Comics

Review: ‘The Returning’ #1

Published

10 years ago

March 14, 2014

I couldn’t quite get on board with this comic. While nothing was terrible or really even stood out as “bad” there was also nothing that stood out as “good”. “The Returning” #1 is a finely tuned, well plotted, no surprises horror comic. Though it comes in riding on a very cool core concept — people wake up from Near Death Experiences changed, violent for no reason — the plot could have used some dramatic revelations or hard twists to stay ahead of the curve.

WRITTEN BY: Jason Starr
ART BY: Andrea Mutti
 PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
 PRICE: $3.99
 RELEASE: March 12, 2014

Starr dutifully unweaves a tale of our protagonist after she has woken up from her Near Death Experience (NDE). With a simple flashback sequence, we see her jerk boyfriend pressuring her to have sex with him at Prom, we see him driving drunk with her in the passenger seat, and then we see a mysterious man before they go crashing into a tree and both die. But she wakes up 5 minutes of death having experienced the worst kind of actual Hell in her NDE.

Yet in this near future world that Starr and Mutti have created, it’s waking up from a NDE that’s the real hell. Because people are considered “Changers” if they wake up from a NDE, they are known to be extremely violent and murderous. Because of this, out protagonist suffer wave after wave of discrimination, bullying, and abuse. All while claiming that she really, truly hasn’t changed. But it’s the events of the last few pages that call both her reality and our opinions into question.

Like I said, it’s an interesting concept, but it’s presented very safely. It doesn’t appear that Starr or Mutti felt the need to take any risks while telling this story. Because of its strong potential in violence, madness, and bloodshed, the lack thereof was disappointing. On the flip side, it may be a perfect comic for beginners of the horror comic genre. Being fairly innocuous, those who don’t typically love horror but want to try it out will probably find that “The Returning” #1 is for them. And I don’t mean to condescend. I genuinely feel it’s a good appetizer for the horror genre.

I so badly wanted to love this comic based on the lore it imposes to the NDE but it didn’t quite hit home for me. I think that it may speed up in future issues and possibly live up to expectations because it’s clear that the creative team has some great ideas.

3/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Breed 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.