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[Comic Review] “Cluster” #2 Ends With A Gut Punch

Published

9 years ago

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Reviewed By Eric Switzer. “Cluster” #2 makes with the action adventure 100% and is exactly the easy peasy sci/fi romp I predicted it would be…up until the last two pages.  I have mixed feelings about the agenda in this book, not all good, certainly not all bad, but I can tell you I was derailed by the way this issue ends.  Perhaps it is something much more than what I expected.

STK665837

WRITTEN BY: Ed Brisson
ART BY: Damian Couciero
PUBLISHER: BOOM!
PRICE: #3.99
RELEASE: March 4, 2015

We rejoin Samara and her band of misfits as the race against the clock to get back to prison before their punch expires and kills them.  Along the way they fight a giant worm, haggle with some indigenous black market traders, and have a run in with a formidable group of foes.  We find out that Greenwood, the warden-like figure of the the M.I.D., has a vested interest in Samara’s safety, which means there is a group “soldiers” on the hunt for our heroes whilst they rush back to the safety of…prison.  All of this is perfect fodder for the space adventure I think we were all hoping for, but then there’s more.

Halleran reveals to the group that what got him incarcerated was a knife fight over a bag of H that ended with him stabbing his best friend to death.  He describes having ended up that way after losing his wife and kids and had he just givin back the dope he stole, his friend wouldn’t have had to die.

Heavy.

I like 99.9% of my media to just ooze violence and nihilism and despicableness.  I eat that shit up, but here I found this admission to be shocking and out of place for the genre and style of the book.  It was as if on the way to kill the queen mimic in “Edge of Tomorrow” Tom Cruise mused about his battle with smack or if you found out Leia had to kick Han out because he backhanded her and called her a whore.

And then there’s the last two pages: flash back to that fateful night where Samara is being a spoiled rich party girl, giving her little sister shit for wanting to leave the club, mere moments before killing her in a drunk driving accident.  Yeah, lets go back there.

A book can be whatever kind of book it wants to be and I don’t critique stories on their subject matter, only their execution.  I’ve never seen anything with this sort of confluence of light and heavy before and that could be part of my reason for rejecting it.  It is too soon for me to say whether the book is trying something it shouldn’t or not, but I can tell you it was off putting to me.  In some ways I guess I’m guilty of wanting my art in clearly defined categories.  “Cluster” is a weird blend.  A weird, weird blend.

—

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

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14 hours 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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