Comics
Review: ‘Locke & Key: Omega’ #3
Delivering another terrific installment, Locke & Key: Omega #3 continues to be a suspenseful horror story and a touching family drama. The deeply flawed Locke family are the most interesting characters you will ever read. As the last issues of the “Locke & Key” series come winding down, you have to be there for the end.
WRITTEN BY: Joe Hill
ART BY: Gabriel Rodriguez
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 20th, 2013
A powerful demon named Dodge has finally unlocked the evil mysteries of the Black Door. With the Black Door open, monsters of hate and madness are able to crossover from their unholy dimension into ours. With the Omega Key in the hands of Dodge, nothing can stop this evil creature from letting loose her demonic kind. As Dodge launches her first attack, not a single person will be spared from her bloodlust. There will be no safe haven for anyone as the battle between good and evil takes place.
What I particularly loved about this issue is how writer Joe Hill combines horror movies and John Hughes teen dramas, such as The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. The subtext of Hill’s themes are about the pain of being an adolescent, the torture of high school. As the characters reach a major turning point in their lives, Hill allows his characters to grow from childhood. Guilt-ridden since his father’s death, Tyler gives himself a chance to be a normal teenager and attends his high school prom.
The brilliance of Hill’s writing is how his characters explore their own emotional truths. When giving advice to Tyler, Uncle Dunk is really talking about himself. Uncle Dunk hints at the secrets he has kept from his family and how he let himself get locked up in his own prison. A major theme about the Locke family is how they struggle to communicate their own personal loss to each other. What they really want is someone to listen and not judge them.
Artist Gabriel Rodriquez does a great job balancing teen angst and the horror elements. In a wide shot, Rodriquez is able to impress readers by illustrating a crowded high school prom. Every student at the prom has their own tuxedo, dress, and hairstyle. Rodriguez brings out the dark humor as he recreates the famous scene from the movie, Carrie. Evenly matched, Hill’s witty dialogue and Rodriguez’s shot-for-shot homage work well together as the bucket of pig’s blood falls from the ceiling.
The best part of the issue is the suspenseful attack on Keyhouse. Rodriguez and colorist Jay Fotos do a fantastic job depicting the eeriness of the shadow monsters. Using just black tones, readers can easily make out figures of an ancient samurai, a zombie, and a pig smoking a cigarette. In an overhead shot, Rodriguez plays around with the lighting and shadow of Uncle Dunk. After reaching the last page, readers will be left wondering who lives and who dies.
“Locke & Key: Omega” #3 closes on an exciting cliff-ganger. As the “Locke and Key” series reaches its final chapter, an epic finale is promised to longtime fans. Having been a fan since the beginning, I’m anxious to see how it all ends.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by Jorge Solis
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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