3.5/5 We round up around here
I was reading this at the same time as the original Witchblade collection (I am unlikely to finish the original witchblade book collection as the one I got is like 25 issues in one graphic novel, and it’s an E-book that I got from the library), and it’s an interesting experiment in rebooting a character whose lore kind of got a lot more detail added to it after those initial writers left. Sarah Pezzini is a character who, in these six issues, wears a few hats. She’s a cop that oftentimes works undercover to bust trafficking rings. She’s the newest wielder of the witchblade, a magical gauntlet that only women can wear and we don’t quite know the abilities of it, and she’s also trying to use both of her positions to be a hero for her community. Her friends and the people that round out her group include Michael, her partner on the force, Nicole, Michael’s Partner (?) and confidant, and Ian Nottingham, a man that is so clearly going to betray her that it’s not even funny
I think that the writing and this exercise certainly yields a fun time, but I am not sure if it’s because I sometimes struggle with digital comics and remembering major details when I’m not reading a book in print, but oftentimes the interconnectivity between issues in this collection started to get confusing. One issue, she’s down to work with Ian, and starting issue 5, she has chosen to refuse using her Witchblade, and I wonder if I’ve missed something. I had to go back, and even still, I feel like I missed a part of the narrative.
I think that this is great as an introduction to this character. Something I struggled with while reading that original collection (maybe I should finish it the more I’m writing here) is the way Sarah is drawn and how she’s all bent around. It really distracted from the writing. Meanwhile, here, she still slays in the updated Witchblade costume, but she’s not overdone each page. I’m glad that it’s the writer for the DC Bombshells book, which does a similar thing. I loved the art and I really appreciate Bennett’s approach to the character
If I had to pick from the 10 issues of Witchblade I’ve read so far and the 6 that are collected in this volume, I think I’d go with this. It understands pacing way more, and though it has its own problems, it’s also really carving a path in the new “Reboot” era we are entering in comics. I really wanna read the next volume and maybe even go out and start picking up the latest issues.