Witchblade #10 Review

 

Writer: Marguerite Bennett

Artist: Giuseppe Cafaro

Colorist: Arif Prianto

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Marc Silvestri, Matt Hawkins & Ryan Cady

Cover Artists: Giuseppe Cafaro & Arif Prianto; Tula Lotay

Publisher: Top Cow Productions & Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 23, 2025

 

Kenneth Irons made Sara Pezzini feel like an interloper. And it’s true, she has limited the Witchblade’s hold on her. The Witchblade went out of control again when she met Jackie Estacado. Yet, Sara believes the Franchetti crime family's cleaner cannot sense the dark forces swirling around him. Nor did Jackie exhibit knowledge of his family's links with Vinter's human smuggling operation. But then, Sara only senses some of the grander reality that Kenneth Irons calls home.

 

Can Jackie Estacado help Sara shut down Vinter's human smuggling ring? And can Sara trust Ian Nottingham to protect her from Kenneth Irons' determination to harness the Witchblade’s power? Let's activate our living armor, leap into Witchblade #10, and see!

 

Story

Jackie sent flowers and a note inviting Sara to The Eye And Oyster. When she arrives, Sara sits at a table with "Mr Smith." The mafia leader used Vinter's human traffickers to increase the Franchetti family's power. But Vinter's activities have drawn too much attention, and the family wants him gone. Sara distrusts a crime lord who can't employ a more believable pseudonym and readily discards his allies. Still, he suggests that Kenneth Irons wants Sara to doubt her abilities. That's a thread Sara can clasp when everything in her life is falling apart.

 

As Mr Smith dines with society’s elite, Creosote staff wait tables in Witchblade #10. Vinter suspects his relationship with the Franchetti family is on the ropes. The Creosote leader is eager to ensure that his former mafia benefactor doesn’t make Sara the instrument of his destruction. But Vinter isn’t just a human trafficker. He leads the Creosote parasites who inhabit corpses like her father's partner, Paul Pisano. 

 

In Marguerite Bennett’s story, Sara investigated the human traffickers to arrest the cop they paid to kill her father. But she also cares deeply about the homeless and the women used by the human traffickers. Vinter suggests the Creosotes are homeless refugees like the unhoused in New York and the women he brought to the United States. But the Creosotes are parasites that feed off the vitality of others. Vinter attacked Sara in her home twice before burning it down, forcing her to become another member of New York’s unhoused community. 

 

 

 

Art

Lights gleam in the wood-paneled restaurant catering to mafia dons, drug lords, and police and government leaders. Amid the oil paintings and chandeliers, men in ties and vests pour wine and serve food on platters covered by cloches. While Sara senses the Creosotes' presence, the only visible sign is the darker shadows on their expressions in Witchblade #10. Panels set in bloody knives and surrounded by snakes hint at the danger lurking in this genteel setting and evoke Sara's fight with Jackie in the Bronx Zoo.

 

After the browns, greens, and reds of The Eye And Oyster, the green interiors of the commercial kitchen seem a reminder of Sara's former apartment. When Sara pursues Vinter, she discovers another richly appointed world dominated by glowing yellow lights, brown backgrounds, and ivory sculptures. These frameworks of the bodies the Creosotes inhabit form elaborate halls and border scenes of drama and intense fighting in Witchblade #10.

 

Amid Giuseppe Cafaro’s compelling visuals and Arif Prianto's atmospheric coloring, Troy Peteri reveals Sara's thoughts as black uppercase letters in red-outlined golden narrative boxes. He shows dialogue as black letters in white balloons and Mr Smith's off-camera words as white letters in brown boxes. The large black letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and rarely shrink. Sound effects help us hear burning flesh, gunfire, hand-to-hand fighting, Ian’s “$99 Katana”, and Creosotes chanting an ominous refrain. Thanks to Image Comics and Top Cow Productions for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Jackie Estacado remains Sara’s greatest mystery. Dark forces swirl around him, yet the Franchetti family cleaner seems unaware of them. Nor does Jackie have any knowledge of the Creosotes. All he wants to do is protect his family’s future from the police investigations that could destroy it. While Jackie fights for his family, Sara seeks to avenge hers. Investigating her father's death has cost Sara any joy in life. In Witchblade #10, her battle for justice will demand another casualty.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Silverlake TP Review

