Advance Review: Shadecraft #1

High school would be bad enough for Zadie Lu. Having her brother, who happens to be the most popular kid in school, in a coma, is one thing but she also has an unfortunate and completely unexplainable fear of shadows. Well, unexplainable until one tries to kill her!

There are a raft of high school books around, be it Riverdale, Sabrina or even Batgirl and Spider-Man, if you go back far enough. Zadie is that kind of on trend/not trendy kid that we have come to find slightly annoying in a “they-have-almost-they need-without-ever-knowing-it” kind of way. We also get to meet a host of side characters that will come to have an impact on Zadie no doubt. Throw in the horror mystery of the shadows and you actually have a perfect little pot boiler!

Joe Henderson, the show-runner of Netflix’s Lucifer, has crafted a tale that features a plethora of recognisable tropes. That in itself isn’t a bad thing; very few ideas nowadays are wholly original. In fact, Henderson does quite the opposite to be honest by delivering an entertaining introduction to the Zadie and her cast. There is a certain well worn charm to the book, that is until the climax of the issue. Part of the reason for this, is that Henderson’s dialogue is bang on point; there is a bully, the would be boyfriend, the bestie and the unorthodox parents, all of which get time to shine, hinting at the drama to come. It is a clever piece of writing, from a creator who is used to handling the quick quips and quick cuts of TV, which translates well in this book.

As good as the writing is here, the pièce de résistance for me is the gorgeous art of Lee Garbett fresh from a fantastic run on Captain Marvel. Garbett first came to my attention on the Steph Brown Batgirl book, which Garbett gleefully emulates in part here, with this featuring a high school setting. There is also a level of maturity to the panel layout and camera angles which gives this book a grander, perhaps darker feel in places than you may well expect. Garbett’s strong body lines sets the frame well, with facial styling that can alternate from fully detailed to emotions hinted at rather than felt. Honestly, I never get tired of Garbett’s work; this book is no exception to that rule. Antonio Fabela’s color scheme equally matches the school and horror juxtaposition, with the final act being probably the highlights with clever use of one color in particular. Finally, letterer Simon Bowland continues the great work you may have seen on a number of Dynamite books, supplying a nice easy to read font which helps to further demonstrate the emotions of certain aspects of the book.

At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss this books as another Sabrina type of affair. yet the relationships that form this book are the foundations on which Zadie will look to rise. With a charming, sometime self-deprecating character and a cast of people to interact with, Image comics, thanks to Henderson and Garbett, have another hit on the their hands,

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 5 Stars

Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Co-created & Written by; Joe Henderson
Co-created & Art by; Lee Garbett
Colors by; Antonio Fabela
Letters by; Simon Bowland
Published by; Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network