Blogcritics Books Reviews Witchblade Vol. 2 - Awakenings by Ron Marz and Mike Choi

I know I said that the first volume of the renewed Witchblade series wasn’t exactly my cup of tea; but short while after saying, there I was — feeling an inexplicable urge to read super-heroine stuff on glossy paper, and so I picked up the second volume of Witchblade. To my pleasant surprise, it was actually better than the previous volume, story-wise. No more apocalyptic end-of-days cliches, but rather your more usual day-to-day supernatural killers and mutated outlaws.

First, a quick recap: the renewed Witchblade series by writer Ron Marz follows Sara Pezzini, a beautiful New Yorker detective, the bearer of an ancient and powerful artifact called the Witchblade; the Witchblade symbiotically attaches to Sara’s (naked) body, both like an armor and a weapon (The original Witchblade series, with amazing art by Michael Turner, debuted in 1995, went on for 79 issues, and is still going on with the renewed series taking over from issue #80, first published in 2004; this second volume collects issues #86-#92).

All the art in this volume is perfectly and professionally colored by Brian Buccellato.

To summarize my impression of this volume, I would have to say that it is still not my usual cup of tea, but once in a while, it’s exactly the kind of tea I crave — and for sure it had been better tea than the previous one. I may drink more of it, once in a while.

Read the full review here.

Source: Blogcritics Books

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Flames Rising Reviews Witchblade #131

Back with another overdue review of Witchblade (provided for review by the publisher in pdf format). Usually I don’t comment on the alternate covers (many of them have way too much cleavage for me to appreciate), but I have to say that Chris Bachalo’s Cover B is brilliant for this issue — it’s an almost Disnified version of Sara wearing very little Witchblade armor, but she’s just so cute that her scantily clad bod seems secondary to the hair and earrings being featured. None of the covers are particularly relevant to the content inside in this issue, so the cute factor goes a long way.

Sejic and Marz continue their excellent work in issue #131, which is really a wrap-up to the “War of the Witchblades” story line. Poor Julie’s been left out in the cold, not knowing about Sara’s secret, paranormal life. Now that she has a chance to talk to Gleason (while both of them try to get baby Hope to cooperate with eating and bathing), he sums up what’s been going on in the world for the last six issues. Apparently, Sara’s such a good cop that despite missing shifts and going a little insane during the previous arc, all she’s facing is a slap on the wrist. As for the consequences of the Witchblade’s division and restoration — it looks like Sara may have some work ahead of her keeping the dark side of the balance in check.

Overall, this is a recap issue, and if not for some gorgeous, almost painterly art by Sejic, it would be easily skippable. But from the hilarious joking pout on Julie’s face on the first page to a beautifully colored circular panel of Sara and Dani on the closing page, Sejic’s art continues to shine. Having the wrap-up is a handy way for Top Cow to inform readers that Dani and Finch are moving on into their own series (and possibly a relationship) while making it clear that Sara’s struggle is ongoing. She’s been changed by falling into Darkness, and even though she’s back in control, there may be moments when, faced with evil, she’s tempted to retaliate with her own darkness. Issue #131 isn’t a must-buy episode in the ongoing saga, but it’s definitely worth collecting if you’ve been following the rest of the storyline.

Source: Flames Rising

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CBR Previews Witchblade #131

Emerging from the ashes of “War of the Witchblades”, the new Witchblade bearer must struggle to adjust to her new responsibility with the reunified gauntlet. But will the gauntlet allow her a moment of respite in the wake of war and loss?

Featuring a cover by regular artist Sejic and two additional variant covers by Chris Bachalo (Amazing Spider-Man) and newcomer John Tyler Christopher.

READ MORE.

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Newsarama's First Look: Witchblade Baltimore Con Exclusive

This is your first look at the Baltimore Comic Con 2009 Exclusive cover of Witchblade #131. Solicitation follows:

Witchblade #131: “A New Beginning”
(W) Ron Marz (A) Stjepan Sejic (Cov) Sejic, Chris Bachalo, John Tyler Christopher

A new status quo begins here!

Featuring a cover by regular artist Sejic and two additional variant covers by Chris Bachalo (Amazing Spider-Man) and newcomer John Tyler Christopher!

READ MORE.

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