Shadowland: Blood on the Streets Issue 1
Why was this so good? This was supposed to be a waste of money, that's why I had somebody else buy it for me. This wasn't supposed to give me a better understanding of the way NYPD officers and Urban Vigilantes feel about ol' Horn Head at the moment. This was supposed to be my chance to show why all these tie-ins are stupid and we can cut them in half. But hey, if I had to be surprised by something being better than it rightfully should be, I suppose I could be worse off.
The issue starts with a murder, as Mikey Fortunado has been slain in his home with the killer leaving the mark of the Hand. The Shroud is investigating the scene of the crime but before he can find anything of use the cops storm in and the Shroud escapes. Meanwhile, Fortunado's brother, Bobby, goes to Misty Knight in hopes that she can use Iron Fist as a means to ask Daredevil why he "killed" his brother and not to mess with the family. Elsewhere, Silver Sable hunts down a man named Bulovic to bring him in to Interpol. Misty discusses some matters of the ninja persuasion with her ex-partner and then goes off to fight with Iron Fist & Co. in Shadowland issue 2. Shroud continues his pursuit of the Fortunado family (He had been following Bobby all issue) and by issues end finds himself at the wrong end of a gun pointed at him by...!
Like I said, I didn't to find myself liking this book, and a large part of it was that I had no idea who any of the creative team was. Of the names on the cover, writer Antony Johnston was the most familiar to me, but just barely as he co-wrote the last issue and newest issue of Daredevil (I'm going to guess he's doing them all). While I found that issue to be pretty lacking, this issue had strong characterization that stayed true (To the best of my knowledge) to the cast and established a strong voice. The plot was simple enough, but it helps to show a truly urban approach to fighting Daredevil and dealing with his descent into darkness.
Art for the issue was handled by Wellington Alves, an artist I've never heard of who quite frankly impressed me. I'm not sure if it was Alves on pencils, Nelson Pereira on inks, or Frank Martin on colors but this book had a great gritty-yet-clean look to it that was similar to Greg Land, Whilce Portacio, and Yanick Paquette all at once, which sounds odd but makes for a great looking book. I actually bought this for the art because after flipping it open for a minute I decided to give the little guy a chance and was quite pleased.
Overall, this book provides the best Shadowland tie-in thus far that I've read, which basically ranks it above Daredevil. It's a simple book, knows its role and doesn't get too big for its britches, but it still proves that not every tie-in has to suck. 4 out of 5.
