Geeks logo

Shadecraft #1 Advance Review

Image Comics

By Steven LeitmanPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
1

Shadecraft #1 Advance Review

Image Comics 2021

Written by Joe Henderson

Illustrated by Lee Garbett

Coloured by Antonio Fabela

Lettered by Simon Bowland

Zadie Lu is afraid of her own shadow. She’s a teenager, so she REALLY should have grown out of it by now, right? But something weird is happening in her small town. Zadie could swear the shadows are coming to life. Watching her. Trying to KILL her. But how do you fight something you can’t even touch? And how does all of this tie into her FAMILY, of all things?

First of all I love the name Zadie, it’s unique, different and totally fits in with the whole idea of what we see here. I love the opening here as it’s everything its supposed to be and then some. As a teenager who’s done something similar and yes I did think i’d die from embarrassment but hey who knew that you really couldn’t do that?, I can relate to Zadie right from the get go. Of course the other part about the shadows well not so much there, still I have to say that it grabs the readers’ imagination and lets it run wild alongside her and that is how you draw folks into the story.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. High School for me was a living hell and if anyone thinks kids will ever stop bullying classmates well they are dead wrong and to see how Zadie is treated, again I can completely relate. So that the story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development is amazing and as we see how the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter it really helps to flesh them out as real believable people. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, introducing the characters and the world they all live in it turns out this is an exceptionally good read.

With how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and strengthen how we see Zadie we really do get this amazing sense of who she is. The way that everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is pretty darn marvellous to see.

I love the interiors here as well. The linework is gorgeous and how we see the varying weights being utilised to create the level and quality of detail work is stunning. Plus the faces, facial expressions and body language really do a lot to further the characterisation, and they are just plain pretty. How we see the backgrounds being utilised throughout and how important they are to the story is phenomenal! Okay the smokey shadows are beyond hellaciously brilliantly rendered here. How it all works within the composition within the panels to create the depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story is brilliantly done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show an amazingly talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is mindbogglingly brilliant as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work, or work on the shadows, is mind blowingly awesome!

Just the way that this first issue reads you know this is going to be something huge! It has this whole ring of realness in how the characters are portrayed and with such stark reality I might add. Add into that the whole other thing she has to deal with and suddenly Zadie’s life is a cross between real life and a show on the CW or Freeform. I am not mad at myself because I have to wait even longer till the next issue comes out because I want to read more and “I want it now Daddy”!!!

comics
1

About the Creator

Steven Leitman

Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.