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[Comic Book Review] “Dark Engine” #4 Intrigues and Confounds

Published

9 years ago

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“Dark Engine” #4 is the most foreshadowing issue yet.  It begins, as each issue does, with The Dragon’s journey towards the Gigahul he intends to pilot.  After a close call with a terrible flying beast, 2 things are revealed, one that The dragon is in a life-or-death time crunch, and two that he is heading directly for the Alchemist’s tower.  Meanwhile Sym is doing what Sym does, which turns out to be blindingly macabre at this point, and the alchemists are having some internal issues; the skull crushing kind.  “Dark Engine” is concludes its first arc and is a book every fantasy fan should be reading.

darkengine

WRITTEN BY: Ryan Burton
ART BY: John Bivens
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: November 26, 2014

Reviewed By Eric Switzer

I feel like I am on top of the language of “Dark Engine”, and in only four issues I actually pretty impressed.  I read Prophet for years and never figured out what was going on.  I called it Dune-syndrome, and as I’ve said before, I was at first afraid this book suffered from it, but now I realize the slight learning curve has an incredible reward.

There are at least two more incredible reveals in this issue that I wouldn’t dare spoil because it gives this series such great depth and new energy.  I was at once shocked and embarrassed that I didn’t pick up on it before hand, but this isn’t a book you can make assumptions about.  To enjoy “Dark Engine” you really have to submit Burton and Bivens and enjoy the ride they are taking you on.  Not every twist and turn will blow your mind, but it is consistently weird and fantastic and disgusting and beautiful.  This is the action/horror/hard-sci-fi you’ve been waiting for.

I said about the last issue that it didn’t suffer from the crowded panels and incomprehensible action that the first two issues did, but a couple of times in this issue I paused to speculate what I was looking at.  It isn’t particularly uncommon, but it does always seem to take me out the action.

This is a spectacular finale to the first arc and one that intrigues as much as it confounds.  I highly recommend “Dark Engine”.  It takes a few issues to get a handle on the world, but once you figure it out, you won’t be ddisappointed

—

Eric Switzer  is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles.  His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality.  He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com. 

 

 

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

Published

2 days 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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