Review: Shadecraft #3
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer:Â Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela
Colors: Antonio Fabela
Letters:Â Simon Bowland
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Zadie Lu is afraid of her own shadow. She’s a teenager, so she REALLY should have grown out of it by now, right? But something weird is happening in her small town. Zadie could swear the shadows are coming to life.
Zadie has discovered the source of the shadows…and that they can be controlled. Dare she try and wield this incredible power? Why yes….and she is pretty good at it!
But when someone Zadie cares about ends up in danger because of her, the fun and games become a matter of life or death…
From the creative team that brought you the Eisner-nominated SKYWARD, writer JOE HENDERSON (showrunner of Netflix’s Lucifer) and artist LEE GARBETT (Captain Marvel). Join Zadie Lu as she ventures into the shadows to face her fears and discovers a legacy she never knew she had.
Positives
Joe Henderson links Zadie with a mentor. This issue moves at a great pace that provides some insight to both Zadie and the reader as to some of the origins of these powers, but also, a chance for Zadie to harness it for good. Hint – There is a foreshadow moment (yeah…no pun intended) that the power could be used for evil as well.
There is even a title for the mentoring…Shadecraft 101. We now learn that shadows react more to negative emotions than happy ones. Here we go!
Here is hoping that Henderson keeps Zadie in the vein of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer mode rather than a dark Anakin Skywalker view.
Given the comic banter between Zadie and her shadow brother Ricky (Did you eat my soul?), I think Henderson recognizes when to switch gears between a serious moment and the high school banter that takes place between siblings! In other words, he “gets” the teen world!
Positives 2.0
Lee Garbett is a clean artist. Colors pop and backgrounds are vivid, but to paint a book that has characters as vibrant as Zadie and as dark as the shadows is pure talent. Colors and shadows are a tough medium to work with! In making a shadow look both friendly at one point and down right scary in another frame. This is no Peter Pan shadow effect from Disney. This takes some time and thought! Great job!
Negatives
None…Nada….but watch out for the cliff hanger ending! From writing to art, this comic has it all!
Verdict
Henderson and Garbett are on the verge of providing what could be a really premier comic. There is still time to get issue #1 before this thing gets red hot!   This book is well worth the investment and the cover art keeps getting better and better!