Shadowman (comics)
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This article is about the comic book series from Valiant Comics. For other uses of the word please see: Shadowman
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[edit] Overview
Shadowman is the popular comic book character from Valiant Comics who first appeared in May of 1992. Shadowman continued strongly with sales of 300,000 books a month until 1996 when Acclaim Entertainment, which bought Valiant for $65 million, started a new series under the Acclaim Comics banner.
The second series (spelled Shadow Man) was equally as popular and featured the Shadowman from the wildly successful video game franchise which Acclaim produced. The second series stopped in 2002, when Acclaim shut down its comic book publishing division in anticipation of a bankruptcy filing after suffering heavy losses from video games such as BMX XXX and losing its sports game licenses. Valiant Entertainment are the current owners of the Valiant catalog (including Shadowman).
Shadowman has had his likeness transferred to many other mediums including toys, trading cards, posters and a best selling video game franchise. The first Shadowman video game has sold more than two million units to date.
Shadowman was created by industry legends Jim Shooter (former Marvel Editor in Chief) and David Lapham.
Valiant Entertainment currently owns the Valiant catalogue, including Shadowman.
[edit] Valiant Comics
The VALIANT comic book starred Jack Boniface as a jazz-playing voodoo-themed superhero from New Orleans. Jack was bitten by a voodoo creature of the night who posed as a woman named Lydia. The bite somehow altered Jack's body chemistry. During the night, he became more aggressive and restless. Feeling the urge to hunt "demons", the criminals who preyed on the innocent, he adopted a costumed identity of Shadowman. At first we are unsure if he has any powers, and his battles with the evils of the night are enhanced by the fact that he is seemingly normal if slightly crazy. As the series progressed we learn that he in fact gained enhanced strength and reflexes.
During the Unity crossover, Shadowman fell in love with Elya, a pterodactyl pilot from 4001 A.D. During their time together, she revealed that Jack would die in 1999. This discovery proved to be something of a double-edged sword for the character. The knowledge that he could not die until that date gave him confidence and determination to overcome seemingly impossible odds. On the other hand, it led Shadowman to take incredible risks.
During the day Jack does not feel the urge to hunt evil but his escapades at night don't always wrap up by morning. On more than one occasion during the day he has been forced to ask himself "What would Shadowman do?". Of course, he is Shadowman but during the day his aggressive nature and devil may care attitude are much less pronounced.
When Jack has the day to himself he still finds his Shadowman persona interrupting his life. The bruises from his fights and his lack of sleep prevent him from achieving his goal of becoming a famous jazz musician and hinder his relationships. He must also deal with the fact that he is wasting the remaining years of his life (which will end in 1999) fighting evil. But when night comes the urge always proves too strong.
[edit] Video Game
Acclaim released the Shadow Man video game in November 1999 on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PC. A sequel, entitled Shadow Man: 2econd Coming was released for PlayStation 2 in 2002, following the events after the destruction of the Cathedral of Pain. The events of the first game were loosely adapted into a single issue of Shadow Man volume 3. The comics ceased publication shortly after. Note that the comics and the games seem to be set in separate continuities.
[edit] Trivia
- Shadowman has been linked to numerous stars (LL Cool J, Wesley Snipes, The Game, DMX, Will Smith) and studios (20th Century Fox, Miramax, Brigade) as a potential feature film. Before filing for bankruptcy, Acclaim were close to a deal with Miramax and DMX.
- Shadowman has a successful video game franchise. The first Shadowman video game sold one million copies on all systems, cementing it as a runaway success. This was despite the fact that Acclaim chose to market their Turok games more heavily, and the planned merchandising blitz for Shadowman - including sunglasses and other apparel - was cancelled.
- Steven J. Massarsky, one of the original co-owners of Voyager Communications, the parent company of Valiant Comics had strong connections to the music industry (for a time he managed the Allman Brothers Band among others) and used these connections to convince popular musicians to appear in Valiant Comics. Among these musicians was Aerosmith who guest starred in Shadowman #19. In the book, Master Darque creates a voodoo doll of Steven Tyler and trades Jack Boniface (Shadowman) Tyler's soul for an as yet unnamed favour.
- Shadowman made his first appearance in X-O Manowar #4. Jack Boniface can be seen playing sax in the foreground when Aric Dacia and Toyo Harada enter a bar. This appearance sent collectors into a frenzy making this book very popular. His first appearance in costume is the cover of Shadowman #1.
- Shadowman also appeared as an “Easter egg” in the console game Dead or Alive 2. Zack, one of the characters has a hidden costume that resembles Shadowman.
[edit] Comic-book cover gallery
 Shadowman #1 cover by David Lapham |
 Shadowman #4 cover by Frank Miller |
 Shadowman #19 featuring Aerosmith |
 Shadowman #43 |
