A simple question embossed into the cover of the debut issue of ShadowHawk opened up a veritable mother lode of possibilities that quickly transformed into the sleeper hit of 1992. Was it Lieutenant Louis Jacks, Officer Rieves or Captain Frakes? Could it have been weapons collector Carlton Sum or his friend Christina Ried, a former police officer whose excessive use of force prompted her dismissal from the force? And what about former district attourney Paul Johnstone, or perhaps even his brother Hojo, a Wall Street wizard turned street hustler in pursuit of his next fix?
Jim Valentino wasn't talking, and that sense of mystery combined with dynamic visuals and a rock solid storyline only served to make ShadowHawk one of the most exciting who-done-its in comic book history.
But in the mystery surrounding ShadowHawk's identity emerged front and centre to many readers, "Out Of The Shadows" contained a plethora of important underlying themes as well as the foundation of what was yet to come for this nocturnal avenger with a bizarre sense of justice. With this journey into the mind of a character whose mental stability was at best questionable, the first chapter of The ShadowHawk Saga examined the entire institution of heroism and the fine line between hero and villainn. What constitutes heroism? What makes a hero? What is too much? And perhaps more importantly, what action takes it too far?
Along the way an interesting collection of villians and supporting characters made their way into ShadowHawk's corner of the Image Universe to either provide fierce opposition or add fuel to the fires of speculation as to who ShadowHawk really was. 
The lovely Maxima Boldd, a.k.a Vendetta, figured prominently in the premiere issue as a dangerous force to be reckoned with. Her desire for unchallenged power produced the prime goal of enlisting services of ShadowHawk to put the finishing touch on a crime force known as The Regulators. This band of super-villians included Youngblood recruit gone bad Blackjak, pyromaniac turned pyrotechnical wonder Arson, and street tough Tajana "Vortex" Juarez, whose criminal motives stemmed from the fact that ShadowHawk had permanently cripple her brother. Deadly but misinterpreted, the out of this world Liquifier also made a memorable appearance that explored the very real-world problem of communication breakdowns.
And as the storyline progressed, the book just continued to improve. Inker Chance Wolf's arrival in issue #3 marked the start of an instantly classic rendition of Valentino's pencils as Wolf's crisp, clean line only added to the whole of what was fast becoming one of the top selling and most anticipated titles in the country. Throw in timely guest appearances by overwhelming Image superstars Spawn and the Savage Dragon in issue #2 and #4 respectively, along with an amazing glow in the dark cover on issue #3, and the end product was a finite series that had everyone guessing and waiting for more to come from this Cinderella success story.
Issues #3 and #4 also marked the debut of The Others, a group whose secret exstence beneath the Earth came to a stunning conclusion that left promises of "the great confrontation" as the "Out Of The Shadows" story-arc left fans eager for more on a pair of fronts.
But the best, as they say, was yet to come.
