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Comic Book Jesus reviews Witchblade #121

I’m a recent convert to this title, after the awesome Vol. 5 TPB and the even more awesome talents of artist Stjepan Sejic. Writer Ron Marz continues to build upon the mystical gauntlet’s mythos and shows once again that his deft hand is capable of fitting in to any genre.

Dancer Dani Baptiste (absent in this ish) is now, thanks to the recent events of the First Born arc, the wielder of half of the Witchblade, while long-time cop Sara Pezzini wields its twin. However, that doesn’t mean Sara has half of the trouble to deal with. Although in this issue, the first of the three part Crown Heights story arc, the only time Sara breaks out the blade is not in the midst of a frantic battle, but in the shower with her lover, fellow cop, Patrick Gleason. READ MORE.

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Wizard covers the Top Cow panel at Baltimore Comic-Con

Publisher Filip Sablik introduced the panelists Nelson Blake II, Ron Marz—announced at Baltimore now exclusive at Top Cow for three years—and Rob Levin.

“I love working with these guys,” said Marz of his exclusive contract. “Playing in this universe is a lot more freeing than one of the big two superhero universes where things are lot more controlled. It just seemed to make sense to make it a permanent arrangement.”

The panel kicked off with the “Ron Marz corner of the Universe.” They started with talking about Dragon Prince—a new series by Marz and Lee Moder—and showed some preview pages of issue #2. They also showed a variant cover by Mike Oeming and a Baltimore Comic-Con variant by David Finch. READ MORE.

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Comic Vine interviews Troy Hickman about his Pilot Season win

Comic Vine: First of all, congrats on the win. Looks like you were in the lead for pretty much the entire time. I realize that a lot of my questions may be answered in the upcoming series so feel free to be vague when necessary. I'm not sure if you plan on going in depth about her background or not.
How much of a story do you have in mind so far to continue the Twilight Guardian's story? Is it a mini? Ongoing?

Troy Hickman: At the moment all I'm promised is a mini-series, and I've certainly been plotting that out. If sales warrant it, though, Top Cow might be willing to do an ongoing, so I've started thinking about ideas all down the line. Twilight Guardian is a story that takes place in the "real world," and as we all know, there's little that can't happen to a person on this planet.


CV: Will we find out her name? (We have nothing listed for her name on the site).

TH: I'm not sure. I do have a name for her if it ever becomes an issue. For now, though, I think it adds to the commonality that the readers share with her if she's only "Twilight Guardian" (and that's almost certainly how she thinks of herself).


CV: Where did the idea of a character with OCD come from?

TH: Twilight Guardian first appeared in a mini-comic trilogy I did in the early 90s called Tales of the Pathetic Club, which was about a doctor who studies people with various forms of OCD (in my opinion still one of the best things I've written). The idea for TG, and all the folks in Pathetic Club, came from my own anxiety-ridden, ritualistic noggin. READ MORE.

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Newsarama interviews Paul Dini about Dinicartoons

Christmas is coming early for comics fans, as Paul Dini's Jingle Belle is returning to the comics page ... courtesy of cow?

The new Jingle Belle one-shot is being put out by Top Cow Productions, and it signals the beginning of a new imprint hosting Jingle and other related characters all from the mind of writer Paul Dini. Dini is famed writer of both comics (Detective Comics, Madame Mirage) and animation (Justice League Unlimited, Tiny Toons), but the character of Jingle Belle has always been the closest to his heart. Originally created in 1999, Jingle Belle is the spoiled teen-age daughter of Santa Claus and has appeared in several miniseries and one-shots in the past nine years. And now she's back in a new one shot entitled Jingle Belle: Santa Claus vs. Frankenstein coming this fall. READ MORE.

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Madame Mirage TPB review on Best Shots

"Madame Mirage will keep you guessing until the very end!"

The story of murder, intrigue and revenge with superpowers, this is Madame Mirage. "Mirage" takes place in a world where superheroes are man-made creations through the advances in technology or bio-engineering to turn people into metahumans and metahumans into gods. Though when there are heroes, there must be villains. As people took advantage of the mega-tech for personal gain, the technology was banned, the superheroes became outlawed and the real outlaws went underground. READ MORE.

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Baltimore 08: Ron Marz Signs Top Cow Exclusive

As Newsarama readers know, writer Ron Marz has been calling Top Cow his home more and more recently. Along with writing the monthly Witchblade, Marz is currently also writing Dragon Prince and Broken Trinity for the publisher, and has been working on developing the universe’s future, helping to pull the various, sometimes disparate, threads together. READ MORE.

