Comics

[Comic Book Review] “Bodies” #4 Is An Expertly Crafted Mystery

Published

10 years ago

October 22, 2014

Just when I think I have “Bodies” figured out, a series of plot developments keep me more than guessing, I’m scratching my head raw. But it’s compelling, and almost impossibly intricate, and within that I find myself transfixed. I need to get to the bottom of this.

WRITTEN BY: Si Spencer

ART BY: 1890 Dean Ormston, 1940 Phil Winslade, 2050 Tula Lotay, 2014 Meghan Hetrick

PUBLISHER: Vertigo Comics

PRICE: $3.99

RELEASE: October 22, 2014

You’ve got to hand it to Si Spencer. The man knows how to craft a tightly woven mystery, in fact, he knows how to craft four of them. If these stories do start tying into one another as much as it’s alluded to, then I’ll eat my hat. Except I don’t wear a hat, so I have nothing to worry about. Really, though this month the mystery spirals in new and interesting directions that tie threads from the different time periods together in really unexpected ways.

After last month, I figured I knew where things are going, and after this month I conclude I have no idea. Except that I think I might be reasoning far too much about the small details Spencer peppers into the plot. Each timeline is very distinct but has hints of the same troubles going on.

What’s most impressive is how seamless Spencer can slide into the linguistics of the given timeframe. He has no problem inserting slang from any of the periods he’s detailing, and even works to create his own in the future timeline. Color me impressed.

The art in this book is a literal tour de force. There is something genuinely unsettling about Dean Ormston’s work. The color defines it in such a subtle way that I can’t quite resist getting lost in the small splashes of orange on the page. While Tula Lotay proves she can do some incredibly heavy lifting of her own. One of her pages here is so overwhelmingly layered I had to put down the book and take a breather. She masterfully creates a world without reference but makes it familiar all the same. It’s no easy feat, but she makes it look that way.

Meghan Hetrick really sticks out this month, if only for her concluding chapter of the storyline being so important. She handles the casual tone of her scene with relative ease, but breaks into action so quickly that it’ll take you back.

The final revelation in 2014, will leave you scratching your head, but I think that’s a good thing. I feel like an active participant in the story, and that doesn’t really happen often in comics. I have this lust to figure out what the hell is going on, but I have to wait a month for any more clarity on the matter. I suppose for the time being I’ll just pine over these first four issues.

Zac Thompson

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Comics

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

Published

6 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.