Shadowman/Rae Sremmurd #1
Publisher: Valiant
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: Renato Guedes
Cover: Renato Guedes
I’m always hesitant to when comics crossover to other mediums especially with the music industry. So when Valiant announced that Shadowman would be crossing paths with the Hip Hop duo Rae Sremmurd, my side eye was immediately present. Mainly because you can probably count on one hand how many of these types of crossovers have been enjoyable.
With a familiar intro to the story’s villain Rahal immediately makes it clear that this crossover will have a strong foundation if anything. Mississippi is already home to many stories of voodoo and supernatural lore but it’s also home to Swae and Jim who have aspirations of making it big. Rahal quickly establishes these two and gives the characters some substance for readers who may not be familiar with who they are. Even better is the theme of “selling one’s soul” to achieve wealth and fame. Though there is a distinct difference between the deal made in the beginning and what happens to Swae and Jim. This is the tale that helps solidify things and even with Shadowman’s involvement known Rahal brings in a surprise character to help tie it all together. The character’s involvement might not be a huge surprise to some but it was nice to see and This is the moment where even if you doubted the validity of the story he just shoves all of that aside and delivers a supernatural adventure through the Deadside to save the duo. Rahal also makes Shadwoman seem more human which is a nice change since he’s been such a tortured character as of late. He’s not the brooding monster we’ve come to see the past few months and seems to be getting back to his old self.
Being that Renato Guedes is providing the artwork here just know that you are getting one spectacular looking story here. Shadowman’s character design has gone through several changes since his time as Magpie and what we get is a scaled down version of that with slight tweaks to the iconic mask that lends itself to what longtime fans may remember. The sepia toned opening is probably one of the best looking sequences of the issue. Using this color to show a flashback isn’t new but when done right it makes the entire scene rich and gives it more weight. The action sequences are bloody and definitely invokes that dark mood necessary when we journey to the Deadside.
The only complaint would have to be with how events played out for the gentleman at the beginning of the story. Like I said earlier, his set of circumstances differ from the boys and probably should have elicited a different outcome. Overall, Shadowman/Rae Sremmurd is a fun one-shot issue that at least proved to me it could exceed expectations and deliver a supernatural story worthy of Shadowman’s appearance!
Infinite Speech
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