Comics
Review: “Velvet” #5
Review by – Jorge Solis
An engaging spy thriller, “Velvet” #5 delivers the suspense and plot twists as the quick pace speeds up to a shocking conclusion. There’s nothing better than a gun-toting femme fatale as the lead in a spy story.
Written By: Ed Brubaker
Art By: Steve Epting
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $2.99
Release: May 21, 2013
The underground organization, X-Ops, sent their top agent, Jeff Keller, on a secret assignment in Paris. Someone shot and killed Jeff at point-blank range. At the X-Ops headquarters in London, Velvet Temptation has just learned her ex-lover was murdered in cold blood. More than just an average secretary, Velvet uses her expertise to find Jeff’s killer and avenge his death. But, everyone at X-Ops thinks Velvet is the actual murderer and traitor. Framed for a crime she didn’t commit, Velvet has to find the real murderer and seek out the mole in her organization.
Writer Ed Brubaker spices things up with exotic locations and an engaging female protagonist to boot. Brubaker jumps back to q different time in Velvet’s life when she wasn’t a hard shell to crack. We learn where Velvet got her training and who was the only person that broke her heart. The fugitive-on-the-run plotline takes a backset as we settle into a heartbreaking coming-of-age tale. No one lasts forever in the espionage world, which means Velvet’s time is just ticking away.
Brubaker lets Velvet be a vixen, a fighter, and a romantic in the storyline as the writing peels away at her cold exterior. As readers, we’re learning what made Velvet turn into an excellent spy. Velvet had to make such harsh mistakes, some that even cost her own life, before becoming the mysterious agent she is.
Artist Steve Epting will definitely keep the readers hooked with his action sequences. In a more grounded and realistic style, Epting illustrates Velvet getting her butt whopped during her training days. Even though a young Velvet knows how to swing her kicks, there’s an even better fighter who can block it.
Epting makes excellent use of his exotic locations in the backgrounds. Because of the detailed drawings, you feel like you are actually there in the Bahamas. Epting captures the lush plant life, the nighttime hours, and the stylized architecture of certain buildings as Velvet walks across the paved road. I particularly enjoy how Epting has designed two characterizations of Velvet. In the present-day, Velvet is angry and has white streaks in her hair. In her younger days, Velvet is full of life and naive about her surroundings.
“Velvet” #5 closes on a shocking plot twist that gets readers excited for the next issue. If you’re a huge fan of espionage thrillers, you’re definitely going to enjoy the “Velvet” series.
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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