Connect with us

Comics

Review: ‘The Strain: The Fall’ #6

Published

10 years ago

on

In a really big move, “The Strain: The Fall” #6 finally lets the subplots converge and the ensemble cast of characters meet. What could be more frightening than a bloodsucker? Things are about to get a bit twisted as a group of criminals, hardcore street thugs, join in the fight. While anxiously waiting for the TV series to surface, fans have this terrific adaptation of the best-selling trilogy of novels by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan to take advantage of.

WRITTEN BY: David Lapham
ART BY: Mike Huddleston
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: December 18, 2012

In order to protect him from The Master, Ephraim decided to let his son go and foolishly went off to confront the evil by himself. While Ephraim is captured, his son, Zack, and girlfriend, Nora, are attacked by a group of vicious vampires. On the run, Zack and Nora can only trust each other while everyone else is being killed at the railroad station. Vasiliy the exterminator and Abraham, the pawnbroker, are about to receive unexpected help from an unwanted ally. Whether or not they can actually get along, Gus and the rest of the street gangs want to join Abraham’s small army.

What I particularly enjoy about David Lapham’s adaptation is how the writing is kept at a suspenseful pace in each subplot. Captured and in handcuffs, Ephraim is about to meet Eldritch Palmer, the wealthy billionaire in league with the vampires. Gus, Vasiliy, and Abraham reluctantly work together as they desperately jump into the vampire’s den. While the others are in their own predicament, Nora and Zack have to keep running or the bloodsuckers will get them. But how can they keep moving fast if Nora’s elderly mother is slowing them down?

Lapham is able to also to depict Eldritch as a different type of antagonist than the Master. While the Master wants world-domination, Eldritch has his own set of reasons why humanity should fall. Because he is a dying old man, Eldritch just wants to live for another day. Fueled by a basic need, Eldritch wants to prevent his own death, even while he is bringing death to everyone else.

In his artwork, Mike Huddleston brings out the suspense with his crooked angles and extreme close-ups. When Gus, Abraham, and Vasiliy enter the bloodsucker’s hideout, Huddleston creeps in the tension with the shadows and dark corners of the old building. In a big panel, Huddleston illustrates the vampires standing tall and patient. The vampires were expecting the three to finally show up but were bored from waiting.

We also see a different side of Nora through Huddleston’s action-packed illustrations. While the rest of the team are busy, this time it’s Nora who gets to be the swashbuckling heroine in these tight, enclosed spaces. With nowhere else to hide, Nora throws herself headfirst at the bloodsuckers, swinging her sword. In an extreme close-up, Huddleston wants you to see the sword spilt the bloodsucker’s face in half, with blood spewing out in the air.

A new antagonist arrives and an unlikely alliance takes place in “The Strain: The Fall” #6. With the team-up of Gus, Abraham, and Vasiliy finally happening, I can’t wait to see how the story progresses.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jorge Solis

Related Topics:
Advertisement
Click to comment

Comics

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

Published

7 hours ago

on

April 17, 2024

By

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

Continue Reading