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Review: ‘Clown Fatale’ #4

Published

10 years ago

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With such raw energy from its engaging protagonists, “Clown Fatale” #4 offers up one last crime spree and comes to a rip-roaring conclusion. In the noir genre, the dangerous assignment always brings in tons of excitement and unexpected twists. Sexy clowns and crime have a really funny way of working together in the last installment of “Clown Fatale.”

WRITTEN BY: Victor Gischler
ART BY: Maurizio Rosenzweig
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: Feb. 12, 2013

Four sexy clowns thought they had a chance at escaping from their boring circus routine. After being offered a deal they couldn’t refuse, the four clowns murdered a drug-dealing criminal and torched his home. The problem is, they weren’t not the hired killers and the real ones want their money back. As they tried to take their money and run, trouble followed them, trying to breaking their bond. Chloe and Aya are the last ones standing while the real killers are unstoppable in their murdering spree. Will Aya be there for Chloe when the crime boss joins in on the hunt? Or will she backstab Chloe and take the money for herself?

What I really enjoy about Victor Gischler’s writing is how the dark humor heightens the suspense. While Chloe is fighting for her dear life, Aya is somewhere else, oblivious to all the trouble that is going on. Aya is adrift in her screwy mind, being entertained by a random conversation about comic books and toys. Chloe carries so much burden as a survivor, because she has always depended on herself. And now, when there’s a knife to her face, Chloe realizes she cannot handle this deadly situation by herself.

As the body count continues and Chloe takes over the spotlight, Gischler delves more into her tough personality. Turning her into an action star, Gischler depicts Chloe fighting her way through one scenario after another. The plot moves at a quick pace as Chloe never looks back at the bloody aftermath and continues walking away. The more Chloe sheds herself of her circus life, the reader will start to wonder, what does she really win at the end?

Using extreme close-ups and crooked angles, artist Maurizio Rosenzweig aims for a cartoony extreme of exploitative violence. Rosenzweig exaggerates Chloe’s arms swinging as she knocks out one of the real killers with a moonshine jar. After Chloe sets the circus on fire, a burning woman dashes out of the tent at hyper speed, looking like something straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon. When a car tears through the burning tent, the engine knocks everyone out of its path, like they were bowling pins.

I definitely get a kick out of Rosenzweig’s pop culture references. In the opening pages, Aya is staring at a Punisher-like action figure named The Brutalizer. The figurine head resembles a younger version of Sylvester Stallone, wearing an eye patch. See if you can spot the Hellboy teddy bear in the last pages.

Since the first issue, the “Clown Fatale” series brought in tons of appeal because of its sexualized and engaging protagonists. I can’t wait to see what twisted idea Gischler and Rosenzweig come up with next.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Jorge Solis

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Comics

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

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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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