Comics

Review: “Original Sin” #1

Published

10 years ago

May 8, 2014

By Jorge Solis

A spell-binding murder mystery, “Original Sin” #1 delivers a knockout first installment filled with suspense, action, and thrills. For months, readers have been teased about the murder of The Watcher and now it’s finally here. Dark in tone and with a cool title to boot, “Original Sin” is a clever concept of throwing superheroes into a suspenseful thriller.

WRITTEN BY: Jason Aaron
ART BY: Mike Deodato
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: May 7, 2013

The Watcher’s cosmic duty is to bear witness to earth’s evolution and never get involved at all. As he gazes upon the stars and planets, The Watcher has seen everything, including his own death. He accepts his death with a sigh and awaits his doom. When the superheroes of the Marvel Universe arrive at the crime site, they all see The Watcher lying dead, with his eyes gouged out. Someone wanted The Watcher to die in a painful and brutal way. While everyone is playing detective, there is a killer on the loose across the universe.

Writer Jason Aaron has captured a gritty and moody murder mystery filled with memorable characters and exciting moments. Aaron keeps the conversation running smoothly amongst a group of characters. Though difficult in the hands of a lesser writer, Aaron knows how to give each character their own voice and allow their personality to shine. My favorite amongst the team-ups is The Punisher and Doctor Strange. This odd couple brings in the dark humor as the Punisher and Strange play good/bad cop as they interrogate a suspect.

Aaron keeps a serious tone in the dark narrative as the Marvel superheroes find themselves starring in an Agatha Christie-like mystery. Everyone wants to play the role of detective but no one really has the stomach to ask the tough questions. Nick Fury even reminds Captain America that their investigation will lead to dark places. The Watcher saw and knew everything, including everybody’s dirty little secrets.

Artist Mike Deodato delivers the tragic death of The Watcher with a heart-breaking blow. In the opening pages, the Watcher is staring at the stars in awe of its beauty. Deodato keeps the camera tight on the Watcher’s face as he grimaces, knowing that beauty is just a fleeting moment. In an epic two-pager, we see the eyeless Watcher lying dead, with his arms stretched out and legs bent.

I particularly loved the way how Deodato placed the camera on the crime scene as the superheroes gathered round the dead body. We have seen this shot many times in cop movies and Deodato’s illustrations imitate that police procedural aspect. With the camera kept at a low angle, Captain America and Wolverine seem larger than life as they analyze the crime scene, searching for clues like real detectives.

Kicking off to a great start, “Original Sin” #1 sets the stage for a riveting thriller. There’s just something cool about The Punisher, Wolverine, and Captain America playing detectives in a murder myserty.

Lonnie Nadler

1 Comment

Comics

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

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

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.