 

Writer: John Zuur Platten

Artist, Colorist & Cover Artist: Andrea Mutti

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Matt Hawkins, Elena Salcedo & Phil Smith

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $16.99

Release Date: February 12, 2025

 

Kano wants to fight for his country, but the Army rejects him. Marie wants her son to remain home and not go overseas to defend Europeans. Hurit also wants Kano to stay in Oregon, but she cannot offer him marriage. Kano is tired of being an outcast from his tribe and the United States. Will the Native American man find acceptance by fighting under an assumed name on foreign soil? Let’s put on our gas masks, leap into Silverlake TP, and find out!

 

Story

While Hurit loves Kano, the fate of her family rests in her hands. Unless Hurit marries Apisi, her family could lose status in the tribe. So she gives Kano a knife to remember her by. In John Zuur Platten’s story, Hurit tells herself that Kano was never an option. He may die in battle. And if he returns, Kano will not be the man she fell in love with. But despite her rationalizing and the proclamations of her elders, Hurit yearns for Kano.

 

Marie argues that Kano has no reason to join the US Army. This grand mobilization of troops overseas in The War To End All Wars is no more than an experiment in US foreign policy. Still, Marie knows Kano wants to belong somewhere. So, in Silverlake TP, Marie gives her son something to remember her by. The pendant is more than a keepsake. It may help him survive the carnage of World War I. But, drawing on its power will leave Kano forever changed.

 

As American Doughboys prepare for the big push against German Stormtroopers, a strange event on the battlefield prompts a transformation. Kano lashes out at an attacker. Claws rip through Human flesh in Silverlake TP. Kano tries to hide this transformation by wrapping his hands in barbed wire. But Sergeant Bruce noticed Kano's actions.

 

Despite the strategic advantage Kano offers, the Sergeant isn't sure whether he should shoot Kano or let him live to fight another day. As General Barrie says, the Army needs soldiers, not murderers. But then, the US Army rejected Kano because of his mixed racial heritage, prompting him to enlist as Konrad Barnett.

 

Art

Silverlake TP alternates visions of the pristine beauty of Oregon with the ravaged battlefields of France. Rats scurry through the mud to gnaw on the fallen. Soldiers trudge through mud and debris carrying their trusty Enfield rifles clad in metal helmets and gas masks. When storms of bullets fly between the broken tree trunks, Kano believes he can see all the little metal stingers. It’s the ones you can’t see that bite you.

 

Andrea Mutti applies a limited palette of muted tones to scenes of trench warfare. Muzzle flashes become white stars against blues, reds, and yellows. White and black stippling suggests air choked with dirt, smoke, mustard gas, and explosives. While wagons, trains, captive balloons, and tanks travel through limited colors, Oregon shines with brighter hues. But most striking of all are the claws that drip scarlet and the dark facial features that resemble his mother's pendant.

 

Troy Peteri relates Kano’s thoughts as white lowercase letters in brown narrative boxes. White uppercase letters in tan boxes locate us in time and space. Soldiers and Native Americans speak uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The vibrant sound effects in Silverlake TP bring home the horrors of war and the everyday terrors as history threatens to repeat itself back home. Thanks to Top Cow, Image Comics, PHL Collective, and EP1T0ME Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Like Poison, the soldiers in World War I need something to believe in. But unlike their British counterparts, the American military doesn’t want reports of ghostly archers and angels to travel back home. The officers don't believe their soldiers need signs of divine providence to defeat the Huns. Nor do they want to frighten their troops with reports that the forces of Hell are joining the fight.

 

Silverlake TP follows a Native American man’s search for identity, his girlfriend’s struggle with conformity, and his mother’s attempt to protect her son while shielding him from the awful truth about his birthright. After the cover gallery, reduced images of colored, unlettered art accompany the script for the first issue in this coming-of-age saga.

 

Rating 9.8/10

Witchblade #6 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; Joshua George & John Starr

Publisher: Top Cow Productions & Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 11, 2024

 

After Ian Nottingham trains her to use the Witchblade, Sara Pezzini returns to her job with a renewed focus on finding her father’s killer. The police files yield nothing. Poking around in her childhood home, ditto. But a photo of her father and his late partner takes her to Staten Island. When Joe Siry took her there after her father's death, Paul Pisano refused to talk with her. What secrets might Paul's boarded-up house yield after his death? Let's activate our alien armor, leap into Witchblade #6, and see!

