
- Writer: Joe Henderson
- Artist: Lee Garbett
- Color Artist: Antonio Fabela
- Letterer: Simon Bowland
- Editor: Rick Lopez Jr
Thanks to Image Comics for the review copy!

The heroine of SHADECRAFT is a girl named Zadie, a high school outsider with few friends. What sets her story apart from countless high school dramas is the fact that she’s either going crazy or being attacked by shadows. While that is an interesting concept to be sure, Zadie’s character is what makes the book work.
Writer Joe Henderson gives Zadie the perfect balance of teen outcast awkwardness, spunk, and self awareness. She’s the kind of character you want to root for, which is critical for the story SHADECRAFT is telling. Her friendship with Kate and Josh feels genuine, which is hard to pull off in a small amount of panels.
The characters in this book are given distinct personalities and design, which is helpful when a series is starting out. The coloring is a strong point in this book. As you’d expect in a series in which shadows play a role, much of the story takes place at night. The art is able to convey darkness without making things so dark that it obscures the action. The shadow effects are particularly well done, standing out even against the dark backdrop.
The issue ends on a big reveal that casts new light on the rest of the issue, while promising big things to come in future issues. Younger readers might find some parts scary, but thus far the series lacks too much violence or cursing. Netflix has already preemptively picked up SHADECRAFT to adapt it into a TV series, and it isn’t hard to see why. The first issue shows the series has a lot of potential.
SHADECRAFT#1 is set for release on March 31st.
Check back in a few weeks for my thoughts on the second issue of the series.
Are you going to pick up the issue? Let me know on Twitter or leave a comment below!