Dark Shaman 1

Sela Mathers visits a Native American reservation where she is drawn to a foreboding tapestry. She learns the story of the Dark Shaman, an ancient evil who seeks power through innocent blood... and a young woman with ties to the same tribe may be the only hope against him.

This series introduces a new villain to the Grimm Fairy Tales mythos.  With the majority of the fairy tales touched upon, Zenescope now turns to old Native American folk tales.  The story begins with Sela browsing through a Native American market when she happens upon a piece that looked quite old.  She is then told that there is a story behind it, but one of anguish and death.  We are then taken to a group of college-age kids (not sure if this is a flashback or parallels Sela’s actions) who make their way out to an old beach house that has a tie to the story of the Dark Shaman.  All the while one of the group, Colby, continuously has these nightmares of unspeakable horrors from Native American history.  As the kids enjoy the solidarity, something evil begins to stir.

Dark Shaman reads a lot like a horror movie, especially from the ‘80’s era.  I mean, you’ve got the group of young adults, alone in a beach house and then suddenly the killings begin.  Personally, I’m not really a huge fan of horror movies, so I can’t really attest to too much, but from the little I do know, this issue mimics a lot of the genre’s foibles.  I already mentioned the kids in the isolated beach house, but then you also have the strange disappearances around the area as well as the freak storms and the premonitions of terrible things to come.  If anything, I can read a horror story, in comic form, but watching them just isn’t for me.  However, if you are a fan of the genre then this one should be right up your alley.  Believe me, everything is there and this is only part one of a four issue mini-series, so I’m sure more horror mainstays will be making their appearance.

The series is kicking off pretty good and definitely caters to the horror movie buffs, not to say that others can’t check this out.  If you’ve always been too afraid to watch those kinds of movie, like me, then this is the perfect way to ease yourself into the genre.  No tense music, or creepy camera pans, just some good story telling.  It’s the time of year when scary stories are the norm, so check this one out for that extra thrill this holiday season.  For more info on where to find 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.