 

Story

Paul Pisano died ten years ago of alcoholism. Yet, he sits on Sara’s couch and tells her about her father. Vince Pezzini trusted their boss more than Paul. Then, he started investigating corruption in the police force. An investigation into a street gang prompted him to research scholarly Catholic texts on the supernatural.

 

Ian Nottingham told Sara about these darker forces and made her fight a creosote ghoul. In Witchblade #6, Sara links the ghoul with Vinter, the human trafficker who visited her apartment after the Witchblade bonded with her at the warehouse. The human traffickers asked for Sara to be their intermediary. Now, she understands why. One of the women Sara rescued from the human traffickers told her that Vinter could change her appearance. After meeting with Paul, seemingly alive after his death, Sara begins to put together the puzzle pieces surrounding her father’s murder.

 

Sara senses an approaching storm in Marguerite Bennett’s story. Despite the protection it offers, Sara has resisted the Witchblade’s power. She doesn't know what her father discovered in his supernatural research. But like him, Sara realizes there is more to this life than most people can perceive.

 

As Sara lacked a family, Michael worked hard to include her in his. Her partner senses that Ian Nottingham is pulling Sara away from him, Janet, and her children. Michael wants to dismiss the creosote larvae that empowered the drug users in Paul Pisano’s house. He wants to ignore that his gun couldn't protect them, and he would have died if not for Sara's Witchblade and Ian Nottingham’s protection. But Sara can’t. Whether she likes it or not, her world is changing, and her relationship with Michael may be a casualty.

 

Art

Kenneth Iron's Iron Spire towers above the other high-rises in New York City. The moonlight streams into his gallery, illuminating ancient statues and sculptures. A woman gazing out of a mirror evokes Sara. As Kenneth passes her, her reflection screams. Giuseppe Cafaro frames scenes inside Sara's apartment with black, oily tendrils. Sara confronts Paul, Michael, and Ian with fire in her eyes. She emerges each time wearing a frown. But after she leaves Paul on her couch, the color drains from his face, and black, oily tendrils emerge from Paul's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

 

While a green couch dominates Sara’s living room, Arif Prianto tinges the apartment with this symbol of vitality. After a confrontation in her beige and brown kitchen, memories and imagined futures fill a trio of deteriorating sepia-toned panels. Green also tinges memories of the warehouse, her training in Ian's Sickle Key stronghold, and an overview of New York City. But Ian foresees a future battling green demons in a scarlet sea.

 

Troy Peteri reveals Sara's thoughts as black uppercase letters in red-outlined golden narrative boxes. He shows dialogue as black letters in white balloons and Ian's off-camera words as white letters in brown boxes. The large black letters grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and rarely shrink. Giant red dialogue deforms the balloon of a man who defies nature, while transparent and colored sound effects signal that Sara can no longer cling to her past. Thanks to Image Comics and Top Cow Productions for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Kenneth Irons dictates the fate of nations from his penthouse apartment in the Iron Spire. He counts the days until the Witchblade controls Sara Pezzini, and she joins the woman trapped in his enchanted mirror. But Sara learns about Kenneth in Witchblade #6, and she doesn’t intend to become another of his eldritch possessions.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Witchblade #5 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; 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.

Army Of Darkness Forever #13 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artists: Eamon Winkle, Kewber Baal & Pop Mhan

Colorist: Jorge Sutil

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Joe Rybandt & Marshall Hoyt

Cover Artists: Arthur Suydam, Bjorn Barends, Chris Burnham & Tony Fleecs

Publisher: Dynamite Comics

Price: $5.99

Release Date: October 23, 2024

 

The Necronomicon Ex Mortis gave Ash a demon baby and a chainsaw-swinging new lifestyle. Still, it cost Ash his hand, car, home, and girlfriend. Still, at least it didn’t give him a light beer! What chaos will the evil book force Ash to confront in this final issue? Let's snap on our mechanical hands, leap into Army Of Darkness Forever #13, and find out!

