Comics

[Comic Review] “Burning Fields” #4 Shifts To Supernatural Horror

Published

9 years ago

April 29, 2015

“Burning Fields” #4 makes it very clear that the series is distinctly a supernatural horror. It isn’t a completely accurate category; nothing in this post-modern landscape is exactly one genre after all. But if you fancied “Burning Fields” a noirish thriller à la “Silence of the Lambs”, “Burning Fields” #4 pulls a “From Dusk till Down” and goes full monster mash. I’m not in love with the direction things are taking, but even just four issues in this series has earned my trust, here’s hoping I’m not let down.

WRITTEN BY: Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel
ART BY: Colin Lorimer
PUBLISHER: BOOM!
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 29, 2015

Detective stories, noir, murder mysteries, a serial killer stories commingle with the supernatural relatively often. The dark themes lend themselves to thoughts of “the other” and vice versa. Cults and devil worship are often a motivation or interest for a killer but rarely do they completely escape reality and divulge into the satanic and when they do: the story becomes something entirely different.

I’ve really enjoyed “Burning Fields” so far, I think setting a horror noir in an oil field has such a built in tone and tension its one of those things that makes me wonder why no one else has ever thought of it. And the supernatural doesn’t turn me off either, at least as a theme. Much of “True Detective” hinged on a cosmic presence that drove the antagonists to insidious acts. But it was always something suggested, something in our minds. “Burning Fields” makes the monster in our minds real, and I honestly don’t know how to feel about that.
I guess my reservation is that making “Burning Fields” a demon story takes something away from it. The book has had character depth and cultural dissonance and gripping noir sensibilities, all the things your common monster mash categorically lacks. I know that isn’t necessarily the case though, my beloved “Fatale” did hell beasts without sacrificing any of the substance. I guess I just didn’t see “Burning Fields” going this ways. Because it isn’t “True Detective”, it isn’t “Silence of the Lambs”, and whatever its going to be I’m fully on board. I hope the next 4 issues aren’t people running through caves that keep changing shape, but I’m still very much intrigued by whatever comes next.

Eric Switzer

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Comics

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

Published

6 days 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.