very new and one I’d like to spend some time in.
THE SHADOW NOW #1 of 6
WRITER: David Liss
ARTIST: Colton Worley
Publication Date: October 2, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Dynamite Publishing
UPC: 82771400507300111
Buy it HERE
The Shadow has been laying a bit low in the East as he headed there for a ‘few decades’.
Now, back at his luxurious Westchester County estate, POSING AS HIS OWN GRANDSON, Lamont Cranston (posing as the Third) is already knee deep in Russian mafia setups, inside jobs and terrorist attacks on The Met.
After visiting his old enemy Shiwan Khan in prison, Cranston’s anti-aging is revealed to be tied to meditation and mastery of Shambhala techniques. A face to face confrontation as The Golden Master sits in solitary may reveal a snake in Cranston’s organization…will The Shadow reveal this traitor before it is too late? Only The Shadow knows!
Another great take on The Shadow from Dynamite. Novelist David Liss’ idea to put Cranston on ice for a few years give this the Captain America time jump to put The Shadow in present day, a different take on modernizing comic characters.
Fully painted art by The Spider artist Colton Worley wraps up this package in a nice red scarf! He uses The shapes of the main hero to break up the page, á la J.H. Williams III and we love it.
These books aren’t wildly popular, but that is too bad for the Wednesday crowd, because Dynamite’s pulp heroes might be among the best stories being produced right now.
MOTH CITY #5 (Season #3, part 1)
Writer/Artist: Tim Gibson
Price: $1.99
Imprint: Flying Whities
Page Count: ~200 pages
Digital Release Date: October 2, 2013
Age Rating: 15+ Only
Buy it HERE
This week marks the beginning of Season 3 for our favorite digital comic, Moth City. Tim Gibson (along with his developers and designers) have fully explored and taken advantage of the digital medium, adding cinematic faux-animation to the book.
Besides how great the book looks, with silky wet brush strokes colored with cerulean and orange hues, the intense western story about an arms dealer in the 1930s is captivating. The ships are all burned, and now another threat is imminent for the citizens of the island of Moth City.
Start at the beginning and see the future of digital comics. At $1.99 an issue, less than $10 gets you a new world to immerse yourself in. Especially great on iPad, Kindle or in the Browser. PDF versions are OK, but the comic is meant to be read on the app.
