Shadowman #4 Spotlight: Penciling & Inking

Shadowman #4 Pre-Order Cover by Declan Shalvey

 

In Shadowman #4, the traveling horror show moves to England. There, in the suburbs of the nation's capital, an evil has slipped through into our world.

 

Having visited England five times in the last decade, I can visualize the neighborhood penciler & inker Jon Davis-Hunt is depicting. I do wish he had portrayed this area with more of the glamor that made Jack Boniface's trip to Barcelona so visually striking.

 

I also wonder why I'm not seeing any chimneys in this neighborhood. Chimneys seem such an integral part of the old houses in England. 

Come on, Jon! Show me the chimneys!

This is a really interesting pairing of panels. Up top we have Baron Samedi, displaying more nuance than possibly any other artist living today could ever show. Below, we see Baron Samedi from behind, with the inked shadows falling on his jacket. 

What is casting such interesting shadows on the fabric? The branches of nearby trees, barren of foliage, perhaps?

This panel reminds me of Jon Davis-Hunt's artwork in The Wild Storm. Jack seems dwarfed by his surroundings. It's definitely not your typical superhero panel.

 

Notice the shadows on Jack's jacket in this panel? Again, what is casting such interesting patterns? Unlike the panel with Baron Samedi, I wonder what the light source is that is creating them in this derelict building.

 

Talk about a mesmerizing panel! Jon Davis-Hunt puts so much detail into it. I wonder if the rip behind the distant figure is a physical rip in the wall, or the veil that links our world with the Deadside. It almost looks like a plant, or a tree.

While I could enthuse endlessly about Jon Davis-Hunt's art, I'll end with the following panel of Jack shifting into Shadowman. It reminds me of how the nanites visually repair Bloodshot's injuries in the movie.

 

Notice the pattern the shadows form on his shirt? Or are those shadows merely the shirt slowly turning black? 

Did you notice his chin? Why is Jack's five o'clock shadow disappearing below where the Shadowman mask appears?

As always, penciler & inker Jon Davis-Hunt dishes up a feast for the eyes--and our minds--in Shadowman #4.

Dragon Dave