Book Of Shadows #3 Review

 

Book Of Shadows #3 Cover B by David Romero

 

Book Of Shadows #3 returns us to the realm of magic, monsters, and mass destruction. Exarch Fane and his hellhounds are blazing a trail of devastation upon the earth. Can Shadowman, Persephone, Punk Mambo, Doctor Mirage, and Gilad Anni-Padda (the Eternal Warrior) end the reign of terror?  

Books have power. This is especially true with the Book Of Shadows. Exarch Fane may hold this magical book, which manifests as a skeleton. But who controls whom?

 

LETTERING

While most of the lettering comes as easy-to-read upper-case lettering, the flowing script of the Book Of Shadows will prove more difficult. Thankfully, the font size is large, and won't strain your eyes as you parse what the skeleton (the ultimate audiobook) is telling Exarch Fane. Further on in the issue, you'll discover why Dave Sharpe made the Book Of Shadows lettering looks the way it does.

 

COLORING

Nick Filardi's graduated colors and tones imbue Book Of Shadows #3 with incredible realism. Our heroes, the villains, and the hellhounds leap off the page. Some pages take on the beauty of stain glass and light sources are always clear.

 

ART (PENCILING & INKING)

Vicente Cifuentes' characters are well proportioned and highly detailed. Heroes look heroic, and villains look suitably villainous. Backgrounds are nearly always filled in. Page composition pleases the eye. 

It's not hard to be drawn into this issue, if you'll excuse the pun.

 

STORY 

Earlier issues have set the stakes. The souls of those Exarch Fane kills are not passing on to the Deadside. Nor will all the souls on all the Earth satisfy the Book Of Shadows. The artifact imbues Exarch Fane with power, but the longer he uses it, the more it destroys. Ultimately, all worlds--the entire universe--could be sacrificed to feed its insatiable hunger.

At the heart of this series resides Persephone, a woman birthed from the Deadside. She wields enormous power. Yet she lacks memories, identity, and cannot call on all the difficult life-lessons of growing-up to aid her decision-making. Can Shadowman aid her in becoming a responsible force for good?

Cullen Bunn imbues this series with powerful artifacts. In addition to Fane's Book Of Shadows, Punk Mambo wields the Ring Of Soloman, and the Eternal Warrior now carries the Abyssal Sword. Bunn melds the ancient realm of magic with modern science in the way he describes the ring's power.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Book Of Shadows #3 follows the ongoing drama between Shadowman, Persephone, and Punk Mambo. In addition to Persephone's struggles for identity and growth, both Doctor Mirage and Gilad Anni-Padda reveal different aspects of their characters. The stakes prove so dire that even Shadowman lightens the mood with a little humor. 

This is a gorgeous book, crackling with action and drama. Full marks to Valiant Entertainment and the entire creative team for Book Of Shadows #3.

Dragon Dave 

BOOK OF SHADOWS #3
Written by CULLEN BUNN
Art by VICENTE CIFUENTES
Colors by NICK FILARDI
Letters by DAVE SHARPE
Cover A by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
Cover B by DAVID ROMERO
Cover C by TRAVIS ESCARFULLERY
Pre-order Cover by KELLEY JONES

Exarch Fane, an ancient, otherworldly warlord, is intent on sacrifi cing our world to satiate his hunger. Only a team of mystic heroes stands in his way. But while three heroes—SHADOWMAN, PUNK MAMBO, and PERSEPHONE—attempt to stop Fane from forging the Chain of Ruin, DOCTOR MIRAGE and the ETERNAL WARRIOR pass through the veil of death to discover the BOOK OF SHADOWS’ terrible secrets.

On sale January 25th | 32 pages, full color | $3.99 US | T+

Preview: Book Of Shadows #3

 

Book Of Shadows #3 Cover A by Rafael Albuquerque

 

If you've been missing Shadowman, you're in luck. This month our dark hero returns. But if Rafael Albuquerque's cover is any indication, he may not be around for long.

Enjoy this free preview of Book Of Shadows #3, courtesy of the good folks at Valiant Entertainment.

Evil returns and the Dark Feast continues in BOOK OF SHADOWS #3!

  

The battle against EXARCH FANE and The Book of Shadows continues as Valiant's Dark Defenders are forced to split up. SHADOWMAN, PUNK MAMBO, and the terrifyingly powerful PERSEPHONE stay on Earth to handle FANE's hordes while DOCTOR MIRAGE and ETERNAL WARRIOR journey into The Veil to investigate the source of Fane's power!

 

  

Exarch Fane, an ancient, otherworldly warlord, is intent on sacrificing our world to satiate his hunger. Only a team of mystic heroes stands in his way. But while three heroes—SHADOWMAN, PUNK MAMBO, and PERSEPHONE—attempt to stop Fane from forging the Chain of Ruin, DOCTOR MIRAGE and the ETERNAL WARRIOR pass through the veil of death to discover the BOOK OF SHADOWS’ terrible secrets.

BOOK OF SHADOWS #3 is written by CULLEN BUNN, art by VICENTE CIFUENTES, colored by NICK FILARDI, and lettered by DAVE SHARPE. BOOK OF SHADOWS #3 features covers by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE (Cover A), DAVID ROMERO (COVER B), TRAVIS ESCARFULLERY (COVER C) and KELLEY JONES (Pre-order Variant). 

Will Shadowman survive? Can any of our Valiant heroes stand before Fane's might?

Find out on Wednesday, January 25, when Book Of Shadows #3 storms into your local comic shop.

