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[Comic Book Review] Reading “Birthright” #1 Is Your Destiny

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10 years ago

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“Birthright” is a story of destiny. About who a child becomes after his life altering journey has occurred, and a loving tribute to eighties classics like The Goonies, The Neverending Story, and The Dark Crystal. It beautifully captures the tone of the eighties and crafts an incredible entry in a genre that’s been dormant for a long time.

comics-birthright

WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson

ART BY: Andrei Bressan

PUBLISHER: Image Comics

PRICE: $2.99

RELEASE: October 8, 2014

I suppose I wasn’t the only kid who spent his youth bombing around in the forest looking for treasure, goblins, and adventure. But, Joshua Williamson made his fiction into a beautiful reality with “Birthright.” He takes the elements of 80’s adventure fuel and injects the idea with a brand new sense of life.

The premise is simple. Mikey is out playing catch with his father on the edge of a forest, when suddenly his disappears. Mikey’s disappearance causes his family to fall apart. His absence has created a void that can’t be filled, until a roided out “Lord of the Rings reject” shows up at the local police station. It’s Mikey and he’s become a fantasy warlord.

What follows is an interrogation scene that proves Mikey is indeed who he says he is despite having aged significantly. He’s gained an incredible mass of muscle and he appears to be an all around badass. Sadly, the interrogation scene was one of the only things that didn’t work for me. It felt like an easy way out for exposition, but saves itself within the final two pages.

Andrei Bressan has brought the world of “Birthright” to live with incredible splendor. I was consistently blown away by his page layouts, as he would often have a dominant panel take up three quarters of the page to communicate something imperative, but the scope of his work is unrivaled. He has so much confidence in his display of the fantasy world of Terrenos that it’s staggering. Seriously, just wait until you see his two page spread when Mikey is introduced to the world, your jaw will drop.

“Birthright” feels like the story Joshua Williamson was destined to tell. It’s a confident 80’s tribute dripping with it’s own personal style, it revives the adventure genre in a beautiful way and comes to define the idealized child hero in a risky but captivating new way.

This is something every 80’s child has dreamed of, but spins it in the most interesting way possible. “Birthright” will make you think about destiny in a whole new way, and show you a fully realized world that rivals the imagination of Jim Henson. With an adventure reminiscent of Labyrinth, and the heart of Stand By Me, Williamson and Bressan will have you captivated from page one.

Buy this comic!

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Comics

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

Published

2 days 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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