I'm glad to be able to read this second volume. I definitely enjoy the storyline and the characters more than I thought I would.

'Shadowman, Vol. 2: Dead and Gone' by Andy Diggle with various artists follows Shadowman on his journey after death.

Jack Boniface is dead, but his spirit lives on, and it's on a journey to discover the first Shadowman. The first stop is 1940s New York and a man who wields the power. Next is a plantation during the Civil War. The final stop is the plains of Africa. Jack realizes that even this may not be the first instance, but he has things to do.

I liked this trip through time and seeing previous versions of Shadowman. I also liked the unique art that each story got with unique artists Shawn Martinbrough, Doug Braithwaite and Renato Wolverine. My favorite art was probably the fully painted African story.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Valiant Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

While I've been enjoying the Shadowman series so far (including the historical element of this trade), the number of issues and the overall pacing of the series has been getting to me. Only 3-4 issues per trade paperback leaves me feeling short-changed, and only so much can happen in each collection, which slows down whatever the impending conflagration/face-off/show-down is.

Note: I received a Copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

After finishing the Fist Volume of Shadowman by Andy Diggle I was a little perturbated to read the Second Volume by him. Boy! oh! boy! I was utterly surprised by the amount of storytelling and detail went into this book.

If you have read my review of Shadowman Vol.1 you must have understood how sceptical I was with regards to the way the story was travelling and how I couldn't connect myself to the story well but here I'm told about the History of Shadowman from the time it all started, Shadowman's enemy and the history of Loa in itself. Now, I feel a deeper connection with the story and the comics altogether.

I forgot to mention how great the art of the book is in my review for Volume one and I regret doing that but I must mention here, I just love the way the artist is so in sync with the Storyteller and how it enables me to enjoy the reading experience. I highly recommend reading this after Volume 1 and I sure you would feel the same way I did after completing both the volumes and would crave for more.

Happy Reading :)

Jack goes back in time and steps into various Shadowmen's lives. We see the origins of the Shadowman and for the first time I like where Shadowman is headed. The three flashbacks are all pretty great. Diggle seems to have a handle on the character unlike Peter Milligan's run which was terrible. Shadowman was my favorite Valiant title in the 90's. I'm glad to see it finally starting to return to form.

The essence of the reluctant hero who is motivated by that secondary voice inside him has been the motivation of many a superhero and villain. The texture of the upcoming “Venom” specifically adheres to that idea. With “Shadowman Vol. 2 – Dead & Gone” [Andy Diggle/Valient/112pgs], that aspect of consciousness is percolated beyond the grave in how that inherent soul or “loa” transfers back in time. Starting off within the gangster perception where (like “The Shadow” but better dressed), the Shadowman finds those moving against the law while himself staying outside the law. The jazz perception and his texture within that (in his civilian mode as a saxaphonist) works well despite being passive in an altruistic way. Once a mystical scythe opens him up to betrayal, his luck proceeds downhill fast until he himself is cornered by the very gangsters he fought who don’t know his real identity. The following loa intrusions in the Old West and loss of identity within defending slaves against brutal owners gives way to a prehistoric preamble involving an overlord who himself is possessed by a loa. Our protagonist exists in between the darkness but gets to witness and then become a part of the story being shown to him. The ideal presents that it is the dark will of man that can corrupt the immortal texture of a loa. The loa is trapped between two worlds (and like “Venom”) seems to slightly bend to the will of its host whilst still moving towards their ultimate goal, whatever that may be. There seem to also be ethereal forces at work whose will is different but seemingly is beyond the comprehension of man. The rust colored progressions from the dark blacks and blues of the early 20th century give the story an aspect of earthen connection which leads in distinctive parallel to the story’s epiologue and resolution which speaks more to a search for self than the defeat of evil.

