Getting a chance to sit down with anyone involved in the creative team of an exciting upcoming comic is always a treat, but this time Valiant really blew us away by giving us an opportunity to catch up with writer Cullen Bunn, artist Jon Davis-Hunt and senior editor Heather Antos to talk about the return of Valiant’s flagship horror character SHADOWMAN.
Check out the full interview below to find out more about Cullen’s masterful horror work in comics, Jon Davis-Hunt’s influences in the genre and what makes Shadowman not just a timeless character, but one who is uniquely suited to horror stories and so much more!
Writer Cullen Bunn
Comic Watch: Thank you all so much for taking the time to talk about SHADOWMAN with us here at Comic Watch. Cullen, Valiant introduced you as the Master of Horror and we all know you are well versed in the genre, so what made this project stand out to you?
Cullen Bunn: I find it interesting… and a little sad and perplexing… that I’ve never been asked to write horror in one of the big shared universes before. I love the superhero genre, but I have always thought I could make some of the horror heroes sing in a way that readers might not be expecting. So, when Heather approached me about SHADOWMAN, I jumped at the opportunity to work on the book. Heather and I have worked together for a while, and we’ve long wanted to do a scary book. And here we go. This book, I think, is scary. And there’s a lot of appeal there for me. I also think Valiant’s supernatural side is fertile soil. I wrote the PUNK MAMBO series, and it just got me more interested in exploring things that go bump in the night in this world. There are certain aspects of Shadowman’s origin and agenda that really spoke to me, that I really thought could be a springboard into some very cool storytelling possibilities. I wanted to use this as a chance to influence the supernatural side of Valiant for a long time to come.
CW: Jack Boniface a.k.a. SHADOWMAN has an exciting history with Valiant, but this series feels like the first to lean so heavily into the horror influences of the character. Can you tell us about some of your inspirations from other eras for the character at Valiant and how you hope to differentiate this vision?
CB: I feel like Jack has always been a horror hero. That’s always been part of his DNA. For this, though, we really wanted to lean into that in a way that hasn’t been done before. If you take the darkest elements of Shadowman’s past iterations… and amplified them… then you’re starting to understand the path we’re taking. Jack is still our anchor. He’s still sort of an everyman who happens to have supernatural powers and a lot of responsibility thrown on his shoulders. He still “punches” the monster. But the threats he faces are more sinister and more intense. I think this will be quite different from what you’ve seen before with Shadowman, both in terms of tone and approach. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, every issue ties into a bigger story arc, but every issue also stands alone, and we’re exploring many, many different sub-genres of horror, all through the eyes of Shadowman.
CW: You’ve mentioned this is a globe-hopping series with threats that will have a long-lasting impact on the Valiant Universe. What can you tell us about this heightened role Shadowman will play in the greater Valiant Universe and how it sets the stage for the series moving forward?
CB: For so long, Shadowman has been based in New Orleans. It’s a great setting. I love it. But I wanted to see something different, and the challenges Jack faces will draw him out of his comfort zone in more ways than one. In this series, Shadowman will be tasked with dealing with the Blights—places all over the world where the veil between our world and the Deadside have started to wear thin. When the veil begins to break down, nasty things slither through. So Shadowman is moving from place to place around the world, trying to seal the Blights up before they cause too much damage to our reality. Of course, there is more to this weakening of the Veil than meets the eye, and we’ll be introducing a major new villain into the mix. This villain, I think, could play a big role across the board in the Valiant universe.
Artist Jon Davis-Hunt
CW: Jon, you’ve had an exciting career in comics so far working with 2000 AD on Judge Dredd, DC’s Vertigo on CLEAN ROOM alongside Gail Simone and even on the Wildstorm Universe at DC. What is it about this SHADOWMAN project at Valiant that has you most excited?
Jon Davis-Hunt: I had always wanted to work on a Valiant book, ever since their big relaunch in 2012. Their books always seemed to shine with quality and I loved the way they had a distinct superhero universe, that kind of spanned multiple genres. I was already a big fan of X-O, Ninjak and the recent Bloodshot run. With Shadowman, as soon as I learned that it would be an opportunity to kind of relaunch the character and really fuse the elements of horror and super-heroics, it just seemed like such an exciting project to work on.
CW: Can you tell us a little about your own horror influences, either in comics or other mediums, that helped to inspire your work on this new SHADOWMAN series?