 

First Story

When Ash assembled the scattered pages of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis in 2093, the hologram wiseman disappeared, and the evil book became a baby. After the droids reconstructed the Wiseman from data packets, Ash found a second Necronomicon in a witch-filled cemetery. Now he has arrived in London, England. Ash descended into the sewers for the third copy. But first, he must battle Droidites. In this first story in Army Of Darkness Forever #13, Ash and his droids wage a battle against droids possessed by evil spirits. Tony Fleecs’ story fills in the fight he skipped over in issue #8, reminding us of Ash’s fierce determination. Nikto, the demon baby, backs Ash up. Ash wields Bitey like a weapon. The third book, Sucky, also makes decisions in its best interests while Ash slaughters Droidites.

 

Second Story

Sucky transports Ash to 1993. He arrives in London as Evil Ash leads an Army Of Darkness through the cobbled streets. Bombs explode, and soldiers fire rifles as Ash gets a rematch with the evil twin that grew out of him in 1300 AD. As Ash battles the evil warlord, the ground collapses, and he falls back into the historic sewers. Despite his worries over getting Pink Eye from Deadite fingers, Ash battles squads of military-grade Deadite soldiers. When a Deadite tangles his entrails in Ash’s chainsaw, Ash drops the weapon and beats the evil dead with his left fist and his right stump. This interlude from issue #9 stresses his teamwork with baby Nikto. Ash maintains his optimism by detaching himself from overwhelming circumstances. Sadly, Sucky returns Ash to his time after Evil Ash destroyed civilization. After all his adventures in 2093, the Wiseman's promise may be ashes in Ash’s mouth. Still, Ash battles on.

 

Third Story

After crawling out of the hole, Ash battled his evil twin again. Evil Ash accuses Ash of not using his power wisely, yet the villain makes a mistake that transports them to 1300 AD. While Evil Ash lands elsewhere, Ash returns to Lord Arthur's castle. The Wiseman's copy of the Necronomicon defiled his king and everyone in the castle, forcing Lady Shiela to flee and forge a truce with her brother's killer. Now Ash and Nikto battle the soldiers who once rallied under his banner to battle the Deadites they have become. Tony Fleecs’ third story in Army Of Darkness Forever #13 reminds us that poor decisions can corrupt us, there are always ways to succeed, and we should never lose hope.

 

Art

Eamon Winkle’s three-dimensional art shows the toll fighting the evil dead has taken on Ash. The Droidites resemble the ultimate killing machines, and Ash’s good droids have never looked like better fighters. Bitey evokes Harry Potter’s Monster Book Of Monsters, baby Nikto looks cute yet sinister, and a final frame evokes Skynet’s indomitable creations. Kewber Baal brings cinematic appeal to the second story in Army Of Darkness Forever #13. The photorealistic imagery evokes cinema posters and key art, while inset panels cluster around the edges of double-page spreads as Ash kills hundreds amid a cast of thousands. Pop Mhan delivers a seamless transition to his art in issue #10. Ash grabs whatever comes to hand as he charges, fights, falls, picks himself up, and resumes the battle. After fighting across horizontal strips of panels that stretch diagonally across pages, blood-splattered Nikto hovers beside Ash, evoking Grogu and the Mandalorian and reminding us that size matters less than spirit. 

 

Jorge Sutil lavishes bold greens, blues, reds, browns, and maroons on Ash's underground fight in 2093. Ash's blue shirt and brown slacks lighten amid the sepia background beneath a yellow sky. Yellow fire burns amid orange air in 1993. Ash battles gray skeletal soldiers beneath a purple, moonlit sky in 1300 AD. His skin tones shine while yellow and orange fires burn before nuanced purple and green castle backgrounds.

 

Troy Peteri conjures large uppercase letters into white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes in Army Of Darkness Forever #13. Words grow bold for inflection, enlarge and change color to convey volume, and rarely shrink. Sound effects help us hear gun and blaster fire, chainsaw aggression, Bitey’s chomping, Sucky’s storms, and baby Nikto’s burning barf. Red numbers update a kill counter that lends a consistency of carnage to Ash's adventures through time. Thanks to Dynamite Comics & MGM for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Army Of Darkness Forever #13’s series of linked deleted scenes portray baby Nikto as a stalwart friend and remind us that our circumstances don't define us. Ash may have little in common with Damien Thorn. Still, his adventures in 2093, 1993, and 1300 AD suggest that the one-handed chainsaw fighter and retail store hero embodies the ultimate man.

