Witch Blade #151
Story by: Tim Seeley
Art By: Diego Bernard
Review Score: 7.5/10
I will start of by saying that I’ve never read Witch Blade before so I decided to check out Top Cow’s Rebirth / Relaunch of the character . This issue manages to be a great starting point for new readers while establishing its history and direction to fans of the book in the past . Seeley chooses to use Eddie Estacado aka The Darkness to catch the readers up to speed and sets up some plot threads that should play out nicely as the book progresses.
Seeley being a local Chicago writer decided to Move Sara from New York to Chicago and it works really well . The reasoning thus far is because the Witchblade has decided this is where she needs to be which is fine for the first issue . What works really well is the city itself . Seeley uses real locations around town (Sara lives above the Green Mill and follows a lead that brings her to Club NEO) which is really fun for someone who also has been to both locations. He also creates a more realistic take on Sara that feels natural and not forced. Seeley writes Sara as a strong character who has more than a few insecurities which makes for a complex character thus far. As I read further into the issue I was interested in seeing how Sara was going to end up getting out of the mess she stumbled into.
Diego Bernard does a good job in his first issue . He uses photo references for his exterior shots . The Green Mill has its trade mark neon sign and the layout inside of NEO as well as the alley way is accurate . He draws Sara / Witch Blade the way most would expect her to look and has a nice sense of direction with the last few pages of action. I will say his strongest work is in the Prologue pages involving The Darkness and the 13 Weapons of Fate.
If you’re a fan of Witch Blade and live in Chicago this is definitely going to be a fun and rewarding book to read. If you’ve been following Witch Blade for a while now the new direction Tim Seeley and Diego Bernard are taking the series in should prove an exciting and fun start for the character.
Mike DeVivo
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