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Review: ‘Bloodshot’ #8

Published

11 years ago

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Bloodshot is a series that has been building some momentum over the past couple of issues and issue #8 delivers the kill shot. Overall “Bloodshot” has been good, but it’s been missing that one element that transforms it into a great book that immediately jumps to the top of everyone’s read pile. With this issue they’ve found the missing puzzle piece as the creative team comes together and fires on all cylinders.

WRITTEN BY: Duane Swierczynski
ART BY: Manuel Garcia & Matt Ryan
PUBLISHER: Valiant
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 13th, 2013

In the last issue readers learned that in Bloodshot’s past he has been used as a harbinger hunter to captures psiots for Project Rising Spirit’s experiments. Now Bloodshot is caught between a group of misfit killers known as Team CHAINSAW that want him dead, and the harbinger children that he imprisoned for Project Rising Spirit. The issue is full of nail biting action, mixed with tons of intensity, intrigue and mystery.

Writer Duane Swierczynski has been bringing “Bloodshot” to a boil and he now seems to have found his groove. There have been a few blanks fired along the way with this series, but Swierczynski has finally found his mark and is hitting the target dead on in consecutive issues. The cliffhanger endings have been enough to keep readers interest piqued enough to come back each month, but the series is finally starting to pay off as all the plot lines are beginning to come together to form one cohesive narrative. Each issue has revealed more of the mystery surrounding Bloodshot’s past with every issue and it will be interesting to see how it develops further with the impending Harbinger Wars crossover looming on the horizon.

The art by Manuel Garcia truly steals the spotlight in this issue. Previously the artistic duties on this book were shared with Artuor Lozzi and the pair split the book down the middle with Garcia handling present day scenes and Lozzi doing the flashback sequences. Lozzi’s slick style is some of drastic change to Garcia’s gritty line work and the switching back and forth between the two had a tendency to take the reader out of the story. The dual artists on the same book made it disjointed at times, but with this issue Garcia takes center stage and turns out a performance worthy of a standing ovation. His line work is intensely detailed, he delivers some pulse pounding action sequences, and his double page spread in this issue is simply gorgeous. Garcia’s best panel of the entire issue is a particularly gory scene where Bloodshot performs a Mortal Kombat style execution on one of his enemies and it looks simply awesome.

These last few issues of “Bloodshot” have really ramped up the action and intensity, which has taken this book to a new level. This issue is another strong showing that continues to show that Valiant is focused on putting out quality books rather than flooding store shelves.

4/5 Skulls

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

Published

6 days ago

on

April 18, 2024

By

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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