Amidst the angsty, gritty, bandolier-laden comics scene of the mid-nineties arose a unique new protagonist: Sara Pezzini, a NYPD detective who became the unwitting bearer of an ancient relic called the Witchblade. In the pages of its titular comic series from Top Cow Comics and Image, this living weapon allowed Sara to take on the mob, corrupt cops, and Kenneth Irons, an immortal billionaire obsessed with relics of its kind.
In the real world, the series was an underdog alternative to the Big Two, having been created by Image Comics co-founder Marc Silvestri; in a way, she was a counterbalance to Image’s breakout hit Spawn, and even to the popular symbiotes running amok in Marvel at the time. Sara became the center of Top Cow’s extended universe, with the Witchblade serving as the balance between light and dark—represented by their own supernatural beings, the Darkness and the Angelus—and an entire pantheon of 13 Artifacts. Sara even crossed paths with Lara Croft and Vampirella, took a sabbatical to bear a divine child, and fought her substitute before the series ended in 2015, with issue #185.
This smaller comic dynasty has lain dormant for the better part of a decade, despite a (sadly short-lived) attempt to revive it with a new protagonist in 2017. However, interest rekindled with a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for a collected edition in 2021, and now Witchblade is back with an entirely new continuity and creative team, and the prodigal daughter has truly returned.
With scripts by Marguerite Bennett (Angela, DC Comics: Bombshells, M.O.M: Mother of Madness), line art by Giuseppe Cafaro (Red Sonja, Fathom), and colours by Arif Prianto (Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Poison Ivy, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), the world of the Witchblade immediately feels both familiar and revitalized for modern times. The tone is just right—keeping the original series’ balance between gritty detective work and the supernatural while updating elements that didn’t age as well.
“…the world of the Witchblade immediately feels both familiar and revitalized for modern times.”
In this continuity, Sara still loses her father to corruption within the NYPD at a young age but served on a US Military Black Ops team before joining the force herself. Like the first issue of the original series, Sara comes across the Witchblade while on the job, and it bonds to her to save her life after a gunshot wound; this time, however, she’s investigating a human trafficking ring at the time, not crashing a rich guy’s party in a skimpy dress.
This example is fairly emblematic for the rebooted Witchblade‘s first volume (issues #1-6, now collected in trade paperback with two small bonus stories). Sara struggles with her newfound power and the impact it has on her investigations and personal life while the larger threat of Kenneth Irons and his mysterious agent, Ian Nottingham, closes in. Notes of the original canon are present, yet the story is original and, better still, authentic to the character.
“… they’ve breathed life back into Witchblade, presenting a new, original vision that checks all the right boxes and innovates in all the right directions.”
Bennett, who grew up reading the original series, gives Sara a meaningful, realistic perspective that feels true to all her individual parts. The added background of having served in Black Ops overseas adds an interesting wrinkle and helps differentiate this take. This version is a little more closed off, in keeping with her writing later in the original series, but hasn’t lost any of her bite.
Meanwhile, Carafo and Prianto similarly honour the greats who worked on the old series—like Silvestri, Michael Turner, and Stjepan Šejić—while giving the new era its own visual identity. This shows in a 2-page vertical spread in the first issue, calling back to the very first issue (which used a similar layout twice to introduce Sara in her “undercover” outfit and again as she called on the artifact for the first time).
In broad strokes, the new series has done away with more sensational visual attributes. Witchblade has put aside the most “nineties” tropes, though it still doesn’t shirk away from violence and sexuality. Sara’s clothes aren’t conveniently destroyed in combat, there are no gratuitous and meaningless cleavage closeups, and fancy assassin Ian doesn’t dress like a cool 13-year-old from 1995 anymore. Certain design choices were common back when these characters first appeared but don’t exactly pass muster anymore, and it’s good to see an authentically current approach.
“Witchblade‘s first story arc comes to a boil by the end of the sixth issue…”
Witchblade‘s first story arc comes to a boil by the end of the sixth issue, as Sara’s conflict with herself, the artifact, her father’s murder, and the encroaching magical machinations begin to tighten around her simultaneously. A larger universe is teased—to the benefit of long-time fans—but the story also stands on its own two feet as a supernatural mystery.
I first took a chance on this franchise when I saw a black cover with a single stylized “W” on its cover in gold on the shelf of my local comic store. It was Witchblade #54, a soft reboot with a new creative team, and it helped open my eyes to a world of comics beyond the usual spandex options from DC and Marvel. The original series was a product of its time, and it wasn’t perfect, but from there, through the rest of its run, it paved a unique road for not only itself but a whole stable of smaller characters, series, and creators.
- Bennett, Marguerite (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Bennett, Carafo, and Prianto have done something I was beginning to think was impossible. As the amulet once did for Sara, they’ve breathed life back into Witchblade, presenting a new, original vision that checks all the right boxes and innovates in all the right directions. If this is the start of a full new “Top Cow Universe,” beyond The Darkness to the rest of the Artifacts, then I couldn’t have hoped for a better foundation.
