Newsarama: THE DARKNESS: ORIGINS VOLUME 2 Coming This Month

DARKNESS FANS CAN DIVE INTO JACKIE ESTACADO’S BEGINNING WITH THE WITCHBLADE

THE DARKNESS: ORIGINS VOLUME 2 TRADE PAPERBACK

LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 8, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that the long sold-out early issues of The Darkness will be re-released as The Darkness: Origins Volume 2. Scheduled to be in stores June 30, 2010, The Darkness: Origins Volume 2 continues the rebranding presented as part of the publisher’s “Origins” trade paperback line reprinting of classic Top Cow Universe stories that includes the recently released Witchblade: Origins Volume 1 and 2, and The Darkness: Origins Volume 1 trade paperbacks.

Read the full release here.
Source: Newsarama

CBR: "Witchblade" Walks The Road To "Artifacts"

Homicide detective Sara Pezzini is one of New York City's finest police officers, but she has much more than a service revolver at her disposal - she's the bearer of the Witchblade, one of thirteen highly coveted Artifacts in the Top Cow Universe.

Created by Marc Silvestri, David Wohl, Brian Haberlin and Michael Turner, Sara is virtually synonymous with Top Cow thanks to her long-standing ongoing series, "Witchblade," currently written by Ron Marz. Soon, Sara will assume a central role in another series - "Artifacts," the 13-issue event penned by Marz and drawn by a team of artists including Michael Broussard. CBR News spoke with Marz and Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik to learn more about Sara's role in "Artifacts."

As an Artifact, the Witchblade represents the balance between the Darkness and the Angelus, the primal forces of dark and light within the Top Cow Universe. Thankfully, this burden falls into the hands of Sara, a character that Sablik described as the "purest hero in the Top Cow Universe, in the sense that she's always trying to do what's right in her mind."

Read more about The Witchblade here.

Source: CBR

Digital Spy: Aphrodite IV returns to Top Cow universe

Android femme fatale Aphrodite IV has returned to the Top Cow universe in the pages of its Witchblade comic.

The character first appeared in David Finch and David Wohl's Aphrodite IX and has gone on to feature in several Top Cow titles. She re-emerges in the ongoing plotline 'Pantheon' by writer Ron Marz and artist Stjepan Sejic.

In an interview with CBR, Mars provided an overview of the character's arc. "I think Aphrodite IV is still a work in progress," he said. "In the Aphrodite IX miniseries, there were issues of her maybe not understanding where she came from and all of that stuff.

"To my mind, the real story here is the evolution of the character from IV to IX and how you start putting the pieces in place to show that. For one, the Aphrodite IV model is not as advanced as IX. She's still learning about herself. We didn't want to do the Pinocchio cliché of an artificial life form that wants to be human."

Aphrodite IV makes an appearance in Witchblade #134, available in stores now. She will next feature in Witchblade #135, released on March 17.

Source: Digital Spy

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CBR: Aphrodite IV Returns To "WITCHBLADE"

Once upon a time in "Witchblade" lore, Detective Sara Pezzini encountered a green-haired cybernetic assassin that had only one purpose in life - beating the ever-living snot out of Sara.

Now, after a 15 issue absence, the android femme fatale Aphrodite IV is back in the pages of Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic's "Witchblade," and although her purpose doesn't involve Sara at all this time around, fans can bet that the Witchblade bearer will have a bone or two to pick with the returning assassin. CBR News spoke with Marz about Aphrodite's return to the Top Cow Universe, the differences between her and her future counterpart, and why readers seemingly can't get enough of this deadly character.

Although the character first appeared in David Finch and David Wohl's "Aphrodite IX," the protagonist of that miniseries was actually a future version of the one that Marz ultimately brought into the Top Cow herd. "The 'Aphrodite IX' miniseries from a few years ago, story-wise, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me," the writer told CBR. "I wasn't really sure what was what and where it was all going. So I initially brought an earlier version, Aphrodite IV, into the last couple of pages of my last 'Cyberforce' issue, and when I had a chance, I brought that same model into the pages of 'Witchblade.' I had a good time doing it and the readers really responded - we sold out of that issue real fast - so there's obviously an interest in the character."

Read the full article here.

Source: CBR

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Newsarama: Top Cow Alum David Finch Ushering in a Brightest Day for DC

Top Cow Alum David Finch signed exclusively with DC this year and will be doing covers for the Brightest Day series.

In an interview with Newsarama's Vaneta Rogers, Finch recounts his early days at Top Cow:

Newsarama: Dave, we've talked a lot before about how you got into the business, but for DC fans who might not be familiar with your work, you came through Top Cow, right? Starting on Cyberforce under the direction of Marc Silvestri. How did you get started in comics there?

David Finch: I went to New York with some samples and showed them to David Wohl. He liked them enough to suggest I draw a pin-up and turn it in to Top Cow. They liked the pin-up enough to take me on as an intern and I learned on the job. That lead to seven years with Top Cow.

Nrama: Who were some of your influences as you began your comics career? Do you think they still influence your art, or has your style evolved?

Finch: My biggest influences when I started drawing were Marc Silvestri, Dale Keown, Jim Lee, Adam Kubert and Alan Davis and I would have to say that they still influence my art very heavily. Since then I’ve taken on a lot of other influences and gone in different directions, but the core of what I do has always stayed the same. I was attracted to comics because of the powerful artwork that I saw at that time, and that type of work is always going to be central to what I do.



Read the complete interview with David Finch here.

Source: Newsarama

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Get Onboard with Image Comics/I'd Buy Those For A Dollar

As reported by ifanboy and Bleeding Cool, Image Comics is releasing reprints of their most popular titles for $1 leading up to Free Comic Book Day for people looking to try new comics.

Among the 10 first issues being reprinted is Witchblade #1 by David Wohl, Christina Z. & Michael Turner.

Here are the all the titles and their issue dates:

Youngblood #1 by Rob Liefeld & Joe Casey - 03/31/10
The Walking Dead #1 by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore - 03/31/10
Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane - 04/07/10
Chew #1 by John Layman & Rob Guillory - 04/07/10
Savage Dragon #1 by Erik Larsen - 04/14/10
Age of Bronze #1 by Eric Shanower - 04/14/10
Witchblade #1 by David Wohl, Christina Z. & Michael Turner - 04/21/10
Girls #1 by the Luna Brothers - 04/21/10
Invincible #1 - by Robert Kirkman & Cory Walker - 04/28/10
Proof #1 - by Alex Grecian & Riley Rossmo - 04/28/10

"You will have no excuse not to finally check out The Walking Dead or Chew or Witchblade. "

Source: ifanboy | Bleeding Cool

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The SHADOWS & FLAME Within The DARKNESS

You should be afraid – not of what you can see in the darkness, but what you can't see in the Darkness.

For the comics character the Darkness, the same holds true. Created over ten years ago by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis and David Wohl, the Darkness is more than just one character – it's a cast, a mood and a mythology of the legacy of the mantle fo the Darkness through time. Rooted in horror, The Darkness title has explored many different areas but in the upcoming one-shot The Darkness: Shadows & Flames coming out in January, those horror roots come full circle – Lovecraft style.

Writer Rob Levin and artist Jorge Lucas are telling the story of a man who is a shadow of his former self. Salvador Gomes' spirit and life are broken after the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter, and he's now alone with only his thoughts and fears to keep him company. All this idle time leads Gomes to finding what he calls 'The Shadow God" and tries to bargain with him – no matter what the price.

READ MORE.

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