Comics
Review: ‘Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood’ #3
As each installment gets better and better, Kill Shakespeare: The Tide of Blood #3 delivers an incredibly spell-binding adventure. The best part, you don’t have to be fully versed in Shakespeare to understand what’s going on. As each page is wonderfully realized in words and art, this is the perfect opportunity to pick up the “Kill Shakespeare” series.
WRITTEN BY: Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col
ART BY: Andy Belanger
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 24, 2013
As Titus is gathering an army, Juliet is called upon to raise her sword once more for battle. Though Juliet cannot trust her ex-lover, Romeo, she needs his help as they travel far to the mysterious Prospero’s Island. Deep in the island’s caves, something evil lurks in the shadows. The island is alive and wants torture the visitors until they bleed. Hamlet and Othello find themselves trapped inside a torture chamber, while Juliet is nowhere to be seen. Will the god-like wizard Shakespeare risk getting involved and save them?
Writers Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col have done something different and fresh to the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. In this interpretation, Romeo wants a second chance to get back together with Juliet. Because of Romeo’s heavy drinking and previous one-night stands, Juliet knows they are not destined to be together. Romeo is struggling with sobriety and he is trying to replace his alcoholism with unrequited love. This isn’t about these two characters getting back together; it’s about a break-up. Pay close attention to Romeo’s facial expressions as his jealously towards Hamlet heightens as Juliet breaks his heart.
I like the direction that McCreery and Del Col are taking the series, especially with the return of Shakespeare. In “Volume 2: The Blast Of War,” Shakespeare served as a metaphor for God. What would you say if you met God? After everything God has done to you, would you thank him or curse him out? Representing human nature, Hamlet lets it all out during his first confrontation with Shakespeare. So what will Shakespeare do now that he knows his children are in trouble?
Artist Andy Belanger captures the violent and dark nature of Prospero’s Island. In the opening pages, Hamlet is being tortured as his head is dunked many times into a bucket. When Hamlet gasps for air, he is surrounded by bloodthirsty werewolves. In the woods, the trees have screaming faces on them. In a small but important detail, the mountain range is also in the shape of a skull.
One of Belanger’s most impressive illustration yet is when Miranda walks down a staircase made of books. In a splash page, Belanger captures a surreal and child-like dream where the walls, stairs, and background are made of giant books. The reader’s eyes will follow Miranda as she walks from top to bottom in one shot. At first, Miranda is drawn in a wide shot and in the end, she is illustrated in a close-up.
“Kill Shakespeare: Tide of Blood” #3 is a clever and fresh take on Shakespeare’s mythology. I’m so glad I don’t need Spark Notes to understand what these character are talking about.
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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