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Witchblade/Red Sonja #1-5
Witchblade/Red Sonja
Join Dynamite Entertainment and Top Cow Productions as they bring two of comics most celebrated heroines together in one terrifying tale of loss and redemption. Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, and Sara Pezzini, the modern-day bearer of the Witchblade, must find a way to defeat a wickedly depraved being as old and dark as the cosmos in order to prevent the world from eternally becoming a true Hell on Earth.
Witchblade/Red Sonja is written by Doug Wagner (The Ride, I.C.E.) with stunning interior art by Cezar Razek (Total Recall, Hack/Slash/Eva: Monster's Ball).
Witchblade/Red Sonja is written by Doug Wagner (The Ride, I.C.E.) with stunning interior art by Cezar Razek (Total Recall, Hack/Slash/Eva: Monster's Ball).
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2013
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64 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 18, 2020
This was surprisingly solid. It's not really a crossover. Sara Pezzini and Red Sonja never team up. They are in two different time periods fighting the same fallen angel. Red Sonja does comes across the Witchblade of her time. That being said, Red Sonja and Sara are both characterized correctly and I think fans of either character will enjoy this. Razek's art is REALLY good.
January 24, 2016
Quick review for a quick read. I had this as a galley quite a few years back and I've finally been able to pick it back up after the longest time. So, I definitely know about the Witchblade series, and I know a little bit about Red Sonja (created originally by Robert E. Howard - the creator of Conan the Barbarian, and I know of her from the comic storylines she was introduced in Conan.)
This story has parallel storylines which jump back and forth in time, so I'll admit I was fairly confused before I adjusted to the scheme of events. Red Sonja's (past character) on a mission to kill a dangerous demon, while Sara Pezzini (Witchblade wielder in the present time) is called away from her family to investigate a brutal case. The link between their times is the Demon's push to manipulate the Witchblade and take over the world. The Demon is able to show up during Sara's time and wreak all kinds of havoc, from harming her Detective partner to stealing her child for a prophecy. So it's a dual story showing how both ladies from their distinct times end up using the Witchblade to defeat the demon and restore order.
I liked the quality of the artwork as well as the overarching storyline - it was decent for a 30 minute read and kept me on my toes as far as the fates of the characters were concerned. Both Sara and Red Sonja were strongly asserted characters. I wish there would've been a better lead in for the story established, but I was able to follow it well enough once it hit the ground running.
Overall score: 3/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Dynamite Entertainment.
This story has parallel storylines which jump back and forth in time, so I'll admit I was fairly confused before I adjusted to the scheme of events. Red Sonja's (past character) on a mission to kill a dangerous demon, while Sara Pezzini (Witchblade wielder in the present time) is called away from her family to investigate a brutal case. The link between their times is the Demon's push to manipulate the Witchblade and take over the world. The Demon is able to show up during Sara's time and wreak all kinds of havoc, from harming her Detective partner to stealing her child for a prophecy. So it's a dual story showing how both ladies from their distinct times end up using the Witchblade to defeat the demon and restore order.
I liked the quality of the artwork as well as the overarching storyline - it was decent for a 30 minute read and kept me on my toes as far as the fates of the characters were concerned. Both Sara and Red Sonja were strongly asserted characters. I wish there would've been a better lead in for the story established, but I was able to follow it well enough once it hit the ground running.
Overall score: 3/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Dynamite Entertainment.
September 5, 2022
Not a bad crossover, especially considering the characters are from very different times and universes. As it turns out, the Red Sonja/Sara Pezzini meetings are more metaphysical, and the actual team up is Sonja teaming with a Witchblade of the past. The villain is the main focal point of the crossover, as Sonja and Sara battle the same villain, just many years apart.
Nice art and a decent story. Not the best crossover, but not the worst.
Nice art and a decent story. Not the best crossover, but not the worst.
June 9, 2014
This is a case of beauty over substance. The art work in this trade paperback is outstanding. Great drawings, inking, and coloring is the reason to pick up this book. The action sequences are well designed.
The story, on the other hand, is very shallow. This trade covers five comic books and the way is was written it could have been done in one single issue. However, this is not always a bad thing, because sometimes a cross over comic tries too hard to explain how characters from different worlds can somehow meet.
The story, on the other hand, is very shallow. This trade covers five comic books and the way is was written it could have been done in one single issue. However, this is not always a bad thing, because sometimes a cross over comic tries too hard to explain how characters from different worlds can somehow meet.
