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Review: ‘East of West’ #11

Published

10 years ago

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While last month reminded me why I love “East of West” this month reminds me why reading this book is sometimes a laborious task. The world building doesn’t come easy, and all too often Hickman forgets to put a character at the core of the story. Although the world itself can be considered the most vital character of this series, it like all the others is far too bogged down by the political machinations at play.


WRITTEN BY: Jonathan Hickman
ART BY: Nick Dragotta
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: April 9, 2014

I often have a hard time discerning the story of this comic. At times it feels like the narrative belongs to Death and his unyielding quest for his own doomspawn. Then Hickman will spend entire months with that story shelved in order to tell a larger political story reeling from the events of the first few chapters.

Yet, Game of Thrones this is not. There is no powerplay for wealth, gain, or control. Instead it is a lot of talk about the world, and philosophical musings on power where no real power has been demonstrated. Mind you it all remains interesting… to a degree but just feels weighed down by its own depth.

It’s hard to fault a book for depth, but its accessibility that is the real problem here. The book doesn’t concern itself for with clear character motivations, unless I’m really missing something. Contrary to how it may sound, I’m even into some of the ambiguity, as long as its heading somewhere.

Yet, for me every time this book really feels like its gaining traction is when it spends time with Death. Anything else feels like a detour that isn’t paced very well. Instead I’d love to see more of a balancing act rather than the issue on/issue off type of plot balancing being used here. It’s distracting and difficult to remain invested.

Nick Dragotta again does a wonderful job and demonstrating the massive scope of this world. Monolithic structures are dotted across every page, but what’s more are the insane angles and use of space on display. He is always able to communicate the insanely large and complex nature of this world with beautifully simple panels that rely on extreme long shots. I couldn’t be happier with his work here.

“East of West” have been running for almost a year, and for me still struggles to find it’s narrative footing. I keep holding out hope that the series will slip into a more defined kind of storytelling, but instead it seems content carrying on with the current status quo, as it stands I can hardly recommend the book in the monthly format, because the story is hard to follow when spread out over several months at a time. With the help of the collected trades the story is sure to read with a little more coherence and solve many of the pacing issues I’ve found in my month-to-month reading.

Rating: 2.5/5 Skulls.

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Comics

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

Published

1 day 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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