Comics
Review: ‘The Walking Dead’ # 121
Rick and his survivors must regroup after the horrible events of last issue. The will to fight breaks down this month and tensions are on the rise. Negan believes he has all but secured his victory and Kirkman makes a strong case for impending chaos. “The Walking Dead” has been a roller coaster this year. Extremely exhilarating issues are followed by somber afterthoughts and while conventional wisdom would have you believe this issue would be the latter, it’s not.
WRITTEN BY: Robert Kirkman
ART BY: Charlie Adlard
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: February 12, 2014
Rick and his group reel from the insane damages brought on by Negan’s assault. The camp where they have called home for the last few years has been effectively destroyed. Rick’s reputation may be in shambles and Carl is rising up to show he may have potential to be the leader the group needs.
Meanwhile Negan and his crew continue to cut through Rick’s forces and take new prisoners in an exciting turn of events for he and The Saviors. Adlard certainly seems to be in a state of absolute merriment when he pencils Negan. The imposing figure dominates almost every panel he’s featured in.
The most interesting concept Kirkman toys with this month is losing the will to live or the will to fight. It’s crazy. After years of surviving in the apocalyptic wasteland people are losing hope in a conflict brought on by clashing tribes with different ideologies. It’s scary to think about because this is a world completely ripe with madness and violence. It will never end, and different people have different breaking points.
In contrast to that Kirkman takes Eugene. He makes him the beacon of hope. He’s confident that Rick aims to build a better and new world for those that survive the conflict. His starry eyes don’t seem to be clouded by the gigantic wasteland Rick has created. I mean the guy is willing to lose hundreds for this brave new world.
It’s clear that this clash of ideologies will leave the reader somewhere in the middle to decide. “The Walking Dead” has always been a beautiful grayscale book about the muddled grey area in an apocalypse situation. What would you do? And how far would you go? Are common questions that Kirkman’s narrative asks of us.
This month he contemplates those questions on a deeper level, but with an inability to turn back. We’ve just crested the halfway point of “All Out War” and so many have perished for the hope of a new society that very few will be left to populate.
This month is more about the emotional aftermath of what’s going on during this war than the war itself. The chess pieces slide around the board and there are moves that are about to be made, but it is anyone’s guess who will come out on top. The only sure thing is doom. Doom is on the horizon and its going to take many more with it over the next five issues.
Rating: 3/5 Skulls.
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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