Shadowman is a
fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim E ...
. The character
debuted in ''Shadowman'' #1 (May 1992), created by writers
Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
and
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early lif ...
, and artist
David Lapham. Shadowman appears in his own series and
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
, as well as numerous other Valiant comics.
Shadowman is a lineage and four
characters
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
have taken up the mantle thus far in the comics and video games. The series protagonist is Jack Boniface.
Since his introduction, Shadowman has been a key character in the
Valiant Universe
The Valiant Universe is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles that are published by Valiant Comics take place.
The majority of the characters within said universe were created by Jim Shooter, and Bob Lay ...
and has sold over 5.3 million copies to date, with 80 issues published. Shadowman comics have been translated into a number of languages, including
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
,
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
and
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, among others. New Orleans mayor Sidney Barthelemy officially proclaimed January 17, 1993 as “Shadowman Day.”
Publication history
Original Valiant continuity
''Shadowman'' debuted in 1992 as a flagship title in the
Valiant Universe
The Valiant Universe is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles that are published by Valiant Comics take place.
The majority of the characters within said universe were created by Jim Shooter, and Bob Lay ...
. After one year in publication, ''Shadowman'' was selling over 100,000 comics books a month. Shadowman would go on to guest star in a number of Valiant comics, fighting alongside other heroes in the
Valiant Universe
The Valiant Universe is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles that are published by Valiant Comics take place.
The majority of the characters within said universe were created by Jim Shooter, and Bob Lay ...
, most notably
"Unity" and "Unity 2000".
Acclaim continuity
''Shadowman'' eventually sold more than 5 million copies in total before
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide ...
bought Valiant for $65 million in 1996 and started a new ''Shadowman'' series under
Acclaim Comics
Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment ...
. Acclaim also published ''Shadowman'' video games. In preparation for the leap to video games a new action-oriented Shadowman took up the mask in comics. The second series of comics (spelled ''
Shadow Man'') featured the iteration of Shadowman that would gain huge popularity in the successful Shadow Man video game franchise. In a similar manner to the original iteration, the hero fought alongside other characters in the Acclaim Comics Universe, notably
Unity 2000
Unity is an 18-issue crossover story published by Valiant Comics in the summer of 1992. It was conceived by Valiant's Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter, who wanted to revolutionize the crossover concept in comics. The ''Unity'' story was serialized in ...
.
People who have worked on ''Shadowman'' characters and storylines include
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
Editor-in Chief
Joe Quesada
Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...
, former Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief
Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
,
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
,
Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...
,
Rob Liefeld
Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...
,
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian'' from 1970 to 197 ...
,
Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano (; born 1954) is an English comic book writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers which started to feature in American comics in the 1980s. He is best known as the first writer of the comic book s ...
,
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
,
David Lapham,
Rags Morales,
Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza (born December 31, 1961) is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as ''X-Men'', '' X-Force'', ''New Warriors'', ''Nomad'', '' Cable'', ''Deadpool'' and ''Thunderbo ...
,
Jim Starlin
James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...
,
Bob Layton
Bob Layton (born 1953) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles such as '' Iron Man'' and ''Hercules'', and for co-founding Valiant Comics with Jim Shooter.
Early life
Bob Layt ...
,
Jimmy Palmiotti
James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film.
Early life
Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City.
Career
Palmiotti sta ...
,
Walt Simonson
Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...
and
Ashley Wood
Ashley Wood (born 1971) is Australian comic book artist and award-winning illustrator["2002 ...]
. With issue seven Bob Hall took over writing chores and continued as the primary writer on the book until the first "Shadowman" run ended with issue 43.
Acclaim shut down all comic book publishing in 2002, in anticipation of a
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
cy filing of its parent company after suffering heavy losses from its licensed sports video games. ''Shadowman'' and all other Valiant properties were sold to Valiant Entertainment.
Powers
Valiant Comics
As Shadowman, Jack possesses paranormal strength, endurance, agility, and reflexes, night vision, regenerative healing, gliding capabilities, depleted fear, and other
voodoo powers.
Valiant Entertainment
Possessee's hosted to the Shadow Loa have a great many expanded upon abilities. The natural physical enhancements & psychological reinforcements that come with being Busou Kobalamin's host remain paramount, but are also complemented by a host of other powers which accommodate them. Such as necromancy, afterlife traversal, shadow & darkness manipulation on top of mastery over the deadside and it's monstrous denizens.
In other media
Film
In 1999, Acclaim Entertainment was approached by
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
/
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
Ice Cube with a pitch to make a feature film. Acclaim declined this offer, as they were focused on the success of the video game franchise. In June 2017, it was reported that Valiant Entertainment had hired
Reginald Hudlin
Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American film screenwriter, director, producer, and comic-book writer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was P ...
to direct a film adaptation, and also co-write the screenplay with
Adam Simon
Adam Simon (born February 6, 1962) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter. His directing credits include '' Brain Dead'' (1990), '' Body Chemistry II: The Voice of a Stranger'' (1992), and '' Carnosaur'' (1993). Simon, along with p ...
.
Web series
Shadowman appears in the web series ''
Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe
''Ninjak vs The Valiant Universe'' is an American superhero action film based on characters appearing in Valiant Comics. The film stars Michael Rowe as the titular Ninjak who must do battle against his former allies, all of whom are superheroes ...
'', portrayed by
Damion Poitier
Damion Poitier (; born June 4, 1976) is an American actor and stuntman, best known for his role as Chains in ''Payday 2''. He made an uncredited appearance as Thanos in '' The Avengers'' (2012), the character's first appearance in the Marvel Cine ...
.
Video games
In 1999, ''Shadow Man'' was released on the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
,
PlayStation,
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
, and
PC. A sequel, entitled ''
Shadow Man: 2econd Coming,'' was released in 2002 as a
PlayStation 2 exclusive. In all the ''Shadow Man'' franchise has sold over 2 million copies and grossed close to 100 million dollars in revenue. Nintendo released a ''Shadow Man'' themed limited edition N64 console. Both games focus on the Acclaim Comics version of the character, Michael LeRoi.
Music
In 2015, heavy metal band
A Sound of Thunder
"A Sound of Thunder" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in ''Collier's'' magazine in the June 28, 1952, issue and later in Bradbury's collection '' The Golden Apples of the Sun'' in 1953.
P ...
released a concept album entitled ''Tales from the Deadside'' based on Shadowman. The album was released on compact disc, vinyl, and digital formats. The album features original artwork by Bob Hall and Roberto de la Torre. A limited 7 inch vinyl picture disc for album tracks "Tower of Souls" and "Punk Mambo" was also released in 2015.
Collected editions
References
External links
World of Black Heroes: Jack Boniface (Original) BiographyWorld of Black Heroes: Re-Imagined Jack Boniface BiographyWorld of Black Heroes: Mike LeRoi Biography
{{Jim Shooter
1992 comics debuts
Valiant Comics titles
Comics characters with superhuman strength
Comics adapted into video games
Comics by Steve Englehart
Comics characters with accelerated healing
Fiction about Louisiana Voodoo
Fictional characters from New Orleans
Fictional characters with superhuman senses
Valiant Comics superheroes