Comics

Review: ‘The Shadow’ #6

Published

12 years ago

October 25, 2012

Garth Ennis’ run on The Shadow concludes in issue 6, as Lamont Cranston and company attempt to prevent the Japanese from obtaining the materials necessary to build a death ray and end World War II. It’s the end of another solid Ennis tale, featuring the solid characterization, tight writing and – yes – gratuitous amounts of violence that he’s known for. Aaron Campbell’s art is as good as it’s been for the past few issues, enhancing the story with its vivid depictions of the action and the scenes in between. It’s a shame to see Ennis leave, but at least he’s left on a high note.

WRITTEN BY: Garth Ennis
ART BY: Aaron Campbell
PUBLISHER: Dynamite Entertainment
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE DATE: October 24th, 2012

This issue is the conclusion of Ennis’ first and only arc on “The Shadow”. And he delivers. There are some excellent character moments here, especially early on, as Taro Kondo reveals just how much of a douche he actually is. And we’re talking about a guy who’s already procured children for the pedophilic General Akamatsu earlier in the series here, so the degree of his douche-ness was fairly evident already. There’s also a significant amount of action, as The Shadow finally catches up to Kondo and his crew and exacts brutal vengeance. However, things do not go entirely as planned, but the story is resolved nonetheless and we finally get to find out what everyone’s been after the whole time as well.

As always, Aaron Campbell’s art was excellent. His panels are always clear, detailed, and manage to convey everything that’s happening in a scene. His action scenes are especially impressive, given that he communicates to the reader the sense of cacophony and chaos in the final showdown without actually creating a chaotic panel. His character work is equally excellent – just look at the general’s face in the opening pages to see why.

Between this and Ennis’ latest issue of “The Boys”, Ennis has been on fire lately. This issue falls short of perfect, but it’s undeniably excellent. We’ll see if Victor Gischler can pick up where Ennis left off in issue #7 next month.

4.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – GeorgeShunick

Related Topics:Dynamite En Garth Ennis The Shadow

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

7 days ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.