 

Rating: 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

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.

Witchblade #3 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; David Mack; Marc Silvestri

Publisher: Top Cow Productions & Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 18, 2024

 

After the police arrested and questioned Sara, they released her pending further investigation. Sara used this time to study the strange entity that caused the bloodbath. As she learns how the Witchblade affects her, Ian Nottingham watches Sara. Does Ian spot one of the Human Traffickers entering Sara’s apartment building? How will he respond to the death that follows? Let’s leap into Witchblade #3 and see!

 

Story

Siry runs the Human Trafficking ring. Sara infiltrated a police protection squad paid to look the other way. Siry's lieutenant, Vinter, paid Sara to work for him. Vinter died when the Witchblade bonded with Sara. Sara claimed they didn’t pay her. The unpaid bill angered the corrupt cops, and the survivors of Vinter's squad sent someone to kill Sara. He didn't yell, "Land Shark.” The Witchblade still bit him in two. Sara doesn’t want to get arrested and questioned again, so she mops up the blood and burns his body parts in a pail on her balcony. Yet the fluid that pumped through the Human Trafficker’s veins wasn’t blood.

 

The more Sara learned about her father’s death, the less she trusted his fellow officers. Betrayed by the police, Sara fought overseas in a Black Ops squad. In addition to a soldier's PTSD, Sara also carries the guilt of carrying out the government's dirty deeds. In Witchblade #3, Sara tells herself she is just another victim. She argues that society preys on people, and men prey on women. Yet Sara can’t hide from the truth. She could have shut down Siry’s Human Trafficking ring long ago.

 

While Sara’s grasp on her moral center loosens, her body experiences rebirth. The Witchblade completes her. Perhaps the constant influx of knowledge flooding her senses and mind reveals the sham her life has become. Sara insists that she does all this in the name of justice. Yet Sara struggles to discern good from evil. Everyone is dirty. Even the so-called good people, like Sara's partner Michael and her civilian liaison Nicole, lie and break the law to protect her. How good can they be?

 

Sara serves as our guide in Marguerite Bennett's story. Yet Sara tells everyone in her life a different story. How much of what Sara tells us is true? While Sara seeks to understand who she is becoming, Ian Nottingham follows. He also watches people in pain, does little to help them, and serves a boss who regards people as commodities. Like Sara, his actions will reveal part of the truth about himself in Witchblade #3.

 

Art

Giuseppe Cafaro complements Sara's long dark hair and lips with dark clothes and shoes. The smuggler's organs are also dark. Ian Nottingham wears similarly dark attire. He frames his bearded face with long dark hair. Like Sara, he frequently frowns. Sara takes out her frustrations on a boxing dummy. Yet her scowl lingers as she walks past the men working at their desks. Few of her fellow cops look at her. Detective Fontaine, who taunted Sara in her police cell, crosses his arms over his chest as she approaches. Smiling people like Fontaine are rare in Witchblade #3.

 

Arif Prianto adorns Sara's apartment with green, brown, blue, and purple. Soft green light tinges street scenes of New Yorkers walking through gently falling snow. While Sara's memories are red, other locales betray Printo’s affection for brown, purple, blue, and green. Yet Witchblade #3 escapes a limited-palette look with rich shading, texturing, and clearly defined light sources. After the beautifully colored pages have come and gone, we share Sara's puzzlement over the Human Traffickers' purple blood.

 

Troy Peteri orders black uppercase letters into red-outlined golden narrative boxes and white dialogue balloons. He portrays Sara's indictments against her coworkers with red uppercase letters on yellow Post-It Notes. Immense white letters in gold-bordered black boxes place us in time and space, while Sara’s thoughts appear as small white uppercase letters in rounded brown boxes. Sound effects energize an explosive multipage fight. Sara might as well ask, "You call that a knife?" as she becomes a mass of living blades and crashes through equipment, doors, and ceilings in Witchblade #3. Thanks to Image Comics and Top Cow Productions for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Sara Pizzoli plumbs the depths of a police force protecting Human Traffickers and seeks those involved in her father's murder. Sara's web of deceit and life of denial make it difficult for her to accept that other superhumans walk among us in Witchblade #3.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Army Of Darkness Forever #11 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artist: Pop Mhan

