Top Cow Productions 2017
Written by Caitlin Kittredge
Illustrated by Roberta Ingranata
Coloured by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by Troy Peteri
A missing-child case brings Alex and the Witchblade face to face with a powerful demon, and when Alex begins to suspect Ash isn't telling her everything about the Artifact, she turns to her own sources for information, with devastating results.
So far I like what I’m seeing, with one exception and that’s how the Witchblade is being seen, or not seen, in action. With any new iteration things will be different and I understand that perfectly well but this is the Witchblade so unless she’s holding back afraid to unleash it what we see here is woefully inadequate. While it doesn’t have to be the armour Sara wore this is a weapon and should behave like it has for centuries. That wimpy green light isn’t going to cut it folks not by any stretch of the imagination so while I do think that she’s afraid and holding back I am voicing my opinion on what we are seeing here.
As far as Alex is concerned I kind of like her. I’ve noticed the similarities between her and the previous wearers of the Witchblade and the more we see her the more that is noticeable. She’s a very strong willed woman and has that sense of right and wrong, looking for justice in her day to day to life that makes her the ideal candidate for the Witchblade. So what I’m saying is that the characterisation that Caitlin is doing here is some really nice strong stuff that makes you sit up take notice and root for Alex.
I like the way this is structured and how her day to day life is impacting her now that she’s come back to life. Would the cases that seem every other case she’s taken on be seen the same way had she not died, come back and wears the Witchblade? Or is this a case of the Witchblade seems to attract attention for the weird and this will now be the norm for what she experiences. That I have to wonder about this, that pops into my mind as I am reading this well that’s the power of storytelling because it makes you see beyond the veil.
The interior artwork here is really nice. The linework is smooth and the varying weights of it look good and distinguish what should be highlighted. Facial expressions sometimes just with the eyebrows yeah that kind of stuff is what we notice that makes all the difference in the world. The use of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective show a strong eye for storytelling. The backgrounds are great for expanding the moment, showing the things following Alex and generally fleshing out the moments.
Majil seems like a great character, one whom I am hoping is gay from the way he comes across here. Procuring items that are hard to find and sell makes him one of those rare breeds that can definitely come in handy. If he’s going to be a regular in these pages I’m down for that after what he and we see in this issue. Besides it’s nice to see her start building up a supporting cast that consists of regular, so far, folk. Ash is good an all but he’s familiar and ready to train her what she needs are people familiar or comfortable with event in and out of both worlds.
The process of finally accepting what’s happening and all the otherworldly weirdness that goes along with it isn’t something that happens overnight. So that Caitlin has been showing us her coming to terms with it, amidst situations where she has no choice, is being done at a nice pace. Also that strange scene in that panel doesn’t bode well for Alex and I like the drama and tension it created out of nowhere.
This may be different from what people expect but I’m okay with that as so far this is proving to be a nice take on the franchise.