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Advance Review: ‘Liberator’ # 3

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Matt Miner’s ‘Liberator’ continues this month with Damon taking his cause further than ever before. Things ratchet up as Miner backs his characters into a corner. Issue 3 explores the difference between fiery passionate revenge and calculated justice. Miner warns us that inflamed revenge is much more liberating but so much more detrimental.


WRITTEN BY: Matt Miner
ART BY: Javier Sanchez Aranda
PUBLISHER: Black Mask Studios
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: Sept 11, 2013

Damon is a passionate creature. He is driven to don a mask and take justice into his own hands. This month, he completely goes off the chain. At the beginning of the issue we’re reintroduced to his efforts when he is on the verge of arrest. After getting off relatively easy, Damon doesn’t count his blessings. Instead he condemns himself further.

Jeanette offers the sensible calculated counterpoint of Damon’s efforts. She wants to help, but wants to do so with every conceivable angle of danger taken care of. She spends most of the issue trying to reel Damon in, to calm him, and to control his passion. Damon can’t be controlled. He makes that clear. He lets his passion push him to do something borderline insane in the name of his cause.

I’d be lying if I said Damon’s crazy actions weren’t the best part of the issue. Although it pains me to know how dearly he’ll pay for them. ‘Liberator’ is about finding the line in justice and the right ways to step around it. Sometimes the grand scheme of everything is much deeper than it appears. Damon blindly thinks he has it all figured out. Miner makes sure to remind us that he doesn’t. Damon has condemned himself.

However, Damon’s moments of action are expertly executed. The voiceover narration feels like Batman at the best of times. Damon speaks with such confidence that he seems to have it all figured out. As he was talking candidly about searching through a person’s garbage I believed that he was in control. Miner makes you buy into Damon’s false confidence, and you feel as fucked as him by the final pages.

Aranda’s art is the strongest it’s ever been on the series. The panels of Damon going off are filled with so much energy. Particularly strong are the forced perspective panels of Damon smashing windows. The glass shattering around him, and the rock propelling out the page is just fantastic. Aranda draws Damon with a newfound confidence this month, a straighter posture, and a smirk on his face. His passion has empowered him.

It’s interesting since ‘Liberator’ defies convention by offering no fixed antagonist. There is a cause to rally behind, but nothing more menacing than butchered animals. It’s fantastic for defying convention, and shows that the evil of a book doesn’t need to be embodied by some physical presence who appears in every issue. Which grounds ‘Liberator’ so much more than other books out there.

It’s hard to speak about the meat of this issue without spoiling anything. Yet, ‘Liberator’ # 3 seems to make a case for causes left behind. Damon doesn’t save a single animal in this issue. He seems to forget about what made him don the ski mask in the first place. His pride is carrying him into dark territory, and it’s incredibly fun to read. Miner’s taken some time to explore the vices and virtues of taking justice into your own hands, and effectively creates the most compelling chapter in his series thus far.

Rating: 4/5 Skulls.

Comics

‘The Wicked Trinity’ – Preview New Archie Comics One-Shot Inspired by ‘The Craft’ [Exclusive]

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From Sabrina’s Magical World, Bloody Disgusting has learned this afternoon that Archie Comics will be releasing brand new one-shot comic The Wicked Trinity this coming June.

You’ll be able to meet The Wicked Trinity in the 32-page comic on June 12, 2024.

In The Wicked Trinity, “Sabrina’s magical nemesis Amber Nightstone and her sidekicks, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill, are intent on becoming the most powerful witches in the world. Isolated from so many around them, the three have formed a coven based on their individual needs for vengeance and true freedom.

“But when there is some dissent among the ranks, their small coven is threatened to be obliterated from within.”

The Wicked Trinity features a script by Sam Maggs, art by Lisa Sterle, colors by Ellie Wright, letters by Jack Morelli, main cover by Lisa Sterle, and variant cover by Soo Lee.

Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante tells Bloody Disgusting, “When Editor-In-Chief Mike Pellerito came up with the idea of the Wicked Trinity—Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane, and Sapphire Gill—I was immediately intrigued. I even had the good fortune to work on the script for Jade and Sapphire’s first appearance in last year’s SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR comic for younger readers. What I especially loved about these magical teens is that they could seamlessly transcend from classic-Archie stories into more mature, even horror stories. I was eager to start developing their world with a modern sensibility, taking cues from the great work of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish on our SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH series, and Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli on our recent DARKLING one-shot. Inspired by series like Charmed and films like The Craft, I knew there was so much potential to build up this coven in a story that beautifully blends magical fantasy with horror.”

Writer Sam Maggs previews, “Real witches writing real witches—that’s how we do things over at Archie Comics! I was named after a famous witch—Samantha from Bewitched—and so I grew up absolutely obsessed with everything witchcraft, devouring every book series I could about teen witches. That makes WICKED TRINITY a dream project for me. The power and energy of teen girls is absolutely unmatched (just look at the engine behind fandom culture) and being able to harness that metaphorically for a story like this is such a delight. Everything I write focuses on the power of female friendship, and this story is no exception. And what’s better than a morally grey female character? I struggle to think of anything. Cat familiars, maybe? Also, I’m totally a practicing witch now. So maybe if you read this, you’ll find yourself imbued with magical powers, too.*

Artist Lisa Sterle adds, “I can’t wait for people to be re-introduced to The Wicked Trinity! Witches, fashion, and Archie Comics; this is truly a magical trifecta and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to put my own personal stamp on this. I love to create stories in which girls find their own power, both from within themselves and through their friendships and coven. If you’re a fan of my Modern Witch tarot, you’ll find this comic just as magical.”

Exclusively check out the two covers for The Wicked Trinity one-shot comic below!

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