Shadowhawk #1
Jim Valentino's ShadowHawk #1 (2005) relaunched the ShadowHawk franchise under Valentino's own Shadowline imprint after a near-decade-long dormancy, centering a young Black teenager — Eddie Collins — as the mantle's new bearer and weaving his story into the broader tapestry of the Image Universe's mid-2000s shared-universe expansion. The issue introduces Ted Cleaver as the original Blacklight, a 1960s 'hippie hero' awakened from a thirty-year coma, whose fatal confrontation with Eddie in the debut chapter immediately forces the new ShadowHawk to reckon with the weight of lethal consequence — a morally serious note that distinguished the series from typical superhero fare. Launching in tandem with The Pact vol. 2, the series positioned ShadowHawk as a linchpin for cross-title storytelling alongside Invincible, Firebreather, and Zephyr Noble, reflecting Image's deliberate effort to build a cohesive shared universe from its Shadowline imprint outward.
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After stepping down as Image Comics publisher in 2004, Jim Valentino returned to his signature character by co-writing the series with Jim Keplinger and bringing in Carlos Rodriguez — winner of the Comic Book Idol II competition — as series penciler, with Albert Puig on inks. The series published under Valentino's Shadowline imprint and ran for fifteen issues from May 2005 through September 2006, picking up the continuity of Eddie Collins's ShadowHawk established back in New Man #4 (1996) and relaunching it as an ongoing monthly for a new era of Image's shared universe.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Ted Cleaver as Blacklight, a 1960s-era 'hippie hero' who awakens from a thirty-year coma; created by Jim Keplinger and Carlos Rodriguez.
- Written by Jim Valentino and Jim Keplinger; penciled by Carlos Rodriguez (winner of the Comic Book Idol II contest); inked by Albert Puig.
- Published under Jim Valentino's Shadowline imprint (an Image Comics division); launched May 2005 as an ongoing monthly series that ran 15 issues through September 2006.
- Lead character Eddie Collins (ShadowHawk) had previously debuted in New Man #4 (1996) — this issue is his first appearance as solo ongoing series protagonist.
- Story arc titled 'My World on Fire: Part One'; the plot sees Blacklight, deceived into believing ShadowHawk is the son of his wife's killer, attack Eddie Collins — resulting in Eddie accidentally killing him.
- The series launched in close coordination with The Pact vol. 2 (2005), a four-issue crossover miniseries co-created by Jim Valentino and Len Senecal that teams ShadowHawk with Invincible (Mark Grayson), Firebreather (Duncan Belloc-Rosenblatt Jr.), and Zephyr Noble.
- James Collins, Eddie's recently widowed father and an electrician, is a supporting character established in this era of the title; Eddie's access to the mystical helmet Nommo — which contains the spirits of all prior ShadowHawks — is core to his origin.
- Blacklight's death in issue #1 seeded a follow-on story: his 'Dark Matter' powers transferred to an innocent bystander named Lina Juarez, who became a new Blacklight in a separate spin-off series (Blacklight #1, June 2005).
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