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By Jason Bourgeois
Welcome to 2010! The future is here! Lucifer is in the sky keeping the planet perpetually in daylight, Duke Nukem Forever is out, and the robot maid just got done cleaning up after the New Year's Eve party. But some things never change; comics are still here, and so am I, so that must mean it's time for another look at a title and share my thoughts on it.
And what title are we kicking off the new year with? I thought it was time to take a little step away from the Big Two for a change, and turn our eyes back towards a smaller book, at least relatively so, and take a stab at Witchblade.
Now, I wasn't always a Witchblade fan. Like a lot of people, I looked at the early promotional stuff, and rolled my eyes at what looked like nothing more than a shameless T&A book. Since I've never actually gone back and taken a look at those first few years, I still can't say one way or the other if it is that type of book, but everyone I know who read it always defended it, and it did develop a very strong personal mythology, weaving its own ideas into popular mythology and even reality, which is actually something I like when a title decides to go that route.
Also, while the lead character of Detective Sara Pezzini may have often been used to show much flesh and try and grab the eyes of the typically male comic readership, she was actually a very strong, independent, and smart female character. Something that can still be hard to find. I'm not sure if that makes the more exploitative moments better or worse, and I'm ill qualified to speculate, but at least they were trying to balance it out, and make her more than just a pair of breasts.
I dipped into the title on occasion around the time it was nearing 100, checking out special issues and the like, and it was a decent read. They had toned down the gratuitous stuff quite a bit, and the characters were just as strong and interesting. I followed the mythology and backstory easily enough, and if I had questions I had friends and the internet to answer them, but most everything was pretty clear.
I finally jumped in and began getting the title regularly a year or two ago with the First Born crossover, and an announcement that the title would have a steady writer and artist until issue 150. Knowing that there would be a singular vision going that long, in this day and age, is a big deal, and can be a selling point. The title has been written by Ron Marz for some time, but knowing he'd be on it for at least another bunch of years, and with the same artist, I figured I'd see things through.
Since very early in his run, Marz has been building towards a number of things, so it has been a great time to be reading the book, to see all of these threads, many of which I've been following in my various dips into the Witchblade pool, coming to fruition. The biggest one of those would have to be the six part arc, War of the Witchblade.
Awhile ago, Sara gave up the Witchblade to her friend Danielle Baptiste, since she was pregnant and could no longer fight crime and the supernatural. Dani took to the role, and when the time came for Sara to return, the Witchblade split between them, leaving two Witchblades to guard over New York City. But the split of the Witchblade upset its role as the literal Balance between darkness and light, and Sara began to become corrupted. This lead to a fight between the two women, and other forces jockeying for certain outcomes that would serve their own purposes.
During the course of the story, each of the wielders of the Witchblade was placed in almost mortal peril, each one very much being a holy crap moment. It's not often you get that with comics, since the status quo must be maintained, but with Witchblade, you have an item that can and will be passed on eventually, so there's a very real chance that the heroes could die. I won't spoil what happened with everyone, but once the dust settled, there was only one Witchblade standing, and the status quo of these characters was indeed changed.
The title is a thrilling mix of mythology and the supernatural. There are times when I almost feel like I am genuinely learning something about myths and legends, aided by some handy notes in the back of many issues about what goes into each story.
I can't wrap up this review without mentioning the art. Stjepan Sejic is simply amazing. His art is digitally coloured and rendered, and it brings an absolutely unique look to this world. It has a touch of photorealism, but still being rooted in comics, and being very shiny at the same time. A lot of his armour can get to look a bit samey at times, but for the most part, each issue is simply gorgeous. The fact that they've got this guy locked up on this title for the long haul, and that the book comes out regularly, albeit not quite monthly I think, is a simply amazing feat. Especially since he does more books than just Witchblade.
Marz and Sejic still have more than a year to go on their run, and things are in place for the next stage of events that they've begun hinting at in recent stories. I hope that they stick together beyond even that issue, but even if they don't, I look forward to what we've got coming in the intervening time. I'm sure it'll be a great read.
And now, I must hop into my flying car and go pick up my jetpack from the repair droids!
Jason M. Bourgeois
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