Comics

Review: ‘The Walking Dead’ #123

Published

10 years ago

March 12, 2014

“The Walking Dead” continues its foray into war with another chapter that feels undercooked. Small more subtle moments are met with bombastic action pieces that serve to compliment the fact that Kirkman has been leading us along a very murky path all along. The constant back and forth of this arc continues here, to diminishing returns.

WRITTEN BY: Robert Kirkman
ART BY: Charlie Adlard
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: March 12, 2014

When All Out War began I was probably first in like to tell you it was going to be the best. Negan was getting some real depth and the characters felt ready for a huge conflict that threatened to change the series forever. Instead, we’re given a wholly undercooked look at war through isolated pockets of battle and teases of character moments.

This arc has locked all of the main cast in this perpetual state of backtracking. With the exception of Ezekiel, no one has grown or changed since the beginning of the arc. Maggie still mourns Glenn, Andrea is still coming to terms with being a lonely defender, Carl is still angry, and Rick is still determined. Which is all well and good, but it doesn’t make for a very interesting read.

Adlard’s pencils provide a lot of depth to the somber moments of the issue this month. He shows the staggering size of the new camp, and just how many people’s lives are at stake. He deals with a ton of characters at once and his layouts provide more than enough room for everyone to get the attention they deserve in the frame. Action beats are cleanly communicated and nothing ever feels overly busy.

I’ve grown weary of this series. This issue ends with something that is supposed to be shocking and devastating but acts as somewhat of a cop out. If the actual implications do come to fruition than I’ll be ecstatic and read the following issues with renewed vigor. I suspect however, that the final moment is a tease to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and nothing will actually come of it.

Perhaps I’m in the minority but I’ve felt that this arc has been a series of elaborate dodges in service of prolonging the story. There is an even slower pace than ever before and things feel drawn out to the point of boring, which is never the emotion a war should inspire..

Negan’s charisma only goes so far, and unfortunately it has stopped charming me. He is a cunning villain who much like Kirkman has hit a wall. There can be no forward progression in this book until he dies, and with so many opportunities on the page for Kirkman to kill him, I suspect sales are keeping him alive. The natural energy that “The Walking Dead” once had has finally been sapped out.

Rating: 2.5/5 Skulls

Zac Thompson

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Comics

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

Published

7 days 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.