Dragon Dave

Shadowman Remastered Named Best Retro Game

 

VALIANT’S SHADOWMAN: REMASTERED NAMED BEST RETRO GAME OF 2022 BY DIGITAL FOUNDRY

The Deadside dominated 2022 as SHADOWMAN: REMASTERED from Valiant Entertainment and Nightdive Studios was named the Best Retro Game of the Year from noted ReedPop affiliate site Digital Foundry. 

Valiant’s SHADOWMAN character is one of the many popular characters in Valiant’s connected universe of more than 2,000 characters. Co-created in 1992 by Jim Shooter, David Lapham, and Steve Englehart, SHADOWMAN has resonated with Valiant fans throughout the years, making it an obvious choice for the breakout 1999 SHADOWMAN video game.

Resurrected and remastered, SHADOWMAN: REMASTERED gives new life to the cult classic third person shooter video game, giving players control of the titular character as he protects humanity from the terrors of The Deadside. The remastered edition brings new levels not found in the original plus many modern video game conventions, including 4K widescreen support, anti-aliasing, dynamic shadow mapping, per-pixel lighting, and many other platform specific improvements.

 

Link to video: Shadowman Remastered Launch Trailer

 

Senior Staff Writer John Linneman takes video game fans through Digital Foundry’s annual Top Games of the Year awards in a 40 minute video, naming SHADOWMAN: REMASTERED the top retro game of 2022. He goes on to say about SHADOWMAN:

“The exploration, finding secrets and slowly unraveling the secrets of Deadside still manages to thrill all these years later.” 

“The level design is exceptional and delivers a feeling of adventure that you find in very few modern games.” 

“If you enjoy old-school, hard-as-nails action-adventure games from yesteryear, I can’t recommend Shadow Man enough!”

 

Link to video: The John Linneman Collection

 

“All of us at Nightdive Studios are very proud of the work that we did on SHADOWMAN: REMASTERED, in particular our restoration of the formerly lost content,” said Larry Kuperman, Director of Business Development at Nightdive Studios. “The feedback from our fans has been almost entirely positive, and the recognition from the media, most especially from a source as well respected as Digital Foundry, has made all the hard work worthwhile.”

SHADOWMAN: REMASTERED is available now for Windows PC via Steam, GOG, the Epic Game Store, and on the respective storefronts for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch consoles.

 

___________________________________________________________________________

About DMG Entertainment

DMG Entertainment is a global media and entertainment company based in Beverly Hills, CA. Founded by Dan Mintz, the company portfolio has grown to include diverse holdings across film, television, comic book publishing, gaming, and location-based entertainment. Operating as both a production and distribution entity, DMG Entertainment is best known for films such as Looper and Iron Man 3 and the #1 box-office release of Bloodshot feature starring Vin Diesel.

About Valiant Entertainment

Valiant Entertainment, a subsidiary of DMG Entertainment, founded by Dan Mintz, is a leading character-based entertainment company that owns and controls the third most extensive library of superheroes behind Marvel and DC. With more than 90 million issues sold and a library of over 2,000 characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, Archer & Armstrong, and many more, Valiant is one of the most successful publishers in the history of the comic book medium. For more information, visit Valiant on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and ValiantEntertainment.com. For Valiant merchandise and more, visit ValiantStore.com.

About Nightdive Studios

Based in Vancouver, Washington, Nightdive Studios is a dedicated team of industry veterans committed to restoring the classic PC game titles of the past and making them accessible to a new generation of gamers. Hit titles from Nightdive Studios include System Shock 2, System Shock Enhanced Edition, Turok, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Shadowman Remastered, and PowerSlave Exhumed. The team is currently working on the remake of System Shock with an expected release date of March 2023. More info can be found at the company’s website at www.nightdivestudios.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/NightDiveStudios or via Twitter at @NightDiveStudio.

About Digital Foundry

Digital Foundry was founded in 2004 and began publishing tech analysis on Eurogamer in 2007, with a YouTube channel following the next year. Digital Foundry specializes in tech analysis of games and hardware, using their own ‘bespoke’ tools for frame-rate analysis – covering everything from console, PC and beyond.

Digital Foundry’s ranks have grown significantly since its inception. As directed by Richard Leadbetter, the team today produces edited video content for YouTube and Patreon, as well as guides, reviews and other articles on Eurogamer.net.

Happy Martin Luther King Day

 

Have you heard the news? 

I'm coming back from the Deadside...

And in the same month as one of my fave holidays!

 

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Black Lives Matter!!

Black Superheroes rule!!!

The X-O Manowar Christmas Project

 

Last month, dangerous Dan Acree, administrator of the Something Valiant Facebook group, set a challenge before the members: create a Valiant-themed stocking. I was in the midst of a couple projects, and my wife and I were scrambling to get presents mailed out to family and friends before we left for the holidays. Still, there's something inspiring about a challenge...

After starting the stocking at home, we found the rest of what we needed to complete it over the holidays. We finished on December 23rd, only twenty-four hours or so before the entry deadline. The remaining evening and day gave us time to make sure we were pleased with it, and didn't need to add any finishing touches.

 

Working on this stocking with my wife proved a real blast. I found the collaboration--the give and take of ideas--challenging and fun. Thanks Dan, for challenging us to stretch our collective creative muscles and make Valiant a joyful part of our holidays. 

Naturally, we'll be hanging our X-O Manowar stocking from the mantle each December from now on too. That'll be something for Santa to look forward to, every time he climbs down our chimney.

Dragon Dave

X-O-Lent Wishes

 

 

What am I doing

Up here in this tree?

Just ringing in the New Year

And an X-O-Lent 2023!

Be Unconquerable.