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Review: ‘Crossed: Badlands’ #50

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10 years ago

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A suspenseful standout, “Crossed: Badlands” #50 aims for the reader’s jugular fast and brutally. Garth Ennis returns to the “Crossed” series, already defying reader’s expectations. The start of a new story arc, see if you have the stomach to take on the “Crossed” series.

WRITTEN BY: Garth Ennis
ART BY: Christian Zanier
PUBLISHER: Avatar Press
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: March 27, 2013

The psychotic plague known as “Crossed” has not even infected the rest of the world yet. The carriers haven’t gotten their name yet because the cross-like rash hasn’t appeared on their faces. We know the plague will eventually turn off people’s conscience though. The Crossed will succumb to their evil most desires and the infection will never stop spreading. The T.S. Eliot poem got it all wrong. The world doesn’t end with a whimper; it ends with a loud and deafening bang.

Writer Garth Ennis toys around with the flashback technique in the quick-paced opening pages. Something horrible is going to happen, which will cause a young man to lose his mind. Events will turn out so badly that the military, even the local police, has to get involved. Ennis is hinting at a multi-layered mystery that readers will have to put together. We are witnessing the early stages of how the Crossed universe succumbed to depravity.

Through heavy-driven dialogue, Ennis introduces a cast of supporting characters in this installment, rather than focusing on the shock value. Surprisingly, Ennis builds the brutal tension with heart-pounding suspense throughout the narrative. The provocative images are just there to tease readers of what’s to come. Ennis wants the readers to wait before he lays out all the gore and depravity the “Crossed” series is known for.

Artist Christian Zanier is able to show the two-sided nature of the main characters. The Prime Minister is introduced outside a church, surrounded by innocent and smiling children. But when the Prime Minister sits inside his limousine, we get to see how corrupt and manipulative he really is. Harry, the Prime Minister’s bodyguard, may seem like a thug and jokester at first. But beneath his punkish attitude lies a resourceful and calculating observer who deduces a traitor amongst the Prime Minister’s crew.

Zanier goes along for the ride with Ennis to tease the readers. We get a taste of sexuality and violence before Zanier heads for the extreme. Zanier illustrates a hard-hitting and fast action sequence midway through to the climax. The best part is that the scene has nothing to do with the Crossed plague. I can’t wait to see how Zanier lets loose the graphic violence and sexual imagery in later installments

“Crossed: Badlands” #50 takes its time to scar your mind. With “Crossed” in the right hands, Ennis and Zanier are going to deliver the gratuitous goods in unexpected ways.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by Jorge Solis

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Comics

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

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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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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