March 21, 2023
Long time Red Sonja, first time Witchblade. While not being bad per se, this seemed like an odd graft of Sonja onto the Witchblade narrative. I would recommend the Conan treatment in What if? or the Spiderman Red Sonja work by Claremont in Marvel Team up as giving a significantly better treatment to this scenario. Plus is the Witchblade's detective boyfriend just an idiot? His actions do not appear to be motivated by a proper analytical structure, even if he does get the girl in the end.
October 18, 2022
A straightforward, meat and potatoes story, very well told and decently illustrated, with the cheesecake stuff at a tasteful minimum. The main protagonists don't interact much but they're allied against a Fallen Angel who has lived for millennia.
December 8, 2017
Nice art, no story.
October 2, 2022
The best Witchblade comic that I have read so far. Even if you would remove Red Sonja, the story would still be better than the previous Witchblade stories that I have read. I like the artwork too.
April 13, 2024
Liked the art and the jumps to modern day in this one, but overall it wasn’t my vibe. It lacked story and the characters lacked solid motivation for me.
November 8, 2024
A surprisingly enjoyable read overall. As. A self contained story, has a good way of mixing both titular characters, with solid art, good action sequences and fast paced structure.
March 3, 2013
Witchblade is responsible for getting me back into reading comic books as an adult. As a child I read Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batman and Superman, but I stopped reading comics at the age of twelve. I became a Witchblade fan as a result of the TV series that aired on TNT (2001-2002) starring Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini, a New York City cop who was chosen by the Witchblade. The Witchblade is an ancient intelligent artifact that has chosen female wielders for thousands of years. Probably the most famous historical Witchblade wielder is one of my favorite historical personages, Joan of Arc, who was the subject of historical flashbacks in the TV series. The Witchblade unites with the wielder, and is said to balance the powers of light and darkness. The comic book and the TV series mainly deal with the contemporary wielder Sara Pezzini. The original publisher and owner of the franchise is Top Cow, but it has licensed other companies to publish Witchblade.
Most recently, Dynamite Entertainment published a six issue crossover series called Witchblade/Red Sonja which has been republished as a graphic novel. I admit that I didn't read the series when it was in print. Red Sonja is not a character that I've followed, but I selected this graphic novel for review from Net Galley because of my interest in Witchblade.
I liked the idea of incorporating Red Sonja into the Witchblade continuity. I also liked the fact that Sara Pezzini and Red Sonja were in a position to aid each other. Unfortunately, there was a big police procedural plot hole on the Witchblade end. It may sound strange that I can accept a cop who fights a supernatural villain with the aid of an ancient artifact allied across time with a prehistorical swordswoman, but can't suspend disbelief when contemporary police procedure isn't followed. I'm the sort of reader who is bothered by inconsistencies. I realize that if this particular error had been corrected, an additional issue would probably have been required to resolve the plot. Yet I think it would have been a better story.
For my complete review see my March 2013 blog post "Witchblade/Red Sonja Gets An A For Concept But The Implementation Isn't Completely Successful" at http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com
Most recently, Dynamite Entertainment published a six issue crossover series called Witchblade/Red Sonja which has been republished as a graphic novel. I admit that I didn't read the series when it was in print. Red Sonja is not a character that I've followed, but I selected this graphic novel for review from Net Galley because of my interest in Witchblade.
I liked the idea of incorporating Red Sonja into the Witchblade continuity. I also liked the fact that Sara Pezzini and Red Sonja were in a position to aid each other. Unfortunately, there was a big police procedural plot hole on the Witchblade end. It may sound strange that I can accept a cop who fights a supernatural villain with the aid of an ancient artifact allied across time with a prehistorical swordswoman, but can't suspend disbelief when contemporary police procedure isn't followed. I'm the sort of reader who is bothered by inconsistencies. I realize that if this particular error had been corrected, an additional issue would probably have been required to resolve the plot. Yet I think it would have been a better story.
For my complete review see my March 2013 blog post "Witchblade/Red Sonja Gets An A For Concept But The Implementation Isn't Completely Successful" at http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com
March 6, 2013
Witchblade and Red Sonja together? I was Curious how Doug Wagner was going to pull it off. I have not read the Withchblade comics before this but was an avid reader of the Red Sonja comics during my teen years.
The current bearer of the Witchblade, Sara Pezzini , is called to a crime scene at a church. Things go bad really quickly. One of the "Fallen" has been released from his prison. To stop him fromdestrying the world, Sara must find a way to defeat him with the help of Red Sonja.
