Тень: История комикса о Shadowman.

Shadowman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by Valiant Comics. The character debuted in Shadowman #1 (May 1992), created by writers Jim Shooter and Steve Englehart, and artist David Lapham. Shadowman appears in his own series and video games, as well as numerous other Valiant comics. Shadowman is a lineage and four characters have taken up the mantle thus far in the comics and video games. The series protagonist is Jack Boniface. Since his introduction, Shadowman has been a key character in the Valiant Universe and has sold over 5.3 million copies to date, with 80 issues published. Shadowman comics have been translated into a number of languages, including German, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Filipino and Chinese, among others. New Orleans mayor Sidney Barthelemy officially proclaimed January 17, 1993 as “Shadowman Day.”

Shadowman debuted in 1992 as a flagship title in the Valiant Universe. After one year in publication, Shadowman was selling over 100,000 comics books a month. Shadowman would go on to guest star in a number of Valiant comics, fighting alongside other heroes in the Valiant Universe, most notably "Unity" and "Unity 2000".

Shadowman eventually sold more than 5 million copies in total before Acclaim Entertainment bought Valiant for $65 million in 1994. Acclaim Comics subsquently started a new Shadowman series in 1996. Acclaim also published Shadowman video games. In preparation for the leap to video games a new action oriented Shadowman took up the mask in comics. The second series of comics (spelled Shadow Man) featured the iteration of Shadowman that would gain huge popularity in the successful Shadow Man video game franchise. In a similar manner to the original iteration, the hero fought alongside other characters in the Acclaim Comics Universe, notably Unity 2000. People who have worked on Shadowman characters and storylines include Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada, former Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Jim Shooter, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Rob Liefeld, Barry Windsor Smith, Jamie Delano, Steve Ditko, David Lapham, Rags Morales, Fabian Nicieza, Jim Starlin, Bob Layton, Jimmy Palmiotti, Walt Simonson and Ashley Wood. With issue seven Bob Hall took over writing chores and continued as the primary writer on the book until the first "Shadowman" run ended with issue 43. Acclaim shut down all comic book publishing in 2002, in anticipation of a bankruptcy filing of its parent company after suffering heavy losses from its licensed sports video games. Shadowman and all other Valiant properties were sold to Valiant Entertainment.

As Shadowman, Jack possesses paranormal strength, endurance, agility, and reflexes, night vision, regenerative healing, gliding capabilities, depleted fear, and other voodoo powers.

Possessee's hosted to the Shadow Loa have a great many expanded upon abilities. The natural physical enhancements & psychological reinforcements that come with being Busou Kobalamin's host remain paramount, but are also complemented by a host of other powers which accommodate them. Such as necromancy, afterlife traversal, shadow & darkness manipulation on top of mastery over the deadside and it's monstrous denizens.

In 1999, Acclaim Entertainment was approached by rapper/actor Ice Cube with a pitch to make a feature film. Acclaim declined this offer, as they were focused on the success of the video game franchise. In June 2017, it was reported that Valiant Entertainment had hired Reginald Hudlin to direct a film adaptation, and also co write the screenplay with Adam Simon.

Shadowman appears in the web series Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe, portrayed by Damion Poitier.

In 1999, Shadow Man was released on the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and PC. In 2002, its sequel, Shadow Man: 2econd Coming, was released in 2002 as a PlayStation 2 exclusive. In all, the Shadow Man franchise has sold over 2 million copies and grossed close to 100 million dollars in revenue. Both games before 2023 focus on Michael LeRoi, the Acclaim Comics version of Shadow Man. In May 2023, a new game, Shadowman: Darque Legacy that features Jack Boniface was announced that is slated for release in 2024.

In 2015, heavy metal band A Sound of Thunder released a concept album entitled Tales from the Deadside based on Shadowman. The album was released on compact disc, vinyl, and digital formats. The album features original artwork by Bob Hall and Roberto de la Torre. A limited 7 inch vinyl picture disc for album tracks "Tower of Souls" and "Punk Mambo" was also released in 2015.

+TitleMaterial collectedPublished dateISBNValiant ComicsShadowmanShadowman (vol. 1) #1 3, 6January 1994Valiant Masters: Shadowman Vol. 1: Spirits WithinShadowman (vol. 1) #0 7June 2013Shadowman Classic OmnibusShadowman (vol.1) #0 24, The Second Life of Doctor Mirage #5, Secret Weapons (vol. 1) #1–2, and Darque Passages #1October 2021Acclaim ComicsShadowman by Garth Ennis & Ashley WoodShadowman (vol. 2) #1–4, Shadowman: Deadside #1–3 July 2016Shadowman by Jamie Delano & Charlie AdlardShadowman (vol. 2) #5 15May 2022Valiant EntertainmentShadowman Vol. 1: Birth RitesShadowman (vol. 3) #1 4May 2013Shadowman Vol. 2: Darque ReckoningShadowman (vol. 3) #5 9October 2013Shadowman Vol. 3: Deadside BluesShadowman (vol. 3) #0, 10 12January 2014Shadowman Vol. 4: Fear, Blood and ShadowsShadowman (vol. 3) #13 16May 2014Shadowman: End TimesShadowman: End Times #1 3September 2014Shadowman Deluxe Edition Book 1Shadowman (vol. 3) #0 10November 2014Shadowman Deluxe Edition Book 2Shadowman (vol. 3) #11 13, 13X, Shadowman: End Times #1 3, Punk Mambo #0September 2017Shadowman Vol. 1: Fear of the DarkShadowman (vol. 5) #1 3July 2018Shadowman Vol. 2: Dead and GoneShadowman (vol. 5) #4 7November 2018Shadowman Vol. 3: Rag and BoneShadowman (vol. 5) #8 11March 2019Shadowman by Andy Diggle Deluxe EditionShadowman (vol. 5) #1 11, Shadowman/Rae Sremmurd #1May 2021Shadowman Man Book OneShadowman (vol. 6) #1 4November 2021Shadowman Man Book TwoShadowman (vol. 6) #5 8August 2022