I tried, dear reader, I really tried. But it’s not easy to take a photo of a chromium cover that really does it justice, and that’s definitely the case for Shadowman #0.

In person, the embossed, metallic cover is striking and really impressive, but it doesn’t look anywhere near as cool in the photo I took (the best of many!).

The trend of zero issues, much like gimmick covers, was a 90s thing, and they were often fairly inessential, it has to be said.

This issue is no different; instead of present-day Shadowman (jazz musician Jack Boniface, who’s here as part of the framing story), instead it goes way back in time to 1895, and focuses on the origin story of the very first Shadowman: Maxim St. James.

It’s pretty dark stuff, with blood and beheadings, sacrifices and resurrections aplenty; in its oh-so-90s way, it does feel as if it’s trying a bit too hard to be edgy and mature, without much substance to support it.

Still, it’s entertaining enough, and that chromium cover (which wraps around too) makes this a very cool comic to have in the collection. Like most gimmick covers from the 90s, it’s not even expensive to get hold of these days (mine cost me a jaw-droppingly low 30p from a stall at Portsmouth Comic-Con), so it’s well worth checking out if you’re curious to check out the heritage of the voodoo-powered superhero from New Orleans.

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