Review: Shadowman Rae Sremmurd
Many Rock and Roll artists have appeared in comic books (Excluding Blue Water’s biography series, I’m talking kick ass superhero stuff!) Kiss, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Slayer, Aerosmith, The Beatles, (even if they were actually Skrulls in disguise.) Even Pat Boone met Lois Lane. But very few R&B or Hip-Hop artists have appeared, though Eminem did meet the Punisher. Kid n Play had a brief run and, depending on how you categorize Prince’ music, he appeared in a fantasy filled issue of his own. The New Kids on the Block did meet Wendy the Witch over at Harvey (again, they’re more pop than hip-hop.) Public Enemy and Wu-Tang clan had a go in the funny pages, but most music oriented comics have been rock and rollers. Howard the Duck got things going when the make-up clad flaming youth graced the pages of Marvel comic books. But now, here comes Drummers Ear (backward.)
The Creative Team:
Eliot Rahal takes us back to the roots, somewhere in Mississippi a long time ago, with an artist that arguably influenced Rock and Roll, as well as R&B. The musician in question has no talent so he’s selling his soul to the Devil. Fast forward 100 years and a couple of employees from a Two Men and a Truck type of business are lamenting that they’re musicians, not furniture movers. It’s a nice retrospect showing the evolving nature of music and showing respect for music’s roots. As a DJ myself I can appreciate music in all its forms and Rahal brings a level of respect to the roots of what became R&B in today’s world. I love the attention to detail in the two respective eras of music. Great stuff.
Renato Guedes renders this tale brilliantly. Giving us more of a painting than actually pencil drawings. He knows how to bring the characters to life. It’s Norman Rockwell meets Henry Ossawa Tanner in these breath-taking renditions. I loved the art, it’s fantastic! It’s almost surreal and dream like. Bringing us into a world that can only be imagined by the likes of The Devil and Daniel Webster. Our hero’s looks as they realized that they may have signed the wrong contract show an emptiness as the realization comes to them that the man they were dealing with, wasn’t really a man.
In Conclusion:
As the Hip-Hop artists contemplate their options, they are told that they signed a contract ant that there are rules, even in dealing with demons. Can the hero of this title help them with their situation? Shadowman enters the scene and it may be too late as the singers are facing Charon, the actual ferryman who is to take them to their final destination. We then cut to the artists in concert with the demon collectors waiting in the wings. Will this be there final concert? Read on to find out!
Shadowman Rae Sremmurd
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Art: Renato Guedes
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Publication Date: October 2017
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
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