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; Roberta Ingranata and Warnia Sahadewa
Publisher: Top Cow Productions & Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 13, 2024
Ian Nottingham trains Sara Pezzini to use the Witchblade. He promises that Sara will eventually master the ancient artifact. Yet Ian tells Kenneth Irons that Sara is growing dependent on the Witchblade. Can Sara trust Ian to prevent the relic from enslaving her? Let's activate our alien armor, leap into Witchblade #5, and see!
Story
In her dreams, the Witchblade makes Sara relive the slaughter in the warehouse. She also dreams of the time it made her kill in her apartment. Then, the Witchblade awakens her to danger. Sara leaps out of bed and finds Ian in her kitchen. He may be training her to wield the Witchblade, but that doesn't make him her friend.
Marguerite Bennett's story ponders the control we wield over our lives. Sara works for corrupt police officials. She follows their orders while working to imprison them. Sara could have apprehended the Human Smugglers. Yet she let them victimize women to get the information she wanted. As Michael Yee and Nicole Berkshire help Sara investigate her father's death, her partner and civilian liaison use guilt to control Sara.
In Witchblade #5, Sara resists the Witchblade while renewing her investigation into her father's murder. Instead of getting sensory information from the ancient weapon, she hears other voices. Sara senses the same dark force that possessed the Human Trafficker in her apartment. As Sara digs into her father's past, she encounters more people possessed by dark power. The Witchblade connects Sara with the web of creation. She shares this larger world with artifacts like the Witchblade and Ian's Sickle Key. Then there are the Creosote Ghouls that Ian controls and orders her to fight.
Like Ian's training, Witchblade #5 draws Sara into a larger world. When she thinks of Ian, she detects the corrupting, possessive force. Resisting the Witchblade means relying on her strength. But dark powers are drawn to the Witchblade’s power. Perhaps Sara won't give in to the seductive power of this "dark Excalibur" to protect herself. But will she retain her resolve when forced to protect others?
Art
Dark tentacles reach for Sara in her dreams. As they surround her memories, she imagines the Witchblade rebuilding her from the inside out. The tentacles surround the boxing ring where she spars with Michael, emulating ripples in the ocean. They frame her interactions with Michael and Nicole as they investigate leads in her apartment. When Sara delves into her memories, searching for a new lead to her father’s death, Giuseppe Cafaro produces symbols of life and death. They shelter beneath an iconic image that forms the basis of many people’s lives. The Witchblade may be ancient, but does it have its origins in this prehistory of Human society? At least, the image makes an intriguing comparison with the relic’s design.
Arif Prianto lavishes a loaded palette on Sara's dreams and nightmarish reality. Greens and blues dominate days and nights, while other colors provide contrast and interest. A golden egg yolk hints at the Witchblade, while an apple echoes its ruby amulet in Witchblade #5. Strong flesh tones remind Sara of the people she protects, whether they build new families in old homes or inhabit the parks and streets. Yet Sara's fondness for black shouts the pain of her father's murder and the stains on her soul from all the deaths she meted out on foreign soil. So Sara paints her nails and lips black to match her hair, clothes, and mood.
Troy Peteri orders black uppercase letters into red-outlined golden narrative boxes and white dialogue balloons. The large black letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and rarely shrink. White letters in blue-outlined black clouds hiss the darker voices that tempt Sara to invoke the Witchblade while creaking wooden timbers announce an unwelcome surprise. Thanks to Image Comics and Top Cow Productions for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Detective Sara Pezzini accelerates her investigation into turbo mode in Witchblade #5. Yet the harder she works to find her father's killer, the deeper she dives into the depravity that surrounds his murder and the evil forces that would make her life a living death.
Rating 9.6/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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