Writers: Nick Cagnetti & Daniel Ziegler
Artist: Nick Cagnetti
Cover Artists: Nick Cagnetti, David Lafuente, Karl Kerschl & Matt Lesniewski
Publisher: Oni Press
Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 28, 2026
When Erik Leroux dies, he finds his lost love. But their reunion proves all too brief. A spirit called the Clerical grabs Erik and pulls him away from Katrina. When they land in another realm, the Clerical gives Erik a book about his life. Why must Erik relive his time on Earth? And can Erik find a way to spend eternity with his beloved Katrina? Let’s leap into The Spirit of the Shadows #1 and see!
Story
Before the Clerical departs, it explains that Erik inhabits the Spirit Realm. The book he holds in his hands will reveal how he lived. Erik’s memories are hazy. He believes he was a good man. But while Erik reads, the Realmkeepers will observe his story. If they judge that Erik has lived a moral life, they will let him ascend to the Sacred Realm. There, he can spend Eternity with Katrina. But before they can render their decision, Erik must recover his past.
When he opens the book, Erik’s memory begins to return. Each page reminds him of the man he was. He remembers meeting Katrina and how they forged a connection. Then a beast interrupts his memories, clamps the book in its jaws, and scampers away.
While Erik sets off on a journey to retrieve his book, Nick Cagnetti and Daniel Ziegler show what occurs in the world he left behind. Dr Hyde Perkins buries Erik in the church graveyard. While Erik seeks to find the book that offers hope of reunion with his beloved, Dr Perkins mourns his friend's death. Yet, in The Spirit of the Shadows #1, Dr Perkins wishes he had never met Erik.
Art
Erik appears as a young man clad in a jacket, vest, and slacks. Blonde hair tumbles down Katrina's shoulders to her bluish-white dress as she rises and embraces him. Then the green-and-yellow demon-like Clerical emerges from the ground to pull Erik down. A suit made of green burial wrappings, a white cape, and a white top hat replace Erik's clothes as he descends. Then the red-eyed Clerical hands Erik a red book. Like the gold pendant hanging from Katrina's neck, the cover bears a crescent moon. But this one is severed, as if from a lightning bolt.
Compared with the pastel Sacred realm, Nick Cagnetti lavishes a fluorescent palette on the Spirit realm in The Spirit of the Shadows #1. Faces gaze down, emulating mystical lords, court jesters, or perhaps the three most important people in the world from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The pages of Erik’s life have pink outlines as their colors deepen. These glimpses of his past initially draw from the Sacred Realm’s pastels. But as Erik and Katrina meet, the colors darken, deepen, and borrow from the Spirit Realm’s fluorescent palette.
Black uppercase letters inhabit white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for intonation, and swell for raised voices. Strong emotion or heightened volume deforms dialogue balloons, while fluttering streamers locate the reader in time and space. Music notes flow through Erik's memories, while red hearts float in dialogue balloons and dance on the wind of the Sacred Realm. Sound effects accompany the beast's vicious attacks, and Dr Perkins' unease when an unexpected visitor calls at Crescent Manor in The Spirit of the Shadows #1. Thanks to Oni Press and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Memories can prove both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, the mind covers over memories to insulate people from trauma. Despite the pleasure and pain they bring, Erik must reclaim his lost memories if he has any hope of spending eternity with his beloved Katrina. But when an animal attacks the book of his life, Erik must reassemble it before he loses any sense of who he is in The Spirit of the Shadows #1.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my preview of The Spirit of the Shadows #1.