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The Quarter Bin covers the Top Cow panel at Baltimore Comic-Con

Ready to hear everything you want to know about the Top Cow universe? Stay tuned, Filip Sablik is going to talk Darkness, Witchblade, Dragon Prince, and all things Top Cow. Moo! More from Filip, Nelson Blake II, Ron Marz, Rob Levin after the jump. READ MORE.

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John Siuntres & Joshua Hale Fialkov podcast Interview

John Siuntres interviews CYBLADE and ALIBI writer Joshua Hale Fialkov on the latest episode of Word Balloon READ MORE.

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Paul Dini Talks Dinicartoons

Paul Dini talks with Comic Book Resources about the new Dinicartoons imprint at Top Cow:

After a good turn with Top Cow’s Madame Mirage, comics and animation veteran Paul Dini and Top Cow top brass Matt Hawkins and Rob Levin put their heads together to come up with a new project to work on together. That project became Dinicartoons, an imprint by which Dini intends to feature not only his own original characters, but also those of up-and-coming artists and animators.

The first book published under the Dinicartoons banner features Dini’s holiday character, Jingle Belle. Originally published by Oni Press, Dini’s Jingle Belle stories chronicle the adventures of Santa Claus’ spoiled teenaged daughter. The new Belle book pits Old Saint Nick against a decidedly unexpected foe: Frankenstein’s monster. For readers familiar with the ending to Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel, the possibility of these two pop-culture icons crossing paths is not as far fetched as it seems.

Click here to read more.

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Impaler website now online

Top Cow and William Harms bring you the official Impaler website which is now online!.
so go on over and check it out.

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Stjepan Sejic talks about his upcoming project, RAVINE

Stjepan Sejic crossed a ravine of his own when he journeyed from a young hopeful in Croatia to one of comic's biggest artistic talents. Now he plans on bringing another Ravine to the fans and hopes they'll take the journey with him.

As Sejic's first creator-owned work, Ravine serves as a very personal project for Sejic. As such, the star creator jumped at the chance to give readers a look inside the sprawling saga and a sneak peak at enough PREVIEW ART to fill a canyon of its own in this EXCLUSIVE FIRST INTERVIEW!


What can you tell us about your series Ravine?
SEJIC: Basically, it's an epic fantasy with a rather strong romantic under-story. It's extremely character driven. When I announced it, I said it was about a father who lost his family and he's doing whatever he can to bring them back, but there's this group of heroes that are on a quest to stop him because he's willing to start a war of epic proportions to bring his family back. The whole thing, when it's finished, is going to be like a thousand fully painted pages. It's not really so much a comic book as it is a fantasy story. Initially, it was going to be a book, but I think it's faster for me to draw a legion of dragons than describe them one by one.
READ MORE.

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2 New banners add to download section

2 New banners added to topcow's download section be sure to check back each week for our updates on topcow.com.

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Recent The Darkness video game review

ON THE NIGHT of his twenty-first birthday, something happened to Jackie Estacado. In just a few short hours he went from being a small time Mafia enforcer to being…something else. Bearer of a dark legacy passed from Father to son at the moment of conception. A fate which leads to the Father dying within only a few minutes of the act itself, as the Darkness passes down to the next male in the line. READ MORE.

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Diamond Retailer Summit raises money for charity, Top Cow participates

Over 400 specialty market retailers converged on Bally’s Las Vegas for the first of two 2008 Diamond/Alliance Retailer Summits. In addition to a wealth of entertaining, educational and enlightening activities that brought together some of the industry’s leading retailers, vendors, creators and distributors, the Summit also hosted live and silent Charity Auctions, raising $20,000 to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), The HERO Initiative and ProLiteracy! READ MORE.

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New Topcow.com Downloads

3 new Avatars and 1 new wallpaper have been added to the topcow.com download section be sure to check them out.

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Madame Mirage TPB Vol. 1 PREVIEW

Madame Mirage TPB Vol. 1
(W) Paul Dini (A) Kenneth Rocafort (Cov) Kenneth Rocafort

From the magical mind of Paul Dini (Countdown, Detective Comics) comes a new, original femme fatale story that combines elements of film noir, tech, and superhero comics. Superbly drawn by rising star Kenneth Rocafort (Hunter-Killer), this volume collects Season 1 of this amazing story, a cover gallery, and insightful behind-the-scenes material, plus an all-new cover by Rocafort! 'The real brilliance of this tale is that, just as the reader decides they know exactly how the story will play out, Dini pulls the rug out from under them.' -IGN.com

176pgs, FC $14.99 READ THE PREVIEW ONLINE.

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Girls Entertainment Network interviews Troy Hickman about his win

On September 18th, I was officially pwned—badly. Even though the votes were close, two Top Cow Pilot Season books came out on top: Twilight Guardian and Genius. Troy Hickman, the writer for TG, agreed to take a moment to talk about his comic and the welcomed response to it, what we can expect to see next year, and my … totally being pwned. READ MORE.

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Baltimore Comic-Con releases List of Con Exclusives

As we get closer to the show, we are proud to announce this years set of Baltimore Comic-Con show exclusives! Our selection has grown from previous years, and we are sure everybody can find something to love!

The Baltimore Comic-Con, held at the Baltimore Convention Center on September 27-28, 2008, is offering 7 show exclusives this year from Aspen, Marvel, PopFun, Top Cow, and 3 Finger Prints. READ MORE.

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Top Cow December Solicitations

CHECKLIST
Impaler #1 William Harms/Matt Timson/Sheldon Mitchell $2.99
Impaler/Black Vault Preview Book Various/Various $2.99
The Darkness: Lodbrok’s Hand Phil Hester/Michael Avon Oeming/Massimo Carnevale $2.99
Cyblade #3 Joshua Hale Fialkov/Rick Mays/Stjepan Sejic $2.99
Witchblade #123 Ron Marz/Stjepan Sejic $2.99
Witchblade #118 Marc Silvestri San Diego Comic-Con VariantRon Marz/Stjepan Sejic/Marc Silvestri $10.00
Dragon Prince #4 Ron Marz/Jeff Johnson/Ryan Sook $2.99
Rising Stars Compendium HC J. Michael Straczynski/Fiona Avery/Brent Anderson/Keu Cha/David Finch/Karl Moline $99.99
READ MORE.

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Black Mermaid praises Pilot Season

Top Cow Productions, Marc Silvestri's studio and a comics publishing imprint/partner of Image Comics, has hit upon a fabulous business idea that invites fans to participate in publishing decisions. READ MORE.

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Another positive Dragon Prince #1 review

Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Witchblade) and First Born: Aftermath artist Lee Moder have teamed up for Dragon Prince, which debuted on September 10th. Prince is a four-part miniseries that is a mix of modern day fantasy with martial arts action and mystic mayhem, and anybody a fan of the Jade Empire video game series or younger audiences that obsess over Ben 10 will surely get a kick out of the title. READ MORE.

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Interview with Top Cow Pilot Season 2008 Winners

We recently asked the winning writers of Top Cow's 2008 Pilot Season competition to tell us about the winning titles and about the competition process. The following interviews with Troy Hickman (Twilight Guardian) and Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman (Genius) were conducted via email by Peter Jaffe. READ MORE.

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MESSAGES FROM THE 2008 PILOT SEASON WINNERS

Hey Pilot Season fans!

Here are messages from the creative teams behind the 2008 Pilot Season winners, TWILIGHT GUARDIAN and GENIUS:

"I can't begin to thank all the people who put Twilight Guardian in this wonderful situation, though rest assured I'll be trying to do so for a while (so if you get a strange call at two in the morning...). For now, I'll just say thank you to Reza for his fantastic work, and to everyone who voted and got the word out there, and all the gang at Top Cow for giving it a chance. It's great to win this, but it's even cooler to know we've got folks behind us." -- TROY HICKMAN

"First and foremost, a huge 'thank you!' Many fans bitch that they want new, fresh ideas while simultaneously rejecting anything that is not mainstream. You put your vote where your mouth is. For whatever reason, something in Genius grabbed you and, as the creators, there is no bigger compliment. You've put the pressure on us to deliver. We will not disappoint you." --ADAM FREEMAN

"And we appreciate you coming to the table with an open mind. Genius is not your average comic book. This is the story of a villain, presented as if she's the hero, free of any of the 'comfort' trappings one usually gets in comic fiction. There are no costumes, no secret identities, no lanterns of power or irradiated spiders. We're playing in the real world, telling a story with real-world parallels. The fact that Genius didn't scare too many people away is incredibly heartening." --MARC BERNARDIN

"A million thanks to you who voted and took the time out to read and give your opinions, support and well wishes. You chose Genius and it's a privilege to continue doing this story knowing easily you could have picked any of the other really great books in Pilot Season. We won't let you down." --AFUA RICHARDSON

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Announcing the winners of 2008 Pilot Season!

