Shadowman #3

Up until now, I thought Shadowman had it all: action, blood, violence, great art, excellent storytelling. What more could a man want? Yes, naked woman, of course, ok but what ELSE? A talking monkey in a top hat? YES! Who wouldn't love one of those? That's what Jack Boniface finds when he is brought to the Deadside in the exceptional third issue of Shadowman from Valiant Entertainment.

Not a moment is wasted in this issue. Immediately, Mr. Twist bashes into Dox and Alyssa's hideout, forcing Jack and Alyssa to escape into the Deadside while Dox is captured. As described by the monkey, who serves as Jack's guide, the Deadside is a netherworld, an "afterlife for some - for others a way station to places beyond." Zircher, of course, expertly depicts the dark emptiness of this world and the ghosts and other odd creatures that inhabit it, but colorist Brian Reber practically steals the show in many panels. This issue does nothing if not prove that Reber is an absolute essential component in making this book's art as consistently fantastic as it is. He brings the backgrounds to life like surrealist Monet paintings and his coloring on the ghosts that attack Alyssa make you want to turn the lights off and see if they'll actually glow in the dark.

The art in this book is almost so good the story doesn't matter, but the writing is characteristically superb by Justin Jordan. The dialogue is spot on, and especially great for Mr. Twist and the monkey. Mr. Twist has been a perfect villain from the beginning and just gets better every month. The monkey is a welcome addition to the cast and steals every scene he's in - I hope we see more of him in the future. The plot is also good, but I don't want to say much about it to avoid spoiling things. I'll just say that it is as good as you've come to expect from this team, if not better.

Honestly, if Shadowman keeps being this consistently great, I am going to run out of adjectives to describe it. It is one of the best of Valiant's stellar lineup and if you aren't reading it, you really need to check it out.