Having successfully stopped a terrible new evil from being
released, Sela and crew find themselves trapped in the Shadowlands, with all of
demons and monsters they locked away.
However, not all of them arrived at the same time and so, they set off
on a journey to reunite their forces and find a way out of this terrifying
wasteland. Hunters: The Shadowlands,
written by Raven Gregory, follows the exploits of Sela and the other hunters as
they traverse the perils of the Shadowlands, in an all-new mini-series spun out
of the pages of the Unleashed saga.
Set shortly after the events in Unleashed #0, Hunters: The
Shadowlands gives us a look at what happened to Sela and the rest of the
hunters during their time in the Shadowlands.
The thing that’s established right from the beginning is that in the
Shadowlands, time moves differently than it does on Earth. Night and day don’t always transition when they
should and sometimes one or the other doesn’t come at all for extended periods. It’s a strange desolate place, one that Roman
has become all too accustomed to, after centuries of being the only one
there. However, it’s not so much about
how Roman has survived for so long (or how he’s even still alive for that
matter), but what other evil lays lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right
monstrosity to set it loose. After
countless struggles, Sela, Liesel, Masumi and Elijah have no idea as to what awaits
them as they journey onward into the great unknown.
So, there definitely was a lot to like about this
issue. A great group of characters,
several monster fights and even a slight homage to The Lord of the Rings, but
the thing that stood out to me the most was how well it all melded
together. Raven has done it yet again,
what looks to be a rather action-packed series that looks suitable for a summer
blockbuster. I really liked seeing this
dark and dreary world through each of the characters eyes, share their
experiences and not just focus on one to be the leader of sorts. Each character is unique and they all have a
different take, for the most part, on what the Shadowlands have thrown at
them. It’s this diversity that I feel
really keeps this story interesting and really adds to all of the subsequent
spin-offs that focus more on each character individually. I also, just wanted to give a shout-out to
all of the artists that worked on this issue.
Despite my dislike of having more than one artist work on a single
issue, you all pulled it together rather well, to the point where I didn’t even
realize there were multiple artists contributing to this (although that could
just be me being a little blinded by the story itself, I don’t mean to offend
anyone if I did). Great job all around
to everyone.
If anything at all, the multitude of artists working on this
one would have been the thing that bugged me the most, but like I said above, I
honestly didn’t even notice the difference because the art flowed so well
together. I guess I wouldn’t have such a
big issue with more than one artist, if the change wasn’t real noticeable. It’s that little skip in style that takes me
out of the story and then I kinda have to re-analyze what I’m reading for a
second or two and that just slows the whole enjoyment of the story down. All I can say is, if you’re going to use
multiple artists, for one reason or another, please try to utilize ones with an
art style close enough to each other that it doesn’t take away from the
story.
The hunters must join together if they’re ever to find their
way out of the Shadowlands, but it seems like something is preventing them from
doing just that. More action awaits
these daring adventurers as they take on more and more dangerous
adversaries. So, go check out Hunters:
The Shadowlands because although, you might think it’s a good thing, you really
don’t want to have Sela hunting you down.
For more info on where to pick up this issue, visit the Zenescope website, or the Zenescope Facebook page.
Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.
Posts
