Dark Horse Comics 2017
Story and Words by Neil Gaiman
Script and Layouts by P. Craig Russell
Illustrated by Scott Hampton
“Somewhere in America”
P. Craig Russell & Lovern Kindzierski
Lettered by Rick Parker
Shadow Moon just got out of jail, only to discover his wife is dead. Defeated, broke, and uncertain as to where to go from here, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who employs him to serve as his bodyguard—thrusting Shadow into a deadly world of the supernatural, where ghosts of the past come back from the dead, and a brewing war between old and new gods hits a boiling point.
I read the book back in 2001 and thought wow was it just one helluva good read. I mean it’s Neil Gaiman and his mind and imagination and way with words can be utterly astounding to the average person like myself. That it’s sixteen years later and it’s being turned into a comic book series and a television series is wonderful. Why because so much time has passed and while I may not remember the details of the book after all this time I do remember the feeling reading it gave me so now it’s a chance to rediscover it all over again from a new fresh perspective. Also we’re talking P. Craig Russell doing the adaptation as well as some original material in this so yeah Dark Horse has an instant hit destined to be a classic in this.
So while i’m enchanted by the story and how we meet Shadow and getting to know him i’m enthralled with the vision Scott Hampton provides in bringing this to life. Right off the bat the castle like prison in it’s shades of stone grey just hit me and left an indelible impression. Actually the entire issue left me thinking of just how darn talented he is. Shadow himself with those incredible light hazel or blue eyes, the way he brings these characters to life and gives each one this personality just couldn’t have been any better. His use of page layouts through angles, perspective and use of backgrounds or lack thereof are as instrumental to the story as the words.
So while many will know what this is about the fact that it feels fresh and new all over again cannot be underrated. I mean getting this introduction to the story under my belt so to speak and having a chance to meet and get to know Shadow Moon and see something of what’s in store for him makes me twitch with anticipation.
For those that haven’t read the novel then they are in for a pure treat. The adaptation here is utterly spectacular and hits everything exactly the way it needs to for maximum impact. It’s no wonder Dark Horse is a leader in creative storytelling coming from existing franchises.