TOP COW ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2008 PILOT SEASON

Fans vote for TWILIGHT GUARDIAN and GENIUS to get their own series

LOS ANGELES, Calif., September 18, 2008 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced today that the winners of the 2008 Pilot Season campaign are Twilight Guardian by writer Troy Hickman and artist Reza and Genius by writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman and artist Afua Richardson.

For over a month, fans went to the Top Cow website, the Pilot Season website or other sites once per day, every day, to vote for their favorite 2008 Pilot Season one-shots. Pilot Season is an annual initiative Top Cow began in 2007 that borrows its concept from the television industry: Six “pilots” are submitted for consideration to be “picked up for a season,” except instead of TV executives deciding their fates, it’s the fans! 2007’s top two vote getters, Cyblade and Velocity, will debut with new series later this year. 2008’s winners will debut with new series in 2009.

Twilight Guardian and Genius beat out Urban Myths by Jay Faerber and Jorge Molina, The Core by Jonathan Hickman and Kenneth Rocafort, Alibi by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Jeremy Haun and Lady Pendragon by Matt Hawkins and Eru.

Twilight Guardian is about an average woman with a particular kind of OCD that drives her to patrol a nine-block area in her neighborhood every night, and about the other “night people” and situations she encounters because of it. Genius asks the question, “Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, Patton. What if the greatest military mind of OUR generation was a 17-year-old girl who grew up on the tough streets of an urban war zone?” Both books resonated with a majority of the voters and their creators are ecstatic, excited and even surprised.

“Holey crullers! I really don’t know WHAT to say,” said Troy Hickman. “I feel like I did once at a convention years ago when I somehow wound up on an elevator with Mr. Curt Swan, and I remember thinking, ‘Something’s gone terribly wrong. They’ve accidentally let me on the IMPORTANT elevator!’ The creative teams on the other Pilot Season comics are just terrific, some of the most talented people working in this, or any, medium, and I feel so proud to even be included in this competition. And big congrats to Genius for winning the other spot!”

“I’m shocked, really,” said Adam Freeman. “Genius is not a traditional comic and I suppose that is one of its greatest assets as well as its biggest obstacle. We weren’t sure how readers would react but we knew it was a story we were passionate about. Kudos to Top Cow for being the only publisher willing to take that risk with us. Someone wiser than me once said, ‘Never underestimate your audience’ and, truth be told, we did a little on this one. We didn’t think people would ‘get it’ but apparently they did.”

“Hell, I’m just thrilled to have won something,” added Marc Bernardin. “Seriously though, it’s like Adam said: We knew Genius was an uphill battle, but every now and then, those uphill battles get WON.”

“I blew my voice squealing like a happy pig for a half hour and came up with at least five victory dances,” exclaimed Afua Richardson when she found out Genius was one of the winning titles. “I feel like I won one for all the oddballs out there—all the artists left of center, for the chicks who fight stigmas in comics, all of them!”

Now that the winners have been declared, the creative teams will work with Top Cow’s editorial department to start planning out their series, which will debut in 2009.

“Issue #1 of Genius sparked a few pretty heated debates in some circles but that was only the first act to a much larger story,” explained Freeman. “There is a lot more to tell. I am very curious how the future issues will be received because, trust me, this book is not going where you think it is.

“We’re going to dip a bit into Destiny’s back-story and the forces that combined to make her the woman she is today,” teased Bernardin. “And we’re going to show just how bloody revolution can be.”

“I look forward to a) seeing what happens next; b) getting the chance to work with Marc and Adam again; and c) really getting a chance to show my stuff,” asserted Richardson. “I just really want put my best foot forward on this.”

“Well, now comes the fun part: making comic books,” conveyed Hickman. “Let’s see if we can take Twilight Guardian where comics haven’t gone before. I don’t want to give anything away, but I promise you there will be comedy, and drama, and plenty of the unexpected. Maybe she’s a Skrull…”

“Everyone here at Top Cow wants to wish a hearty congratulations to the teams on Twilight Guardian and Genius for a hard-won victory in this year's Pilot Season,” proclaimed Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “It was an incredibly close race across the board and these two teams campaigned hard for the fans' votes. The fans have spoken and we've already got the wheels in motion to give them more of what they want!”

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Review of Broken Trinity #2

The Top Cow universe has been shaken to its core in recent months, and Broken Trinity #2 brings together the Darkness, the Angelus, the Witchblade, and a new power on a New York City battleground. Ready to find out what’s going on in the war between darkness and light? Read on. READ MORE.

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Newsarama interviews Ron Marz about Dragon Prince

With Dragon Prince from Top Cow, Ron Marz and Lee Moder have brought some fantasy back to comics, telling the story of a son of a dragon. No, no – wait – not in the superhero sense. READ MORE.

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DINI CARTOONS JOINS TOP COW

Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced superstar creator Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series, Detective Comics, Countdown, Lost, Madame Mirage) is bringing his Dinicartoons universe to Top Cow, kicking off with a one-shot in November featuring Dinicartoons’ star character, Jingle Belle.
“I had a great experience working with Top Cow on Madame Mirage so I’m really happy to be bringing my cast of Dinicartoons characters there,” said Dini, who recently completed the first volume of Madame Mirage with the publisher, which is now available in trade paperback. READ MORE.

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Seth Green Talks to Mtv Splash page

Since Seth Green — he of “Robot Chicken,” “Family Guy,” “Austin Powers,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — is no stranger to geekdom, it should be of no surprise that he is a major fan of comics. He’s got one of his own, but he also likes to read “Booster Gold” and “Common Grounds.” That’s why it would have been a dream come true if he could have had a part in “Watchmen” — as a certain masked man. READ MORE.

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READ BROKEN TRINITY #1 FREE

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The Oklahoman posts a video review of DRAGON PRINCE #1

READ MORE.

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Comic Book Jesus reviews DRAGON PRINCE #1

Starting any comic with a wounded crimson dragon being attacked by gun wielding motor cyclists in an ancient rice filed is certainly attention grabbing. Writer Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Witchblade) is no stranger to the worlds of mysticism coupled with heroism, and here he distinguishes himself from the pack yet again by offering another creator-owned adventure. READ MORE.

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Best Shot review of Dragon Prince #1

Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Witchblade) and First Born: Aftermath artist Lee Moder have teamed up for Dragon Prince, which debuted on September 10th. Prince is a four-part miniseries that is a mix of modern day fantasy with martial arts action and mystic mayhem, and anybody a fan of the Jade Empire video game series or younger audiences that obsess over Ben 10 will surely get a kick out of the title. READ MORE.

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Newsarama covers FOC announcement

About 300 comic-book retailers descended on Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the first of the 2008 Diamond/Alliance Retailer Summits.

The biggest announcement was the implementation of a "final order cutoff" for both Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics, which will allow retailers to raise and lower their orders on those titles a few weeks before the books ship. READ MORE.

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Wanted Video game screen shots

Wanted promises to deliver the same fantastic visual style, in-your-face attitude and edge-of-your-seat action as the blockbuster motion picture. READ MORE.

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CBR posts full issue of BROKEN TRINITY

In anticipation of next week's release of "Broken Trinity" #2, Top Cow Productions is offering CBR readers the chance to catch up on this most important event miniseries by bringing you the complete, full issue of "Broken Trinity" #1 by writer Ron Marz and artists Stjepan Sejic and Phil Hester. The follow-up to last year's hit "First Born," Top Cow promises fans of Witchblade and The Darkness that "Broken Trinity" cannot be missed, so when you're through checking out this free first issue, don't forget to visit CBR's Image Comics forum to discuss "Broken Trinity" with fellow readers. READ MORE.

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One Shot Presents posts video on their trip to Top Cow

READ MORE.

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BROKEN TRINITY #2 PREVIEW

(W) Ron Marz (A) Stjepan Sejic (Cov) Stjepan Sejic/A, Dale Keown/B The earth-shattering saga revolving around the three main players of the Top Cow Universe continues! The paths of the Witchblade, The Darkness and The Angelus converge on New York City once more. By the end of Broken Trinity, a new balance of power will be forged as new players are introduced and at least one established character will be gone forever. The team of Marz and Sejic that dazzled you with First Born and their ongoing adventures on Witchblade is back to change the face of the Top Cow Universe one more time in spectacular fashion!"

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Wizard looks at Broken Trinity

'Broken Trinity' unleashes a new artifact bearer, whose icy grip spells death for a major character!.
For eons, the bearer of the Witchblade maintained the balance between the opposing elemental forces, the Angelus and the Darkness. Last summer's "First Born" event revolved around the birth of Hope, a child of the Witchblade and the Darkness. READ MORE.

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CBR talks to Ron Marz about DRAGON PRINCE

It's been more than four years since Ron Marz and Jeff Johnson first conceived of the last living dragon that would become the star of "Dragon Prince." A modern fantasy story set in present-day San Francisco, the forthcoming Top Cow series follows 13-year-old Aaron Chang, a child of both Chinese and American parentage who's never found a place to fit in. READ MORE.

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