DF Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt brings a new Deadside manner to ‘Shadowman’

By Byron Brewer

Jack Boniface is Shadowman, a powerful protector who keeps humanity safe from the demons that claw at the fabric of our reality. The forces of darkness are awakening and they are hungry for life. Will Shadowman be able to save us all, or will the darkness devour the world as we know it?

From the best-selling master of horror Cullen Bunn (Venom) and bone-chilling artist Jon Davis-Hunt (Clean Room) comes a shocking supernatural odyssey: Shadowman! DF has been waiting for this book since before the pandemic, and we’re going to learn more about it as I talk with its illustrator, Jon Davis-Hunt.

Dynamic Forces: Jon, is your new book with writer Cullen Bunn your first time working on the Shadowman character? Is there anything about the hero’s design that you especially like and/or were anxious to change?

Jon Davis-Hunt: Yes, this is my first time working on the character. It was loads of fun. He’s a very iconic looking character, so I wanted to do a bit of a refinement, rather than a full redesign. Plenty of other great artists have done their own, subtly different twists on his costume over the years, so there was a precedent for me to do the same. I tried to simplify his look slightly and then subtly tweak his iconic skull face, just so I could add slightly more expression to it, if I needed. I then added in the smoke effect to the shadows that kind of emanate from him (which was actually an idea that Cullen described in the script first). I think this adds some real visual interest to his look and we can play around with the degree, dependent upon the situation. Overall, I’m hoping that fans find something that is classic, but also new.

DF: I know Cullen really likes to turn up the horror. Is that a genre you enjoy as an artist?

Jon Davis-Hunt: I have worked in horror before, most notably when I helped create the series Clean Room with Gail Simone for DC. I enjoy working in horror, not least because I’m a big fan of the genre in other mediums, but particularly because in comics it requires you to really think about the pacing and storytelling aspects so that scenes are really effective. You’re always thinking about how you can evoke a real sense of dread or tension within a scene. And you get to draw big monsters, of course. Which is always fun!

DF: What can you tell readers about the first storyline for the book?

Jon Davis-Hunt: The first storyline is very much about establishing the status-quo of Jack/Shadowman in the new world he finds himself in. The Deadside is starting to break into our reality, but it’s happening on a much more global level, so we pull Shadowman out of New Orleans (where he has traditionally primarily operated) and send him off to fight a variety of horrors all over the world. Each issue is fundamentally a stand-alone tale that focuses on a different sub-genre of horror that Shadowman investigates, but then also, running underneath, in the background, we start to show that there is something deeper and darker connecting them all.

DF: With this new take on Shadowman, how will you be using your artist’s tool box, so to speak, to bring that mood, that atmosphere to the comic?

Jon Davis-Hunt: Well, you can’t have Shadowman without shadows, so I have definitely focused more on the levels and intensity of my inking as well as playing around with textures and backgrounds more. I think Shadowman is a far grittier and darker book than my last couple of projects, but I’ve also tried to evolve as an artist, so I’m attempting to further increase the level of detail on everything. I think this really helps when we do get moments of gore and monstrosity. It definitely gets a bit gruesome at times!

DF: Any new characters forthcoming that you had the opportunity to design? Is that something you enjoy?

Jon Davis-Hunt: Baron Samedi is hands down my favorite character to draw (although I do love drawing Shadowman himself). Baron is great though because Cullen writes him with a really theatrical verve, so I can really accentuate his body language. And I’m pleased with how his costume and new look turned out. He’s essentially a skeletal Jimi Hendrix voodoo god, so he’s fun to draw. I decided early on to have his face be an actual skull, without any flesh to it at all, and then I try to convey mood and feeling and expression simply through the way light and shadow falls across it. I think it works great as he is often the deadpan, comical foil to Jack, but then at other times he needs to be truly sinister.

DF: Tell us about your collaboration with Cullen, the process.

Jon Davis-Hunt: I jumped on board after the first four scripts were already written, so I had everything I needed to really start working on the characters. Cullen has been brilliant to work with. He is able to convey his intention with script, without confining any artistic input I may have visually. He’s been really open about the ideas I had and I have genuinely loved working with him. I’m especially pleased with how the first issue came out, because I think Cullen did a brilliant job of getting everything into one issue. Issue #1’s are often really tricky – as a writer, you have so much to set-up in that first issue, it can sometimes be very exposition-heavy, but Cullen is able to world build, provide a clear direction for the character and get several action sequences and thrills in. It's a real great first issue. And from there, it just gets better.

DF: Jon, any new or near-future projects of yours you can tell readers about?

Jon Davis-Hunt: I am working on something right now that I’m incredibly excited about, but as is often the case with comics, I’m not allowed to talk about it yet.

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Jon Davis-Hunt for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Shadowman #1 from Valiant Entertainment is slated to be on sale April 28^th!

For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

2. 04/22/2024 - PETER MILLIGAN

3. 04/18/2024 - RICH DOUEK

4. 04/15/2024 - TONY FLEECS

5. 04/11/2024 - JOE CASEY

Show All