Colorist: Brad Simpson

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Joe Rybandt & Marshall Hoyt

Cover Artists: Bjorn Barends, Arthur Suydam, Tony Fleecs & Chris Burnham

Publisher: Dynamite Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 4, 2024

 

The copy of the Necronomicon Ash calls "Sucky" carries him from 2093 to 1993 to fight Evil Ash. Then, it transports him and Evil Ash to meet Lady Shiela and the Evil Lord Ash in 1300. Ash finds Lady Shiela in the Dark Forest, but Evil Ash impales him with a sword. Is this the end for Ash and Lady Shiela? Let's grab our shotguns and chainsaws, leap into Army Of Darkness Forever #11, and find out!

 

Story

Lady Shiela has many reasons to mourn. Duke Henry killed her brother. Lord Arthur, his wiseman, and everyone she knows in her castle home became a Deadite. Her lover abandoned her to play Sleeping Beauty in a cave, but true love's kiss won't wake him. Now, Lady Shiela watches him die in the dark forest.

 

Ash reassembled the scattered pages of the Necronomicon in 2093, only for it to reform into two books and a baby. Nikto may be as endearing as Mary in Three Men and a Baby, but the Necronomicon-Baby likes carnage. Lady Shiela might not cry for Ash if she knew he killed all 244 Deadites in her castle, but Baby Nikto laughs. Ash wasn't sure if the baby was on his side or just stuck by him because Ash killed so many Deadites and Droidites. But Baby Nikto declares what side it is on when it heals Ash’s ouchie in Army Of Darkness Forever #11.

 

Tony Fleecs packs his story with combatants and confrontations. Lord Arthur's wiseman serves Evil Lord Ash, and his devotion to the Necronomicon Ex Mortis hasn't lessened his wizardly ways. Evil Ash grew out of Ash like a zit and spread like cancer across the world in 1993. There are three copies of the Necronomicon in 1300 in addition to Baby Nikto and the two Ash nicknamed Sucky and Bitey. Fleecs services all his characters, reminds us of the power of the Necronomicon, and makes an interesting comment on the power of evil when the wizard's magic turns against him. The central theme of Army Of Darkness Forever #11 is that grief is a parasite that robs people of their humanity. Lady Shiela’s shield is her refusal to give into grief. She may feel it. She may endure it. But she will never let grief consume her.

 

As for Ash, he is too stubborn to give into grief. The Necronomicon may have ruined his life, but he'll keep fighting for the life he wants. Ash and Lady Shiela seem destined to keep on fighting forever. If only Ash wanted Lady Shiela!

 

Art

Lady Shiela cradles Ash’s head on her lap. With a mace attached to the stump where her hand used to be, she now shares another similarity with her true love. Yet blood fountains from Ash’s beautiful abs as life flees. As the wizard joins Evil Ash to observe Ash's demise, Baby Nikto touches Ash’s stomach. Ash floats above the ground like Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters, while inset panels show characters shielding their faces from radiant Ash.

 

Brad Simpson lavishes a limited palette on Pop Mhan’s fanciful art in Army Of Darkness Forever #11. Bold, contrasting colors highlight standoffs and fighting. Ash and Evil Ash wear blue shirts on a blue battlefield, while Evil Lord Ash and the wizard wear red. Turquoise and magenta often fill the backgrounds of panels on gray pages, but both change as the fighting intensifies until pink seeps into the sky as the wizard declares his allegiance.  

 

Troy Peteri conjures large uppercase letters into white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes in Army Of Darkness Forever #11. Words grow bold for inflection, enlarge and change color to convey volume, and rarely shrink. Sound effects help us hear laughter fill the battlefield, Ash’s axe clang against Evil Ash’s sword, and Baby Nikto becomes a flamethrower that another Ash could have used to protect Sigourney Weaver in Alien. Thanks to Dynamite Comics & MGM for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Ash thought his travels through time were over when he and his three Necronomicons arrived in 1300. Lady Shiela thought Ash’s life was over when Evil Ash from 1993 killed Ash. But with six copies of the Necronomicon, four versions of Ash in one time and place, and a handful of hand-sized Ashes, Lady Shiela and Ash’s headaches become migraines in Army Of Darkness Forever #11.

