Despite having to work for the world’s worst mayor, a re-Witchbladed Sarah Pezzini continues her duties as sheriff of an upstate New York county… which is good for them since stuff is starting to get weird. Is it good?
Witchblade #179 (Top Cow Productions)
Cattle mutilations. An old conspiracy theory standby when you’re just not ready to believe that coyotes are assholes.
Since this is Witchblade, you’ve probably guessed that the explanation is definitely supernatural. But instead of men in black or aliens, there’s a mystical threat that’s also strangely feral… and ties into something much larger that bearing down on Sarah Pezzini’s life from the shadows.
Is It Good?
Full disclosure: I just started reading Witchblade very recently. I’d heard good things, but made the (completely incorrect) assumption based on the main character’s appearance that it was a bit on the “cheesecake” side of things.
But then I had to start reading the title for some project research, where I discovered just how incredibly wrong I was.
Yes, Sarah Pezzini is gorgeous, especially when she’s being drawn by Laura Braga. But she’s also an incredibly rich character with a fascinating backstory. She’s likable while never seeming too perfect and flawed without ever seeming too self-destructive. She’s a badass even without the benefit of a mystical gauntlet while still being as human and vulnerable as the rest of us.
Add in her engrossing backstory, and I’ve found myself digging through back issue bins, used book stores, Amazon, and Ebay for all the issues I can get my hands on (along with a campaign of sustained harassment against our media manager David Brooke to dig up old review issues for me).
But if you’re not obsessive like me, writer Ron Marz showcases in this issue you don’t need to be well-versed in the Top Cow universe to start enjoying the title. In addition to having a detailed recap page (unlike DC comics, who seems to believe they’re too cool for those these days), Witchblade #179 gives us a well-constructed one off story with clear ties to a larger, epic storyline.
If I have one quibble, it’s that the whole ‘will this be supernatural or not’ speculation at the beginning of the story is a little eye-roll worthy. We all know it will be, so it was a little tedious having so much dialogue dedicated to subject.
But other than that, some great interaction between Pezzini and Rooney (and a new character), a fantastic action sequence, and a good story combine with a good hook into the series’ deeper mythology combine together to give us another excellent issue.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a couple of Witchblade TPB auctions on Ebay that need to be checked…
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