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Review: “Wild Rover and The Sacrifice” One Shot

Published

11 years ago

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Michael Avon Oeming’s Wild Rover strings together a wild monologue about a man trying to battler his inner alcoholism. What results is a fun take on overcoming addiction in a mystical and original way. While “The Sacrifice” is light on story, it is visually delightful.

WRITTEN BY: Michael Avon Oeming
ART BY: Michael Avon Oeming & Victor Santos
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: March 20th, 2013

“Wild Rover” seems to be the reason this one shot exists. “Wild Rover” follows a long-winded monologue that wears thin on my nerves almost immediately. It may be hatred for the voice over driven story, or the lack of new information the voice over delivered outside of the art.

Yet, as the monologue continues (and trust me, it’s a monologue, the thing has maybe 5 pieces of dialogue throughout) I understand Oeming’s nameless character at a deeper level. He is desperate, lost, and consumed with a demon. The presence of the demon, he blames solely on his mother. While this plays out differently as the story continues, it was the nature of his demon that compelled me to continue reading.

His demon is something that plagues many writers, or even many young people. Without revealing the climax of the story, the resolution left me wanting more. “Wild Rover” became wildly original, and extremely interesting in a matter of a page.

Oeming does the art for “Wild Rover” and it’s wonderfully dark. The forced perspectives are warped, and wonderfully demented. The creature designs are lanky, jagged, and scary. What results is this dark fairytale that may or may not exist entirely in the main character’s head. His art really suits the story, so much so, that I feel it says almost everything it needs to in the beginning with the art alone.

For the second story “The Sacrifice” Oeming resumes writing duties, and Victor Santos comes in on the art duties. “The Sacrifice” is quick, but incredibly beautiful. The art creates a wonderful backdrop of a medieval world, capitalized by beautiful character design, and a tree with thousands of swords protruding from it. At times Santos’ art reminded by of Akira Toriyama’s original art of Chrono Trigger. Which is to say it is incredible. The story is simple, but visually overwhelming. I was actually kind of sad when the second story ended so abruptly, I wanted to see more of the Elves, and understand the motivation for the twist at the end.

Oeming’s one shot is a mixed bag. It begins with a fizzle and slowly mounts to something more interesting. The art in both stories is the draw here. Given a better focus, “Wild Rover” could be something, but as it stands its nothing to write home about.

2/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jimbus_Christ

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

Published

2 days ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

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.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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