The Runic Review: WitchBlade #128(Top Cow) By John H

When the mighty fall…

Lord John Dalberg-Acton is quoted as saying “Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely”, and never was this as true as when we sometimes witness our most trusted figures in society fall. Now imagine if the utterly unimpeachable and pure were to fall. One of the greatest symbols of purity is surely that of an Angel, but now imagine if they had human emotions, and were as corruptible as we are? What kind of world would that be if these powerful patrons of good could be consumed by greed? In WitchBlade #128: War of the Witchblades, this is exactly what happens.




After a fight between the two bearers of the Witchblade, Danielle Baptiste lies unconscious, and Sara Pezzini is left for dead. The Angelic servants of the light seek out Danielle, who is bearer of the Good side of the Witchblade. Their leader, a female Angel by the name of Sabine, seeks to be the new host to the Angelus, parent of the Witchblade, and the ultimate manifestation of good.

Ready to take Danielle away, the Angels are confronted with Det. Patrick Gleason, Sara’s boyfriend. He arrives with Hope, Sara’s daughter, and proceeds to shoot one of the Angels. Sabine orders the other Angels to kill him, but then Patrick threatens the Servants with Sara’s daughter, asking Sabine to remember what happened last time she menaced the toddler. Sabine relents, but asks Patrick to choose which girl he wants, for he can only have one of them. He begrudgingly tells Sabine to leave his love behind, and the Angel’s take Danielle and depart. Sara soon rises from her coma, healed by the Witchblade but begins to attack Patrick, not recognizing him, and turning a blind eye towards her daughter, as if the Witchblade had taken possession of her.

Sara then leaves to find Danielle, who in turn is preparing to seek out Sara herself, accompanied by the Servants, whom it seems Danielle has entered in some unholy pact with. Elsewhere, nebulous events that transpire in the midst of small antique shop will surely make Sara forget the drastic actions she took toward her loved ones, and perhaps even deter her from finding the other half of the Witchblade.

The art in this book is breathtaking; one could buy this book based solely on the artist’s depictions of the Witchblade. Never has blood and violence been rendered so well on the printed page. The author leaves tiny clues for you to follow, which in turn makes you want to follow this story even more. Any story which makes you curious about what going to happen next has succeeded, in my opinion, in telling a good story.

Although, a novice to this title would be a little lost for lack of a synopsis, but the writers do try to situate you in the grand scheme of things. An excellent story with equally excellent art, coupled with an intriguing back story, makes this a great continuation into the saga of the Witchblade.

9.0/10

On sale July 1st

John H