You put this roster of talent on just about anything and I'm going to give it a look. And the creators have turned in a work that is just as polished and effective as the Batman Animated series that inspired this whole project. However, I have just zero interest in the properties that Top Cow has been so succesful with, and even names like Garth Ennis, Paul Jenkins and Geoff Johns have been unable to really draw me into The Darkness, Witchblade or The Magdalena, and Witchblade Animated is no exception. Dini has an interesting plot surrounding a mystical artifact, but I mostly don't care about the characters, and so I can't quite invest myself in the story. I can however still enjoy the book for the artwork, which is gorgeous, and while I don't really think this style fits these characters, I didn't particularly care while I was reading it.
Paul Dini crafts an interesting plot that believably brings together these three characters, and also gives the characters personalities that I could at least find interesting. Sarah Pezzini, wielder of the Witchblade, is the most dull of the cast, interesting given that she's the narrator and really gets the most screen-time. The most fun to be had with her is when she's verbally or physically sparring with Jackie Estacado, wielder of the Darkness, who comes across as more charismatic and generally more wicked here than he has anywhere else I've read him. As with the regular Top Cow line, however, the character I find the most interesting is the Magdalena, and Dini has some fun contrasting her vows and pious outlook with the down-to-earth views of Pezzini.
The story itself suffers a little from being one issue, as the twists are ones you can see coming miles away and the structure is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the "dangerous artifact hidden by the church" type of plot. It's a necessary evil, because this structure is probably the only way to bring all three of these characters together in such a short space and have it make sense, but it does make for something of a predictable read. It's a decent story well-told, but it's not exactly anything terribly new.
Really, the selling point of the book is the artwork, and the three main artists, not to mention colorist Lee Loughridge, do not disappoint. I wouldn't have thought the sexually-charged and grim costumes of these characters would translate to the "animated" style, but it really works, in part thanks to a more shadowed, darker approach and in part because all three of these artists have a style that is so attractive on just about anything. The credits aren't clear on the division of labor, but I can see aspects of Bullock, Bone and Cooke in various pages, and the storytelling style with smaller panels is reminiscent of the work that Cooke did on Catwoman, which I really liked.
In the end, any book with this creative team is going to be really good from a creative standpoint, and Witchblade Animated certainly looks good and reads well. However, I do wonder if those who tune into Top Cow for their usual art style and more sexy and dark tone will tune out upon seeing the animated style, and I really wonder if those who are fans of these creators will be interested in the characters of the Top Cow universe. I know that I would rather have seen this creative team paired on other characters, or characters of their own design.