C

By Tim Wassberg

Oh dear. All I'm going to remember from this volume is the publisher's ineptitude, and their posting the first book a second time on review sites. I certainly won't remember this dire hodge-podge, that has as little connection to the story of the first book as a caterpillar does with an elephant. Things just go off on uninteresting tangents until it forces a link to the real story, meaning the whole thing just feels utterly, utterly disposable. A shame, through and through.

Decent volume, but not as good as vol. 1. The art shines, the plot didn't fully engage me.

Shadowman #2 is a mixed bag, not leaving me hopeful for the future of the series.

Jack Boniface is now Shadowman. After surviving a place called Deadside, he is learning about his legacy as Shadowman. He learns about his loa. What is loa? There is something dark in New Orleans. It escaped as did Jack when he was returning to earth. What is this dark creature? There is also another problem for Jack as a cartel assassin is after him. Will Jack be successful and do what he needs to do to survive?

In this colorful graphic novel, I learned much about Shadowman. It is fascinating! I had not been aware of Shadowman before reading this. I am now a fan of Shadowman! Don’t miss out reading and enjoying this volume!

Shadowman Volume 2 expands on all the supernatural adventure and creative characters that made the first book work well for me. I’m starting to think I would enjoy anything by Andy Diggle.

I was waiting volume 2. This was really good. We learned history of Shadowman. It was full of actions. I love the artwork. Some parts are bit confusing. Overall it was a great graphic novel.

In Shadowman (2018) Volume 2: Dead and Gone we follow our main character Jack Boniface (Shadowman) as he falls back in time and learns more about his loa. Jack is the sixth Shadowman, a mortal bound to a violent voodoo spirit of immense power. Jack has never been able to handle his loa very well. Now he learns why en maybe even how to control his voodoo spirit.

Again, from page 1, this story is action packed. You get to travel through time with Jack and get a whole lot of backstory to the Shadowman legend and the loa the mortals have been bound to.

The artwork in this was very dark and sometimes it was a bit difficult for me to see what exactly was happening in a frame.

In my review of volume 1 I said I was hoping to get a little more backstory and some explanation about all the characters that are introduced in the first volume. Glad to see that there was a whole lotta backstory to the Shadowman revealed in volume 2! All in all, stellar continuation of the Shadowman series.

Diggle's work on the first volume of this series didn't really impress me. So I wasn't expecting a lot going into this book. The concept sounded cool though because it was going to dive into the history of the Shadowman. This meant opening up the magical side of the Valiant universe a little more and showing the possibilities of the character without radically changing Jack Boniface.

There are three different time periods visited in this book: the 1940s, the late 1700s, and ancient Africa. Each of these adds to the series and foreshadows things to come. I like that the art changes based on the time period that is taking focus. There are a few moments that the art doesn't work for me. Specifically these occur during the few scenes that take place during the present, and the perspective felt off in those moments. Generally, the art is very well done though.

This is the Shadowman book that I've been waiting for. I feel like Valiant is making a concerted effort to bring this character back around and so far it has been working out pretty well. This book is one that I think a new reader could pick up and get excited about the character.

A quick gritty volume from the Shadowman universe. I'll definitely recommend this one to our patrons.

Review for Shadowman Vol 1 : Fear of the Dark
(The file supplied is not Vol 2 as described, in fact it is for vol 1)
The artwork in this book is spectacular, dramatic and dynamic with some beautiful splash pages. As someone who is not familiar with this character, I found the storyline quite confusing, we jump into the middle of the action with very little in the way of introduction or explanation, in fact it wasn;t until the final third of the book that things started to come together.

Great story telling and great art.

Jack makes it back from the deadside but without his scythe he is powerless against Baron Samedi. Meanwhile the abettor has been fighting a running battle against evil in New Orleans. When Jack crosses back the two of them decide to fight the evil of the town together but behind the darkness shadowy forces are gathering and before long Jack is back where he started.

If you are a fan of Shadowman then you will enjoy the twists, turns, monsters and fights in this second volume.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.