Shadowman has been a mess from the start. I'm not saying that this issue brings it into a great focus or anything - but the concluding chapter puts a very different feel to the whole arc. It also seems a bit strange to me to build the comics around the old four issue TPB arcs when really, the TPBs never materialized. It could have been that they were attempting to capitalize on all of the changes - and with Ennis writing it could have been the longer term plan. Who knows? But the story really shifts here. Zero becomes a character - much more than just the monosyllabic chanting slug he had been over the last few issues. And the demons from Deadside are now to the side. And, speaking of Deadside... Pretty cool creation. Gotta give Ennis credit for that. And the shift in Nettie is excellent, as well. It seems that the clarity of the last issue has brought this into a sharper focus. Not that it made the first three better, or anything. But the last issue is pretty great.
Revealing the Achilles Heel
An improvement, to be certain. Not sure if I like the near-permanent inclusion of Nick Fury in so many of these comics. But at least the comic is getting better. I dislike the Sleeper as a villain. I mean - if it WAS around here, why would the Nazis save it and bury it for YEARS later? Couldn't THIS have turned the war? Or better yet... Why make a key that could halt him so quickly? Anyways, the biggest revelation in the comic is Red Skull's discovery that Cap has the passion for Agent 13. And that may be the biggest problem for Cap in upcoming comics. The dialogue is a little better - and the art has that old Sixties feel. It's like it's perma locked into the old era - and not making any real progress. Time for some changes!