Comics

Review: ‘Coffin Hill’ #5

Published

10 years ago

February 13, 2014

This issue of the sexy witch thriller, “Coffin Hill” hits you like a ton of bricks. And straight out the gate, too. Writer Caitlin Kittredge is not screwing around. While this series has always been packed with intrigue and horror, it’s definitely been a slow burn comic, but in issue #5 it reaches its boiling point. For the first time we see some real magic, exquisite danger, and ruthless revelations.

WRITTEN BY: Caitlin Kittredge 
ART BY: Inaki Miranda 
PUBLISHER: Vertigo 
PRICE: $2.99 
RELEASE: February 12, 2014

Eve Coffin has finally come head-to-head against the mysterious foe that haunts her hometown. Unfortunately, it’s not just one foe it’s two. One in the form of her best friend, Mel, who is currently shacked up with Eve’s on-again, off-again affair, reformed bad boy Chief Nate Finn. The second foe… well that one is less preternatural, but that’s all I’m going to say on that.

Eve’s purpose, the entire reason she returned home after her years as a cop in Boston, is suddenly three fold. She must repair the damage that her reckless witchcraft caused years earlier, solve Coffin Hill’s mysterious disappearances and murders, and now save her friends from true occult evil.

After another terrifyingly impressive run-in with the possessed Mel, Eve decides to focus her energy on Coffin Hill’s more tangible problem, the missing/murdered girls. She continues on her hunt for AWOL Bianca and quite literally comes up against every obstacle possible. Nate is being a hard ass — a somewhat possessed prick, Bianca’s parents abhor Eve — blaming her for the death of their daughter and Eve’s dear friend, Dani—which only serves to thwart her investigations. And the evil powers swirling around Coffin Hill are relentless. But luckily, so is Eve.

And it’s her utter relentlessness that uncovers the secret we’ve been chasing after for 4 issues. Who is killing the young girls of Coffin Hill? It’s quite possible we find out at the end of issue #5, but the abrupt cliffhanger isn’t going to let us in on that secret so easily. It’s just going to tease us in a glorious smoke in mirrors style.

A pleasant surprise within this issue is all of the history we obtain—history of the town’s downfall but even more interesting is the history of Nate’s past. We learn secrets of his family life, secrets that bind him and Eve together. Secrets that make it understandable why, even though Nate has always been dating Eve’s best friend, they can’t shake each other. Gaining this deeper insight into Nate’s former life sheds light on a lot of his actions, past and present.

This issue is non-stop action filled to the brim with deep emotion. Miranda’s art is stunning as always, sexy to perfection. This much has always been clear: Kittredge and Miranda are a duo made in comic book heaven and “Coffin Hill” is their magnificent byproduct.

4.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Bree Ogden

Lonnie Nadler

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Comics

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

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

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.