Comics
Review: “The Strain: The Night Eternal” # 1
The start of a brand new chapter, “The Strain: The Night Eternal: #1” brings to life the epic third part of Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s giant-sized novel. As the plot moves at breakneck speed, readers have better keep up with the crazy twists and turns. If you’re enjoying the TV series, then you better get “The Strain” comic right now.
Written By: David Lapham
Art By: Mike Huddleston
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
Release: August 20, 2014
Reviewed By Jorge Solis
The vampire apocalypse all started when Flight 753 mysteriously landed at JFK International Airport. Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and Nora Martinez, the disease detectives, were too late to stop the biological threat. The Master had won, spreading eternal darkness all across the entire globe. After triggering a series of meltdowns, the sun was completely blocked by a nuclear cloud. The rest of humanity has given up to the vampire race, but there are still a few who wish to fight.
In this adaptation, writer David Lapham delivers a somber and bleak narrative where the heroes have actually lost. Eph and his team failed to stop their enemy and now face the consequences. There’s a desperate need to keep fighting, but they have all lost faith in each other. Because he misses his own son, Eph has succumbed to his thirst for alcohol just as like the vampires have feed their bloodlust.
Nora, Epha’s love interest, has more personality in this installment. Lapham has developed her character, who was once mousy and quiet, to a more verbal and authoritative persona. There is resentment in her dialogue towards Eph, as if all her emotions are hanging by a thread. The group has separated into different teams, but there is no leader like before because Abraham is gone.
In the opening pages, artist Mike Huddleston takes us through different time periods, showing how the vampire epidemic has always been around. When Huddleston takes us to the present day, we see pieces of the world, from Washington D.C. to France, in a complete state of ruin. Because there is no more sunlight, every panel has to look like it is nighttime and the backgrounds always have shadows.
In his new character design, Eph looks more like a homeless bum because of his long hair and scruffy beard. Through her facial expressions, we can tell Nora is beyond pissed in her close-ups. In the violence department, Huddleston sure likes to let loose the stingers in the bloodsucker’s mouth. Towards the climax, there’s even a decapitated head moving around on the floor.
If you’ve been around since the beginning, there’s no reason for you not to continue with “The Strain: The Night Eternal” #1. With the creative team-up of Lapham and Huddleston, they have done an amazing job translating the bleak tone and spirit of the novel into the comic book medium.
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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