Witchblade #5 // Review
Detective Sara Pezzini is face-to-face with someone who is spewing a thick, ugly darkness out of their eyes and mouth. She's in a position to be able to seriously do something about it. She has possession of a very powerful weapon. However, she's not going to want to use it. She's been trying to avoid using it. After all, there's a perfectly normal police detective who she would have to explain things t, she used the power in Witchblade #5. Writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Giuseppe Cafaro continue their exploration of the beloved hero with colorist Arif Prianto.
Prior to this, Detective Pezzini was subject to her own darkness. There was a dream. She was remembering the first time.Witchblade took hold of her against her will. It’s understandable that the event would be the subject of recurring nightmares. It’s an ancient weapon that takes over her body completely. It’s the weapon that’s completely in control of the person who is wielding it. Her body is not her body. It’s the Witchblade’s. So naturally she’s going to have a lot of reasons to want to avoid dealing with it. Naturally she’s going to be working a job that’s going to make this impossible.
Bennett has found quite a few angles on the traditional story that really amplify the drama and horror of it all. She's a talented writer and she's working with an idea that has quite a bit of potential. The horror of the situation feels much more vivid than it often has in any prior iteration of the concept. It's almost haunting in its own way. Bennett knows what she's doing and she's doing well. Psychological horror aside, she is moving the action across the page quite well as well. The rush of events is well articulated and the rhythm and pacing of the issue feels almost perfect.
The art team does a good job of harnessing the horror in a way that is true to the original visuals that have been established for the character decades ago. The original concept for the character was very visually appealing. It wasn't necessarily horrifying. Camaro and Prianto find a way to fuse the sexy visual coolness of the original concept of something that gets under the skin in entirely different ways. Above all, the drama is captured for the page in a wave. It is intricate and subtle without over exaggerating things. Given the nature of the story, this is quite an accomplishment.
Bennett and Company are doing a very impressive job of making this particular iteration of a series of work in a way that it's rarely worked in the past. It's working on so many different levels. It's doing so with great sense of style and poise. Hopefully the current momentum can continue into the future. Bennett has taken her time with developing all of the different fundamental angles of the character. Previous iterations of the franchise has provided a lot of potential president for the current series to explore if Bennett wants to. She's a really good writer, though. She could find something completely new. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future.
