Writer: Joe Henderson
Artist: Lee Garbett
Color Artist: Antonio Fabela
Cover Artist: Lee Garbett
Publisher: Image Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Previously, Zadie is a high-schooler who was attacked by living shadows, only to find out that her comatose brother’s soul has become her shadowy guardian. Now she’s trying to figure things out, and came across a school guidance counselor who knows more than she’s letting on. Now Shadecraft #3 opens up the door to some answers and new problems for Zadie.
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Review:
In my previous review of Issue #2, I said that Zadie and Ricky’s reasoning for thinking Angela was linked to the shadow monsters was very flawed. Despite that, the comic does provide some good and straightforward answers about Angela and why she’s there. They even manage to tie it all into her mentorship role as a counselor.
The big reveal about Zadie being the source of the living shadows is cool and also pretty straightforward as well. Essentially, like most superpowers, her abilities of “Shadecraft” are linked to her emotions. Now there’s no big origin story given for the abilities themselves, but the comic does provide some possibilities for later issues.
The bigger point is how this directly links the comic series’ teen drama to the supernatural events without the former dragging down the latter. They impact each other and provide some causality to the series’ past and present events. For example in this issue, Zadie tries to take on one of her hostile shadow monsters but is caught in some teenage drama that complicates things.
As ever, the shadow monsters are illustrated very well by Lee Garbett, especially when they’re attacking others. There are specific shots throughout the comic that show off the shadow monsters in action. However, the shadow monsters drawn on actual walls looked less impressive.
The source of the monster’s rage and aggression is directly stated and through this conflict Zadie and Ricky get to the heart of the issue and why she felt the way she did. Showing the two continue to develop together as the leading duo. The story provides a strong and direct path for action, drama, and character development for Zadie in this issue. Nothing grand but certainly compelling.
Final Thoughts:
Shadecraft #3 follows up on the previous issue’s big revelation and starts delving into the titular “Shadecraft“. The comic provides some direct answers for Zadie, her powers, and the nature of the shadow monsters. It also finds a way to directly link the teen drama to the supernatural monster attacks for the better.