Comics
Advance Review: “One Hit Wonder” # 1
Fabrice Sapolsky takes aim on Hollywood with “One Hit Wonder.” The premise is simple; a one-time child star grows up disillusioned with fame and fortune. The drug of constant attention has worn off, so Ritchie Reese has turned to contract killing to get his rocks off. Artist Ariel Olivetti takes us through an inside look of Hollywood with a photo-realistic style that cleanly communicates the story and action.
WRITTEN BY: Fabrice Sapolsky
ART BY: Ariel Olivetti
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: February 26, 2014
“One Hit Wonder” makes an effort to distinguish itself from all other stories set within Hollywood. It believes that a world of contract killing and a no nonsense vengeful protagonist will be enough of a sell, but sadly the story doesn’t quite achieve anything totally unique. It’s the type of story we’ve seen before, set in a world we’ve seen a thousand times, with a protagonist’s whose motivation isn’t really clear.
Ritchie Reese is pissed off. He’s been left out of the limelight. We’re treated to a very brief flashback where we come to learn that his time as a child star was wasted. Yet, we have no explanation for how he can murder people in public and get away no strings attached.
All too often the story relies on familiar tropes to communicate the beats of the main plot. With no thought given to the impact of what’s on the page. There is a moment of theatrics near the end of the issue that honestly needs to be seen to be believed, its convenient storytelling that manages to avoid dealing with the threats it sets up. Making for a sloppy explanation, and an all-together confusing series of pages.
Ritchie doesn’t seem to have any remorse for what he does. He currently seems almost infallible in his efforts but is easily thwarted by his newest female hit. I can’t count the ways in which this story induced groans of familiarity from me. The debauchery on these pages isn’t enough to save this familiar adventure.
Ariel Olivetti’s art is clean and communicates the story with relative ease. Her art is very photo realistic. Characters look absolutely fantastic, and the action beats are handled magnificently. However, the script isn’t ripe with anything more than talking heads. Most of the backgrounds are rendered beautifully but don’t manage to impact an otherwise lackluster affair.
Nothing was seeded, and development was considered an afterthought where story and plot were seemingly considered first. Comics are a genre that thrives on character, and character alone. Ritchie Reese just isn’t attractive enough to have me invested in this book, but given a couple more pages of development I could have been singing another tune.
“One Hit Wonder” doesn’t make any effort to set itself outside of the typical behind the scenes of Hollywood fare. The protagonist doesn’t have a ton of depth to his motivation, and the story just proves unbelievable thanks to convenient storytelling methods. A little more time developing the central character would have went a long way to solving the bumps that brought me out of the story. I was invested in this callous asshole at the beginning, but just lost my suspension of disbelief near the end.
Rating: 2/5 Skulls.
Comics
‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics
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.
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Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover
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Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)
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Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)
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Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)
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Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)
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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.
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