Comics
Review: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike—Into The Light’ HC
James Marsters has forged an impressively diverse career, ambitiously roving between stage, television, film, and music, and now he returns to Dark Horse Comics with another fantastic piece of fiction to add to the Buffyverse. Pick up “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike—Into The Light” today at your local comic book shop, and hit the jump to read our review.
WRITTEN BY: James Marsters
ART BY: Derlis Santacruz
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $14.99
RELEASE: July 16, 2014
Reviewed By: ShadowJayd
James Marsters’ “Spike—Into The Light” is set in Greenville, California, near the beginning of season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s structured as an intimate exploration of Spike’s journey as a newly-souled vampire, learning to survive in a world where his inclination to sin has all but been overthrown by his arduous–though firm—effort to be good. Marsters takes the narrative in a direction that feels more personal and familiar, as he easily slips back into the iconic role he helped to define, and the results are admirable. His tangibly strong connection to the character allows him to provide deeper characterization and a distinctive level of poignancy and dark humour that significantly adds to the effectiveness of Spike’s tale of redemption and strife; ultimately leading the character out of the darkness and into the light.
The typical formula for a Buffyverse arc commonly consists of a prominently featured “Monster of the Week Moment” subplot. And while there is the expected demonic obstacle in Spike’s way, including many action-packed panels of engaging violence, Marsters creatively opts for the Big Bad storyline to take a backseat to souled-Spike’s narrative of self-discovery and post-acquired soul survival. Along for the ride is romantic love interest, Dylan, whom Marsters has said is modeled after his gorgeous wife, actress/singer-songwriter, Jasmine Marsters.
The artistic team behind this issue work in beautiful tandem to successfully convey Marsters’ story and vision, with an impressive grasp of tone, form, and technique. With tons of great detail, Derlis Santacruz allows the scope of the writer’s narrative to be told with his pencils, and demonstrates his ability to effectively illustrate character likeness to a degree on par with Whedonverse comics gem, Rebekah Isaacs. His artwork is lifted to extraordinary levels by colorist Dan Jackson’s large palette of gritty dark hues, which emphasizes the chaotic and somber-mood of Marsters’ one-shot perfectly. Jackson’s solid rendering work is terrifically complimented by Andy Owens’ bold inks.
Goodies: Following the end of Marsters’ “Spike—Into The Light” is a four-page art spread—presented by Dark Horse Comics editor-in-chief, Scott Allie—which features an exclusive look at cover artist, Steve Morris, and penciller Dan Jackson’s rough sketches and tryout pages for the Whedonverse.
James Marsters’ “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike—Into The Light” is a fan-must-have for your Buffy comics collection.
ShadowJayd, known everywhere else as Farah Jayden Hakkak, has been a staff writer for Bloody-Disgusting since July 2012. You can find her on Twitter, or passed out by the dirt road behind Wendy’s.
Comics
‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics
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.
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Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover
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Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)
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Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)
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Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)
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Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)
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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.
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