Witchblade #109
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Sami Basri
Colors by Imaginary Friends Studios
Letters by Troy Peteri
Top Cow Productions
Cover price: $2.99; On-sale: July 25, 2007

Ménage à catfight anyone?

The only man in issue #109 of Witchblade from Top Cow Productions is during a Dani Baptiste (the current Witchblade bearer) flashback sequence. The three women in the issue — Dani, Sara Pezzini, the pregnant, previous bearer of the Witchblade, and Celestine — get along as well as Hef’s girlfriends vying for the last bottle of blonde hair dye.

A tight manga-style Townsend cover starts off part two of the “One Good Turn” storyline in this very important issue of Witchblade with a bang. Dani is very surprised to see how her life has turned as the current wielder of the Witchblade. The Witchblade is an ancient, mystical, and powerful gauntlet that Dani has inherited from Sara Pezzini. Sara is a pregnant New York City police officer that is not only charged with showing Dani the ropes, but also finding out about the mysterious circumstances of her pregnancy and what that may mean to the whole Top Cow Universe.

The psychopath Celestine has cornered Dani and Sara at One Police Plaza. Dani’s inexperience with the Witchblade and Sara’s pregnancy serve Celestine well as she quickly takes them both down. Just before Celestine can have her way with Sara, Dani has her back using the Witchblade very effectively, giving Sara the opportunity to actually go full term.

This 14-page episode does not cover a lot of ground, but what it does cover is very crucial. Celestine will play a major role in the upcoming First Born mini series, the summer blockbuster, universe-shattering crossover from Top Cow that promises serious ramifications for all the Top Cow heavy hitters such as The Darkness, The Angelus, Cyberforce, and of course Witchblade. And if you haven’t guessed it yet, it may revolve a certain unborn child being carried by a certain former Witchblade wielder.

The relationship of the three ladies is at the heart of First Born and we get a real feel for that dynamic in this issue. Celestine hates Sara and is both revolted and envies Dani of her posession of the Witchblade. Sara shouldn’t have even been “at work,” but she finds herself feeling responsible for Dani, because of passing her the Witchblade. Just like those Saturday Afternoon Drive-In movies, the best part is the training. This issue allows Sara to give Dani some advice on wielding the Witchblade as well as gives the reader some insight into the Witchblade itself.

For such a weighty issue the story and artwork are both very disappointing. We receive not only some very important story direction from a parrot at police headquarters, but also a little sexual harassment thrown in as a bonus (I guess there is another male character in this episode after all). We also get the “I thought I knocked you out sequence” more than once. Celestine’s choppy dialogue is worse than Patrick Gleason’s in First Born (they are both written by the same person). And I don’t think it’s done to make her sound more crazy, I think it’s done to make her sound more sane.

Sami Basri‘s manga-influenced cartoony art style leaves a lot to be desired, especially compared to the legendary pencilling roots of the Witchblade, Marc Silvestri and Michael Turner. His pacing is way off. Scenes that should have taken a few panels happen in between two, and scenes that didn’t even need to be expressed dragged on for a whole page. The coloring is way below industry standard, but textures are used effectively.

There is a 6-page ongoing Tales of the Witchblade story after the main event entitled New Arrival Part 2. The Joe Prado art also has a Manga influence, but it is both executed and colored by David Curiel much more pleasingly. I do think the main story should be created with higher production values than the back-up story. Top Cow, show The Witchblade and us fanboys the respect we deserve by getting a powerhouse penciller to illustrate an intelligent story that keeps us on our toes.

The final page of Witchblade #109 leads directly into First Born #1. We see the tragic result there of the innocent setup here. This whole issue is a direct setup for the First Born event. The hatred-filled triangle of Celestine, Dani, and Sara spills right into episode #1. The digitally painted artwork by Stjepan Sejic is definitely no let down either.

For anyone interested in Witchblade or the First Born event, both of which I recommend, this Witchblade #109 is a must-read. A casual fan of the Top Cow Universe will definitely find this issue enjoyable, also.