Reviews 

“Shaman” #1-3

By | February 23rd, 2016
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Characters returning from the dead remains one of the most common tropes in nearly all superhero comics. This is especially true of the mainstream corporately owned companies. We have seen no end to the dramatic and emotionally charged deaths undone because mainstream corporate superhero companies are, at their core, conservative, only after shock value, never willing to deviate from a formula, and reluctant to retire their intellectual property. But what if this mundane, over-used trope were used as a springboard for a twist on the superhero genre? “Shaman,” written by Ben Kahn with art by Bruno Hidalgo, and published through Locust Moon Press, chronicles the adventures of the sorcerer who’s tasked with bringing these characters back to life.

The first three issues of “Shaman” read like they came from creators who, once upon a time, adored superhero comics, but fell out of love with them at some point or another. It was when they took a step back and looked at the genre later that they were able to find some fresh way to approach it. Generally, superhero stories have the capacity to be interesting, but it’s rarely under the masthead of Marvel or DC, and “Shaman” is an interesting, not to mention fun, book.

These opening installments center around Zach Wu, who also serves as our point-of-entry into the story. Wu formerly worked for the Justice League-esque Cosmic Guardians as The Vanisher (due to his teleportation abilities), a role he inherited from his grandfather. But when his grandfather is brought back to life (by the Shaman of course), Wu decides it’s time to find a new line of work, and throws in with Shaman and his assistant, LL.

Kahn’s scripts are funny, fast paced, and bristling with wit. The plots are entertaining and engaging, but it’s Wu learning to see the wider scope of the world that makes for the most interesting material. A two-part story involves Shaman being tasked with resurrecting a violence-fueled alien murdered by Wu’s former boss, the big, blonde Cosmic Guardian. To complicate matters, the murder occurred after she surrendered. This, combined with Wu’s more personal stakes in the matter, lends the book far more agency and intensity than some run-of-the-mill save-the-world sort of narrative. Kahn’s bigger structure for these three issues involves Wu learning to see past the black-and-white mentality he came from, and essentially grow up.

Well, mostly grow up.

 

“There’s that word again,” Shaman tells Wu. “You’re still thinking like a superhero, in black-and-white. This? This is all gray. Get in line or get out.”

Of course, a murky moral world isn’t new to the superhero comic genre, but Kahn’s focus on the Wu as he slowly realizes what’s going on around him rings with authenticity.

Also, the art is just a blast. Fueled by fast energy, bright colors, and linework that hangs out somewhere between Rob Guillory and Taiyō Matsumoto’s work on “Tekkonkinkreet”, Bruno Hidalgo approaches every page with this kinetic and animated eye. His style is more cartoonish and exaggerated, but it perfectly fits the story. That disregard for reality and photorealistic rendering lets the book feel alive and more distinctive.

The fights are cool. Hidalgo establishes a brisk rhythm to the pages, cutting the panels in slits, but favoring clarity above everything else. You’re never at a loss for what’s going on in the action or the characters’ positioning as they come at each other. If Mad Max: Fury Road has taught us anything, it’s how much stronger a set piece can be if we understand everything that’s going on. He also gets plenty of mileage out of Wu’s teleportation ability as he pops in and out in a dust cloud to punch out his adversaries; Shaman’s magically fueled cigarettes; and LL’s magic fairy tattoos that come to life, mostly with animal attacks. He provides car chases, zombie attacks, superpowered slugfests, and high flying stunts, all of them delivered with panache and spirit.

Some of the choices in the script, however, didn’t quite hit home. For the third issue, Kahn provides us with Cosmic Guardian’s narration for some reason, in your typical caption boxes. The story had been pretty objectively told until that point, and you could argue that that narration is a parody of the sort of Frank Miller ramblings we see so often in his work, but it mostly feels lazy, like an easy way to get out of a narrative corner. In the beginning, the combined snark of LL and Shaman can be too overpowering, but this is something that balanced out as Kahn puts more scripts under his belt. There are a couple abrupt transitions — Wu and LL escaping in a car comes to mind — where it didn’t feel like the appropriate beats were at play and put a bump in the action, but these moments are few and far between, and we’re off to the next section for some more wild set pieces. A lot of these, I think, come from Kahn and Hidalgo still getting comfortable working with each other. As their collaboration strengthens, so too will the delivery of the actual narrative.

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“Shaman” issues #1, 2, and 3 make for a fun read. It’s heralded by a couple of caring creators who do well to balance the action, moral conundrums, and humor with a sense of fun. These books are great to simply look at, with coy, playful artwork, but are boosted by a smart script and sharp sense of humor. Ben Kahn and Bruno Hidalgo can be added to the list of creators still not only finding life in an overabundant genre, but also making something distinctly personal and engaging as well.

The first volume of “Shaman” can be found from Locust Moon Press (sporting a super cool cover by Farel Dalrymple) while the first three issues are available on Comixology.


Matthew Garcia

Matt hails from Colorado. He can be found on Twitter as @MattSG.

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