Featured Post

HotShot Pickleball @hspickleball is Live on @kickstarter

Image
Pick Your Pickle and Prepare for Puns: Pickleball's Board Game Just Launched. A fast, fun, irreverent board game that celebrates the joy of Pickleball. Fans of silly puns, pickles, and fast-paced games alike have a new game to add to their list of must-haves: HotShot Pickleball. This delightful card-drawing board game is quick to learn and gives a surprising amount of opportunity to lightly strategize as you race to the ball and attempt to hit it back over the net to your opponent. The debut release from indie studio Midnight Trading Co., HotShot Pickleball was made while game designer Robert Gelb was recovering from an Achilles injury sustained, ironically, by playing Pickleball. For those who haven’t heard of pickleball, it's the fastest-growing sport in the world, with over 32 million players last year. HotShot Pickleball is a lively, family-friendly game that combines the fun of the sport with a cast of quirky, pickle-themed characters like Stew Cumber, Kim Chee, and Corni...

Featured Review and Preview @TopCow Witchblade #173 @TopCowMatt @RonMarz @LauraBraga_rt @TheThirdG


Witchblade #173 - Borne Again, Part Four


BORNE AGAIN

Even without the Witchblade secured to her wrist, Sara Pezzini cannot escape the corrupting influence of the gauntlet.




Preview




Review


See the Review Rating Overview page for more information on how I rate each comic


Cover & Solicit 4/5


This issues cover is drawn by Stjepan Šejić (Aphrodite IX, Cyber Force, Inhumans) and features Sara being hunted by what appears to be a demonic being. Like the last cover I'm not a fan of this one either and it doesn't really convey anything in the issue. The solicit is also off as Sara did get part of the Witchblade back in last issue.

Art, Colors & Inking 4/5


I'm still impressed with the work newcomers Laura Braga on art (Cyber Force) and Besty Gonia on colors (Cyber Force, Think Tank, Bushido) are doing. Like the last issue the art in this one is pretty good, and I have nothing major to complain about. I did find both the Angelus' and Sara's eyes a little strange at times, mainly when the two women were showing emotion, and normally Laura does a great job of showing emotion. I also really enjoy the way she shows the fluidity of the Witchblade, it just looks awesome and I can't wait to see her draw Sarah in full Wichblade regalia.

Layout & Flow 5/5


I appreciate that Top Cow continues to have the recap at the beginning of the issues and the new feature called The Witching Hour. In this issue they explained a little about the Magdelena and the Spear of Destiny. I found this very useful as I just recently started reading the Darkness, Artifacts, and the Witchblade and really only ever read about the Magdelena in a mini-series. The pacing works very will in this issue with the events that occur in the past and present.

Story 5/5


The issue continues the Borne Again arc with Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Artifacts, Silver Surfer) on writing duties. He is does an excellent job at keeping the book new reader friendly allowing almost anyone the ability to pick up the title and jump right in. This issue starts with a flashback of the current Angelus breaking in to acquire the Reliquary that contains the Witchblade. We are then taken back to the present where we see Sara with Rooney practicing her marksmanship in hopes of getting her job back. It is nice to see Marz building relationships with his new characters and also giving Sara a new friend or companion. Marz then takes us back to the Angelus and explains her decision to retrieve the last part of the Witchblade from Sara herself. In the final pages Marz again starts to flesh out the supporting characters before leaving us with another great cliffhanger.

Verdict - 4.6 (9/10) (Buy Witchblade) SAVE 10%

The team of Marz, Braga and Gonia continue to impress me each week. The story Marz is trying to tell is excellent and very accessible, and with Braga and Gonia on art duties they are really working great together. Each issue brings us a little closer to finding out how the balance of the Darkness, the Witchblade, and the Angelus will work with the death of Jackie and the loss of the Darkness. I highly recommend adding this series to your Pull-List.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

HotShot Pickleball @hspickleball is Live on @kickstarter

Bardsung: Tale of the Forsaken Glade by Steamforged Games Coming Soon to Gamefound