Comics

Review: ‘Spike: A Dark Place’ #5

Published

11 years ago

January 28, 2013

After a delayed release, Victor Gischler and Dark Horse Comics finally deliver with the fifth, and final, installment of Spike: A Dark Place. While some fans seem hopeful that the extended hiatus will bring forth a satisfying and momentous ending to Spike’s journey, the creative team struggles to develop the full potential of the series, leaving a lot to be desired and questioned.

WRITTEN BY: Victor Gischler
ART BY: Paul Lee
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: January 23rd

After Morgan reveals that she has one of the missing shards of The Seed, which she plans to use to open the Hellmouth, issue #5 begins with Spike hot on the Courtesan demon’s heels as she leaps through the spaceship’s window and towards the monolithic statues of Easter Island. It’s hard to tell whether Paul Lee took artistic inspiration, specifically, from Rano Raraku or Ahu Akivi, but as far as World Heritage Sites go, incorporating one of such cultural and physical significance as a location for a Hellmouth is one of the best things that happen in this mini. My only fastidious qualm is that the Maori were perhaps too well preserved in print.

Morgan calls on the Maori guardians to open the Hellmouth, only for the statues to come alive and wreak havoc upon her and Spike. For a situation as grave as the one presented, I’m a little surprised by Gischler’s creative choice to portray an almost playful interaction between Spike and Morgan. But on the other hand, it appears as though we’re supposed to empathize with her plight to return back to her home dimension, and understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s just really difficult discerning where the succubus stands in terms of alignment; though I’d classify Morgan under Chaotic Neutral. Her freedom comes first, while Good and Evil come second to her need to be free; and the only reliable thing about her is how utterly unreliable she is.

Regarding Sebastian, Frisky, and the rest of Spike’s loyal space bug minions, this issue sees the crew fighting to save their Master until the bitter end; but at a quasi-significant cost.

Overall, “Spike: A Dark Place” #5 is an average issue that delivers as much as the readers probably expect at this point in the game. Gischler and Lee capture the voice and likeness of Spike to an uncanny degree, but that’s not going to make me disregard the plot holes this series has to offer. By the end of the mini, I’m left wondering why the shard from The Seed is never mentioned after Morgan uses it; I’m curious as to the significance of the superfluous Pearl and Nash cameo in issue #3 that ultimately lead to nothing; and I’m also questioning the rationalization concerning Spike’s trip to the freakin’ Moon.

Fortunately, there’s some slightly meaningful character development regarding Spike’s wanderer spirit and sense of home/belonging, and the series closes with an interesting cameo from a fan-favourite character that sets up Spike’s next adventure in London, England. Goodbye bugs, hello “Angel & Faith”.

3/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – ShadowJayd

Lonnie Nadler

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Comics

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

Published

6 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.