REVIEW: ‘The Complete Witchblade’ Vol.1

The Complete Witchblade Vol 1 follows New York City Detective, Sara Pezzini as she becomes the owner of a mysterious weapon of untold power and fights the forces of evil in the dark supernatural underbelly of her city. This collection holds Witchblade comics #1-19, The Darkness #9-19, and Tales Of The Witchblade #1/2-3. The Complete Witchblade is created by Marc Silvestri, David Wohl, Brian Haberlin, and Michael Turner. Joining the creators on the writing team are Christina Z., Warren Ellis, and David Finch. Silvestri, Finch, Turner are joined by the following artists, Billy Tan, Nathan Cabrera, and Tony Daniel. The Complete Witchblade, Vol. 1 is published by Image Comics.

Diving right into this collection, what stands out is the art and character design. Each character is drawn and colored with care, making them stand out whenever they grace the panel. The artists definitely show off their main characters a lot in huge panels or having them take up the entire page. When Sara dons the Witchblade, pages, and panels are a sight for sore eyes. The action scenes across panels are breathtaking. Sometimes they take up two pages instead of one. The drawings of New York City, it’s neighborhoods, and landmarks are pretty amazing too. As I read, a page would shoot to the next location of the story, the art added to my imagination as I played everything in my head. However, the placement of letterboxes on the pages and in panels can mess up the flow of reading as things ramp in action or the plot is getting good.

The Complete Witchblade’s story is pretty entertaining. While the letterboxes can get a reader mixed up, it doesn’t take it away. The story moves along by either the writers narrating a scene or Sara narrating her feelings or the trouble she’s about to get into or already in. Reading and learning about the Witchblade, you immediately see that the relationship with this gauntlet and Sara is similar to Eddie Brock and Venom. They need each other. Symbiotes.

I also get Spawn vibes when it comes to some of the things that the Witchblade can do. For example, if Sara is getting attacked and she’s not aware, her sixth sense, so to speak, will kick in and protect her by any means necessary. May that be morphing to what’s needed at the time or sending out a tendril to counterattack. The Witchblade may sound badass but Sara Pezzini is badass all by herself. Before she even encounters the symbiotic gauntlet, readers will enjoy her character. She’s a driven detective that really wants to protect and serve, despite being a hothead.

In addition, the villains are badass as well, whether they have powers or not. Sara’s main villain is like an evil Bruce Wayne, the only problem is, he’s obsessed with obtaining the Witchblade’s problem. So he employs others to do his dirty work from the shadows. However, it’s who he employs and how he goes about it. We see Sara learn about her new weapon and power although she’s at a disadvantage because the one pulling the strings knows all that the Witchblade can do. This adds to the story, making it more compelling as Sara triumphs over insurmountable odds.

The Complete Witchblade, Vol 1 is an absolute thrill ride with minor flaws that can be easily overlooked. The story is adventurous and compelling, with decent character development. The character art and design is simply awe-inspiring and jumps right off the page. This first collection of comics is the next adventure you’ve been waiting for.

The Complete Witchblade, Vol. 1 is available wherever comic books are sold