Review: Witchblade #4
Alex, having faced and won one challenge, now stands on the cusp of another. With time running short and with seemingly little help from her new BTFF (Best Training Friend Forever), the chances of success are dwindling. Her only hope resides in becoming one with the Witchblade even if to do so means giving up on her life so recently returned to her.
The flow of this book continues to run its own pace with Caitlin Kittredge determined not to get ahead of herself. Each issue brings a further hint, a further tease of what fans are waiting for, with a Phoenix moment thrown in for good measure. In the meantime, with elements of repetition possibly causing a concern, Kittredge continues to weave what will be the new “bible” for the series. That means we get to see a number of the cast, again, which is a good idea as it lays groundwork for possible issues and problems down the way, which due to the time we are spending with them, will give future stories some level of resonance. The dialogue works well, which is a huge credit to Kittredge as there are a number of voices that are prevalent, from Alex, her friends, evil spirits and of course, the Witchblade itself.
Roberta Ingranata provides the art which continues to be strong through not only this issue, but the series to date. Here her angular style still carries weight, but the scratchiness of the line work, at times, is a little distracting. It may be that an inker would help smooth out the lines. Still, this is a minor criticism at best as the art suits the overall ambience of the book well. Ingranata draws Alex with great consistency, in both framework and whilst at times, expressions are kept at a minimum, there is enough on show to convey the message. The hints and teases continue in the art with a small glimpse of what to expect once Alex goes full Witchblade. Bryan Valenza’s painted color scheme, with an almost dark on dark texture portrays a world for the characters that is devoid of a lot of light.
This series has been a complete revelation for me. My perception of Witchblade was a sexy pin-up character whose interior art, at least towards the end of the run, didn’t match the gorgeous covers. Now, as new readers are on-board from the start, the character feels more complete. It will be interesting to see how Alex and her gang continues to develop.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Caitlin Kittredge
Art by; Roberta Ingranata
Colors by; Bryan Valenza
Published by: Image Comics
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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