Scott Hampton gives us low-fi pulp status visuals that bring the story to life in a way that seems more (sur)real than fans of the book could have imagined and he doesn’t skimp on the parts that you thought you’d never see.
There’s always a danger in adaptations of popular material that you’ll screw up the source material, take to many liberties and tick off the fans but, that’s not a problem that this comic book has. In fact having it come out before the TV show might have put some pressure on STARZ to make sure they get it right. There’s a lot of detail in the comic book that holds true to the book but, doesn’t come off as vulgar or exploitive. There’s no shock value or gore just a well-adapted story, with simple yet creative visuals that paint a beautiful picture into the world that our hero Shadow is about to enter.
Dark Horse has another hit on its hands with this one, not just because of the story’s original fans but, because it this strong first issue is any indication, they’re going to have whole bunch of new readers falling in love with the story for the first time as well as OG fans finding a new way to love the story in a new and exciting way.
Story: Neil Gaiman Adaptation: P. Craig Russell Art: Scott Hampton
Story: 9.1 Art: 8.9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy
Dark Horse Comics provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review