Comics

[5 Skull Comic Review] “Five Ghosts” #15 Is Thrilling Action Cover To Cover

Published

9 years ago

February 11, 2015

I’ve elected to spend a lot of my time reviewing “Five Ghosts” talking about the perfect symmetry the creative team has achieved, but issue #15 proves there is still so much to say, as Chris Mooneyham and Lauren Affe carry the issue almost by themselves, and deliver one of the most thrilling chapters of the irresistible series.

WRITTEN BY: Frank J Barbiere

ART BY: Chris Mooneyham

PUBLISHER: Image

PRICE: $2.99

RELEASE: Feb 11, 2015

Fabian is in the throws of full on vampire beast mode. Van Helsing does whatever he can to keep the monster at bay, and meanwhile Sebastian is in the lair of the mustache twirling villain. This third part of the new horror arc sees every character pushed to their absolute limits, and ends with one of the most enticing cliffhangers I’ve had the joy of experiencing.

Make no mistake; this is a full on battle issue. Fabian can hardly control himself and bounds on top of Van Helsin with superhuman strength. Mooneyham does well to make the fight engaging and dynamic will never feeling overwhelming. In fact he adds an incredible cinematic element to the showdown that bleeds emotion for both of these tormented men.

In the most climatic moment, we’re brought to a flashback of Van Helsing’s past. It’s something we’ve seen before in “Five Ghosts” but here it’s even more heartbreaking because we see how Van Helsing became a monster, hunting monsters. It’s painful to experience and the brief reprieve from his anguish is only a clever ruse.

Fabian is far from being in control, and this issue reminds us of his long journey ahead. It’s easy to lose sight of the charismatic hero’s journey, but at his core he’s still a deeply broken person. Despite having very few lines, the ugly truth of Fabian’s character is on full display here. See, Barbiere may take a back seat with the dialogue this issue but his masterful hand is still readily apparent in the way everything is plotted out. The fight scene and the flashback scene are meant to give this massive release of tension, but the aftermath is so much worse that you can’t help but feel a massive hole in your heart by the time you get to the final page.

Better yet, it’s a brilliantly paced read that fans of the series have become accustomed to, but it never feels overly crowded or difficult to digest. Instead “Five Ghosts” #15 reads like silk, and weaves brutality around you in circles. The result is a fantastic low point for the already dark storyline that proves these characters still have miles to go.

“Five Ghosts” is a perfectly oiled machine. The creative team is in perfect sync and the storytelling is near flawless. It’s a celebration of the mastery that can only come with creator owned comics, and somehow it continually raises the bar for itself. Every month it pulls of something entirely new and unexpected, but makes it look easy, making it one of the most compelling books being published at Image Comics.

Zac Thompson

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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.