Shadowman is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

who appears in comic books published by

Valiant 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 ...

. 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 li ...

, and artist

David Lapham David Lapham is an American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on the independent comic book '' Stray Bullets''. Career David Lapham started his career in 1990 as a penciller at Valiant Comics. He went on to wor ...

. 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, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

, 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 ...

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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

. 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

, 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

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 Dari ...

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 (comics), Conan th ...

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 ...

, 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 '' Thunderbolts ...

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, and ...

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 Layton ...

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 star ...

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 debt ...

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 Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

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

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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 ...

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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 Au ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

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, N ...

, and PC. A sequel, entitled '' Shadow Man: 2econd Coming,'' was released in 2002 as a

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

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. Pl ...

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