Comics
Review: ‘Crawling Sky’ #1
Adapted from his imaginative and thrilling novella anthologized in “Son of Retro Pulp Tales,” Joe R. Lansdale, his son Keith, and artist Brian Denham (“The X-Files”) deliver the Weird West goods with Crawling Sky #1. Reverend Mercer features, once again, in this irresistible tale of terror, only instead of confronting zombies, ghouls, and werewolves, this five-issue miniseries sees him dedicated to solving the mystery surrounding an isolated cabin where a savage creature lurks in the shadows.
WRITTEN BY: Joe R. Lansdale, Keith Lansdale
ART BY: Brian Denham
PUBLISHER: Antarctic Press
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: January 16th, 2013
As far as supernatural, Wild West horror tales go, both Lansdale’s seem unhindered in the process of writing cross-genre fiction. “Crawling Sky” is the wildest of Wests and the epitome of the monster–horror sub-genre; but with elements of entertaining adventure, terror, and humorous asides, it’s hard to categorize this series as anything but “Lansdalean.”
The first issue of the series begins with Reverend Mercer’s ominous introduction, “Nothing good ever took place under a crawling sky.” The words scribed onto the first page of the book are as daunting as Brian Denham’s black and white illustrations accompanying them. Opening with our first look at the aforementioned abandoned cabin, Denham cloaks the setting of “Crawling Sky” #1 in darkness, and emphasizes the forthcoming significance of a rundown well nearby. He does so, effectively, by utilizing perspective drawing techniques to depict the night sky being viewed from the bottom of the well. Whether the artistic intention is to showcase the sky through the eyes of the reader, or a cryptically symbolic character, I’ll leave that up to your interpretation. In either case, it’s remarkably clever, and writing about it makes me giddy.
We are introduced to a young man named Norville, a key player in the series, as he and his wife Sissy happen to be squatting in the isolated cabin near the abhorrent Texan town of Wood Tick. A town so vile, yet charming, that you’re left to commend the Lansdale’s and Denham on their envisioning of the characters. Unbeknownst to Norville, he accidentally sets free something ancient, dark, and evil from the well; but when tragedy strikes and the villagers of Wood Tick cast him aside as a loonatic, his only hope is Reverend Mercer who happens to be passing through. Turns out, Mercer has some business to attend to at the cabin himself; business that will be revealed in Part Two.
“Crawling Sky” raises my interest for horror-western fiction in a strangely surprising way. Coming into the series with no expectations, I’m left craving the next installment. Though, I’ll admit that it’s probably hit or miss for consumers, both Lansdale’s and Denham’s ability to simultaneously shock and charm readers with their writing and art, is a good enough reason to check this book out.
4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – ShadowJayd
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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