Comics

[Comic Review] “Valhalla Mad” #1 Is A Great Albeit Insignificant Debut

Published

9 years ago

May 20, 2015

“Valhalla Mad” is a comedy about three Norse Gods who descend on earth for a ritual they call “The Gluttonalia”, which is basically an excuse to stomp around and get really drunk and be pretentious assholes. There is A LOT of dialogue and almost all of it is in a middle english style. Once you get into the rhythm of the book, though, its pretty fun how Norse Gods and modern day New Yorkers react to one another. The Gods expect to be treated like, well, Gods, and the humans really don’t have time for their shit. As situationally funny as it was, the sudden shift at the end to actually tell a story didn’t do a lot to create an appetite for more. Nevertheless, this is a great first issue.

WRITTEN BY: Joe Casey
ART BY: Paul Maybury

PUBLISHER: Image

PRICE: $3.50

RELEASE: May 20, 2015

Everything that “happens” in this issue can be summed up in one sentence: some Gods show up on earth to party, everyone is pretty annoyed by them. This isn’t a sustainable premise for a series, but for a single issue it worked remarkably well. While at first I was a little bumped by how slowly I had to read the dialogue, and as I said there is a lot of it, I eventually got into they way the Gods look at the world. They are like children, demanding immediate gratification and responding to every situation with intense, over the top emotion. They are proud and boastful and generally have a positive disposition.

Mortals are insignificant to them, and therein lies the problem. There are reference to their last adventure to earth and while they remember it as a heroic journey to protect the human race, those who were there remember the property destruction and lack of mind paid to the people. This juxtaposition is where a lot of the comedy comes from, that and normal people’s reaction to these goofy flying men who talk gibberish and wear battle armor. The type of humor here is perfectly summed up by their entrance when they rescue a downed airplane, thinking themselves great heroes, when it was actually their lightning bolt arrival that caused the accident in the first place.

After enjoy a drink at a pub and regaling the people with stories of their divine origin, the three fly to the bronx on the command of their leader, Knox. Knox evidently has a plan involving a old man that lives there. The final page promise that book two will “morph from drunken celebration into a dramatic tale of woe”. So if you didn’t like the first issue, don’t worry things are going to get darker and more story driven in the future, and if you did like it…er…

I imagine the series will maintain its tone and sense of humor for the most part, and I recognize no book can continue on without a plot, but the final moments of this issue seemed to promise something different than what we got in this issue and I’m not really sure what to expect for the future of “Valhalla Mad”. This issue won me over and then sort of apologized for itself at the end. I’m not sure what to make of that yet, but I guess that is a good enough reason to come back for more.

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.