 

Rating 9/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

Witchblade #1 Review

 

Writer: Marguerite Bennett

Artist: Giuseppe Cafaro

Colorist: Arif Prianto

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editors: Marc Silvestri, Matt Hawkins & Elena Salcedo

Cover Artists: Marc Silvestri & Arif Prianto; Giuseppe Cafaro & Arif Prianto; Sketch Cover,Dani & Brad Simpson; J Scott Campbell & Tanya Lehoux; Bill Sienkiewicz

Publisher: Top Cow Productions & Image Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 17, 2024

 

Sara Pizzoli served her country overseas. She protected her neighborhood in New York. Yet, as she prepares for an undercover assignment, Sara Pizzoli is about to die. What will Sara do with her afterlife? Let’s leap into Witchblade #1 and see!

 

Story

Sara's father was a cop. After he died, she vowed to follow his example. She enlisted and traveled the world. She tried to help and protect others whenever she could. Yet the battlefield overwhelmed her. So, like many soldiers, she sought another purpose at home. Again, she followed in her father's footsteps and enrolled in the police academy. But aside from meeting a fellow cadet who made sound effects with his voice and keeping criminals off the streets, Sara had another purpose. After she graduated, Sara studied police records and pieced together clues. Her fellow cops looked the other way when her father died. Some even conspired to kill him. Sara wants to find everyone responsible and bring them to justice.

 

Marguerite Bennett introduces Sara Pizzoli as a woman on the cusp of change. Yet a cop bent on revenge is not the only character in Witchblade #1. Bennett's story also introduces Kenneth Irons. He's a heartless man who hunts an object of power. His search takes him to Germany. When his excavation crews get close, he pulls back the heavy machinery and summons a volunteer. Despite the guns trained on her, a woman's hopes rise as her questing fingers unearth a prize. Then the gold-and-red spider leaps onto her, bites her neck and cheeks, and the woman bounds away. Kenneth Irons orders his people to track her. The construction worker is merely a courier, a vessel for the host that now controls her. Kenneth seeks the spindly metal spider's final victim, the as-yet-unknown person who will provide a forever home.

 

In Witchblade #1, Marguerite Bennett reboots Marc Silvestri, David Wohl, Brian Haberlin, and Michael Turner's 1990s tale for the modern age. In her story of corrupt cops, rich people seeking power, and criminals dehumanizing the poor for profit, Bennett introduces a woman who lost her father, witnessed the horrors of the battlefield, fears her friends, and will receive unimaginable power. But can Sara prevent the ancient entity from controlling her as it did the construction worker? Can she avoid becoming the weapon of a wealthy man?

 

Art

Driving rain soaks the gleaming skyscrapers, a homeless man, and a taped-off crime scene. Sara frowns over a steaming disposable cup at police files illuminated by a desk lamp. Giuseppe Cafaro hurls us forward in time with a two-page spread showing a witchy woman at the heart of the storm of her becoming. Then he takes us back in time, before Sara’s introduction, to show Kenneth surrounded by armed guards at the excavation site outside the gleaming skyscrapers of Berlin, Germany.

 

Arif Prianto paints this bedtime tale against cloudy blue skies as the gold and red metal spider leaps from the brown dirt. The construction worker hurls people away and bounds toward distant ground-lit brown buildings. The woman’s eyes blaze red and white as she pulls a purple-gray man from his car. The air turns orange with yellow direction lines as a guard opens fire. Red spills from a blonde woman on a white-blue and brown floor. But the opening two-pager proves most arresting, as flowing brown hair gleams and Sara attacks people with the whipping tendrils of her gold, silver, and red armor in Witchblade #1.

 

Troy Peteri adorns Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto’s art with black uppercase letters on red-outlined golden narrative boxes and white dialogue balloons. Immense white letters in gold-bordered black boxes place us in time and space. Enlarged dialogue and energetic sound effects enhance skidding cars, firing guns, and the top of a man's head tumbling off his jaw amid a fountain of blood. Thanks to Image Comics and Top Cow Productions for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Sara Pizzoli, Kenneth Irons, and a reawakened deity converge, an undercover cop on the hunt for vengeance gains superpowers as she tackles police corruption, human trafficking, and powermongers who kill the body and destroy the soul in Witchblade #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.