Witchblade #4 Review

 

Writer: Marguerite Bennett

Artist: Giuseppe Cafaro

Colorist: Arif Prianto

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Marc Silvestri, Matt Hawkins & Elena Salcedo

Cover Artists: Giuseppe Cafaro & Arif Prianto; Jerome Opeña & Sunny Gho

Publisher: Top Cow Productions & Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 16, 2024

 

Sara Pezzini masquerades as a dirty cop. She pretends she didn't perform heinous acts during her military career. Sara disposes of the human trafficker's body after he attacked her in her apartment. She even lies to her partner, Michael Yee, and her civilian liaison, Nicole Berkshire, about the strange amulet that bonded with her. Sara is so afraid of trusting anyone that when Ian Nottingham tries to introduce himself, she attacks him. Their brawl destroys doors, ceilings, and medical monitoring equipment. How will Sara react when Ian tells her about the Witchblade? Let’s activate our alien armor, leap into Witchblade #4, and see!

 

Story

Sara warned Michael not to touch the amulet wrapped around her wrist. As with the human trafficker she slew when he attacked her, the Witchblade might perceive his touch as a threat. Only one person has withstood the Witchblade. Ian Nottingham's strength and skills enable him to combat its power. So, when Ian offers to train her in Witchblade #4, Sara readily accepts. She needs to understand the device that sought her out to avoid accidentally hurting others.

 

Sara lies to her boss at the precinct, telling him she is working undercover. Despite being a dirty cop, Joe Siry worries about her when she goes undercover. But when she tells Nicole and Michael the truth, they give her a guilt trip for taking time off. Nicole and Michael have stuck their necks out for Sara. They need her to stay on top of their investigation into the police protection racket so no one uncovers their underhand deeds. Only Ian understands what Sara is going through. He urges Sara to concentrate on her core values. Sara has lived so many lies that she is defenseless before the Witchblade’s power. Sara must embrace who she is to become the Witchblade’s master.

 

In Witchblade #4, Marguerite Bennett contemplates how society programs us and how our interactions with others make us feel about ourselves. Sara is angry and confused. Ian is the only person who can help her. Sara isn't sure she can trust him. Nor is she sure that she can trust herself with the handsome stranger. Like the Witchblade, Ian intoxicates her. Yet even as he trains her, Sara realizes the world holds more mysteries than his explanations address. She knows she should determine the force that helps him defend against the Witchblade. Sara still wants to understand how the man she slew in her apartment used crude oil for blood. Something else akin to the Witchblade also lurks in the city. Sara feels drawn to it. But should she seek it out or avoid it?

 

Art

Ian and Sara train in a dojo, surrounded by ancient armor and weapons displayed on the walls or atop a wooden pedestal. While golden fibers weave around her body like serrated palm fronds, Ian slashes and hurls a sickle linked to his waist with a chain and slashes with twin sai like Raphael. Afterward, Ian cradles her like a lover amid the devastation and rising smoke. Yet Sara only smiles when she claws an opponent in Witchblade #4.

 

Arif Prianto adorns Giuseppe Cafaro's art with a loaded palette that imbues reality into scenes set in New York City, Kenneth Iron's penthouse, and Ian's Room Of Requirement. Sara and Ian face off in black clothes surrounded by tan and red, while the energy from their fighting and the Witchblade changes the color of the air. As a gray haze obscures Nicole and Sara's meeting, white snow falls against green-tinted backgrounds as Sara embraces the corrupt cop who loves her and walks away from the partner who risks his career for her. The golden fibers of the Witchblade divide panels like vines sporting red blooms or the architectural grandeur of Rivendell.

 

Troy Peteri orders black uppercase letters into red-outlined golden narrative boxes and white dialogue balloons. The large black letters grow bold for inflection. Smaller white letters in rounded brown narrative boxes tap into Sara's heightened senses. A rare blue sound effect underlines the power Sara and Ian wield in Witchblade #4. Thanks to Image Comics and Top Cow Productions for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Sara Pizzoli thrives on duplicity. She tells herself she is a noble protector of the defenseless. Yet she hunts those who prey on the poor and weak, and the Witchblade turbocharges the anger on which she thrives. In Witchblade #4, Sara Pizzoli must decide where she stands. It's not an easy decision, especially when she doesn't know all the facts. But then, to trust others, you must first trust yourself.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.