JDH: My favourite horror movies are probably mostly from the 80’s, stuff like Aliens and The Thing although I do like a lot of more modern stuff, especially those films that are made on a shoestring, but are still able to be really effective, such as The Cube and Dog Soldiers. I like horror that builds slowly and so that’s probably something that I’ve tried to get across in the pacing of my work on this. But then I also like really creepy monsters, so things like The Mist are also a firm favourite. I’m a huge video-game fan, but I find that I can’t play too many scary video-games anymore, because I find them just too stressful. I am really looking forward to the new Resident Evil game, but I’ll probably play that and then won’t be able to play another horror game for the remainder of the year!
CW: What was the collaboration process like working on this series alongside creators like writer Cullen Bunn, colorist Jordie Bellaire, letterer Clayton Cowles and Heather Antos as editor?
JDH: Working on this book has been amazing. Heather has been incredible – she’s a fantastic editor. She is always able to offer really great feedback and I think she has directly contributed to many areas of the art, where I’ve been able to go back and improve elements, based on her comments and advice. Cullen is great – his scripts are always clear and concise and his storytelling is brilliant and on this book especially, he’s been able to tell a unique tale in each issue, while still expanding an overall plot, so it makes reading the scripts tons of fun. He’s also a really nice guy. Jordie has been a hero of mine for a while. I think I have actually asked to work with her on every book I’ve been on, so it’s a thrill to finally work with her now. Colours in comics have advanced so much over the last 20 years, it really is like collaborating with a 2nd artist. She brings so much to the page and especially, on a horror book, where the colour effects so much of the mood, flow and detail of the images, it’s amazing to be able to work with someone so talented. And then of course, there’s Clayton, who is one of the best letterers in the business. He’s someone who really understands the importance of not just the fonts and layouts, but how integral to the composition of the page lettering is. Basically, the whole team is awesome. I’m very much the noob of the group – just trying to do my best and not let everyone down!
Senior Editor Heather Antos
CW: Heather, can you tell us a little about the process of bringing such a talented team together for this new SHADOWMAN series and how, from an editorial perspective, the approach to the horror genre works so well for the character?
Heather Antos: When I was first introduced to the character, I remember thinking to myself, “This is a guy called ‘Shadowman.’ He literally jumps back and forth from a place called the ‘Deadside’, fights demons and his main nemesis is a literal Necromancer. How is this NOT a horror book?!” So when I got hired at Valiant and the previous series was ending, I knew exactly which direction I thought the book should go. But horror is a tricky genre — there are a lot of different “flavors” of horror (slasher, thriller, gore, jump scares, monsters, etc) — and it’s much harder to sell a “feeling” in comics than it is in, say, movies. Lucky for me, I happened to know just the writer for the job.
I had been a huge fan of Cullen Bunn’s horror work long before I ever worked with him at Marvel. And ever since our professional relationship began we had spoke often about working on a horror project together, but it just never worked out. Until now. Dare I say, it’s one of his best.
And speaking of the best…there is quite simply no one who draws horror comics quite like Jon Davis-Hunt. I first ‘discovered’ Jon’s work on Vertigo’s THE CLEAN ROOM from a few years ago. His work on that series completely blew me away. From amazing storytelling to perfect capturing suspense and knowing when to go all in with gore and when to hold back…Jon’s at the top of his game. And I wanted to bring that game to Valiant.
Much like Cullen, I’ve worked with Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles from early on in my career. They are some of the most talented folks in their respective disciplines, both with huge interests in the horror genre as well. I always like to ask the artist on the series if they have a preferred colorist to work with, and listed a couple of folks I was thinking of as well. Top on both of our lists was Jordie! Needless to say, she agreed and so did Clayton!
CW: What do you feel are some of the most important defining characteristics of Jack Boniface’s SHADOWMAN and how do they play a role in establishing the basic premise of this thrilling new series?
HA: Jack Boniface’s family legacy has him bound to the Voodoo Shadow loa called Bo’sou. Together, the two have been at odds; Jack, himself, reluctant to fulfill his destiny, denying his responsibility as a protector. However, after the previous events in Shadowman, Jack is no longer bound to Bo’sou, but rather is working in tandem with the Shadow Loa. Now, fully stepping into his role with full access to his abilities, we are experiencing a Shadowman unlike ever before.
CW: How would you pitch this comic to a new reader who has either never had the chance to read a SHADOWMAN comic before or dive into the Valiant Universe in general?
HA: SHADOWMAN is a superhero-horror comic centered around a musician carrying his family’s legacy of protecting the Earth from the darkness of the Deadside. Bound and partnered by the Voodoo Shadow Loa, Bo’sou, Jack Boniface IS Shadowman. Though evil has always found a way to crack through the veil and infect the world, the veil between the Deadside and Earth is thinning. Will Shadowman be enough to protect us?
And there you have it! Don’t forget to add Shadowman to your pull list and support your local comic. Stay on the lookout for the first issue of this exciting new Shadowman series set to release April 28th!
