WITCHBLADE: OBAKEMONO
"Meltdown"
Neutral (3/10)
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Image Comics/Top Cow Productions
Writer: Fiona Kai Avery
Artist: Billy Tan
Colors: Steve Firchow
Letters: Dreamer Design
Editor: Renae Geerlings
Price: $9.95 US/$15.25 CAN |
I'm not a Witchblade fan. Never seen the TV show, and I've never really cared for the ongoing series either. It's not that I have a problem with the core plot concepts -- it's sort of a Punisher meets Green Lantern thing. My problem has always been that I can't relate to the characters, as they seem designed to be Kewl, not human. The same holds true for the new characters introduced in this original graphic novel.
In the age of shoguns and samurai, the Lady Shiori yearns for vengeance against the warlord who slew her husband. In her dreams, she learns of an item that can make her wish come true: a dragon blade of great power. She sets out on a quest to find the blade, and along the way, other women who have been dealt a rotten hand in life accompany her. Layalties are called into question, and brave souls are put to the test as they seek out the Dragon Stream that leads to the blade.
Tan's art is in keeping with the Top Cow house style, and that's the Marc Silvestri/Michael Turner style. It's a sleek, angular kinetic approach, but it's not one that appeals to me all that often. The artwork is so busy; at times, it's difficult to see what's going on. Mind you, even though the cast of characters is primarily female, all with the same hair color and other similar physical traits, it was remarkably easy to differentiate among them.
Why is it a story about empowering women builds up toward a moment when its heroine is rendered naked by the means of her empowerment? It's a distracting aspect of the Witchblade property in general.
Also included in this graphic novel is a prose story by Avery entitled "The Bandit, the Samurai, the Tea Master and Aesthetics." It's in keeping with the same Eastern legend motif, and the design elements are clearly aimed at eliciting that classic tone... save for the font. It's far too clean and modern, and it robs the story of a small degree of its mystique.
Mind you, it wasn't like I was all that taken with that story, or that in the main story, and it's for one reason: the characters. Despite the inclusion of a couple of clowns among the women warriors, I just didn't get a sense of any of them as real people. There's no bridge for the reader to cross from the real world to the legendary one that the creators present here.
Note: This original graphic novel was not among this week's new releases.
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