The story line shifts from Sara in the present to past with Red Sonja and the bearer of the Witchblade, Nissa. This is done many times throughout the tale to eventually lead us to how Sara and Red interface with each other. It was masterful how Mr. Wagner threaded this tale through time. Czar Razek beautifully brought Red Sonja's environs to life with his artwork.
Overall this was an enjoyable read and after reading this TPB I will have to look into perusing the comics store to get some copies of Witchblade to enjoy.
The current bearer of the Witchblade, Sara Pezzini , is called to a crime scene at a church. Things go bad really quickly. One of the "Fallen" has been released from his prison. To stop him fromdestrying the world, Sara must find a way to defeat him with the help of Red Sonja.
The story line shifts from Sara in the present to past with Red Sonja and the bearer of the Witchblade, Nissa. This is done many times throughout the tale to eventually lead us to how Sara and Red interface with each other. It was masterful how Mr. Wagner threaded this tale through time. Czar Razek beautifully brought Red Sonja's environs to life with his artwork.
Overall this was an enjoyable read and after reading this TPB I will have to look into perusing the comics store to get some copies of Witchblade to enjoy.
February 28, 2013
NetGalley free read
I loved it. Red Sonja bears the Witchblad for a while in order to avenge the death of her father and the virgin sacrifice, which brings Ragniel to this plane. In present day, Sara, the current wearer of The Witch Blade, must try to figure out how Ragniel was defeated before in order to save her daughter and avenge threat on the life of her partner.
With the Witch Blade using Sonja's Sacred Blade of Vengance, Sara is able to defeat Ragniel.
The drawing is stunning, it easy to read and flows smoothly.
I loved it. Red Sonja bears the Witchblad for a while in order to avenge the death of her father and the virgin sacrifice, which brings Ragniel to this plane. In present day, Sara, the current wearer of The Witch Blade, must try to figure out how Ragniel was defeated before in order to save her daughter and avenge threat on the life of her partner.
With the Witch Blade using Sonja's Sacred Blade of Vengance, Sara is able to defeat Ragniel.
The drawing is stunning, it easy to read and flows smoothly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2013
I am a fan of the Witchblade story and series. So far I have read IDWs Witchblade and Artifacts. I prefer Witchblade though. This pairing of Witchblade and Red Sonja seemed a natural one. At first it was a little too back and forth, but I came to understand what was happening quickly. I loved the drawing, lines, colors. Brilliantly done.
Sorry this wasn't a full review, I just didnt have much to say. I liked it a lot, would have given it 4 stars if it wasn't for the confusion in the beginning that I had,
Thank you.
Sorry this wasn't a full review, I just didnt have much to say. I liked it a lot, would have given it 4 stars if it wasn't for the confusion in the beginning that I had,
Thank you.
March 21, 2016
So much potential was lost in never-ending cleavage. This series may have been able to redeem itself by introducing a similarly strong/capable female superwoman, however, the author chose to depict our new heroine as a damsel in distress while opting to show as much skin/as little self-reliance as possible. Each page droned on full of beautiful colors but lacking depth. With fewer words per page, this was a quick yet disappointing read.
July 14, 2013
I am a huge fan of Dynamite's Red Sonja series, but I have only watched the Anime series of Witchblade. And after reading this, I don't think I will be in any rush to pick up any more Witchblade stories. The artwork was pretty good, but I found the story pretty lacking. I know it is pretty hard to do cross-overs and guest appearances, but I just couldn't get into this the way I wanted to.
July 17, 2013
The excellent art really saved this book - beautiful figures, interesting weapons, detailed constructs, and gorgeous coloring. The story has feels rushed and the vengeance angle a bit forced. The character development was good if a bit shortened because of all the fight scenes. Overall a quick moving romp through both worlds.
February 26, 2013
As this was my first encounter with Witchblade, I had to take get up to speed fast. The interaction with Red Sonja was interesting. The artwork was crisp and first-rate. A very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more of both characters.
January 5, 2015
Die Panels mit Red Sonja sind zugegebener Maßen nett anzuschauen, aber die Story insgesamt ist wirr erzählt und hat mich nicht gepackt. Schade, dabei war er erste Eindruck beim Reinschauen ein guter (naja, sonst hätte ich das TPB nicht gekauft; immerhin ist es fadengeheftet).
March 11, 2013
Proper review later, but I really liked this. It was a little confusing because it jumped back and forth through time, but really fascinating.
June 14, 2014
Ratings are generally not good on this one, but I loved it! It was beautifully rendered and I liked the way they mashed up the two characters.
June 24, 2013
What was I smoking when I checked this out from the library?
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews