‘Witchblade’ To Be “Reimagined” In New Series From ‘Batwoman’ And ‘A-Force’ Writer Marguerite Bennett, Reboot Will Have “A Lot To Say About Power In The 21st Century”
Spencer Baculi
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In proving that absolutely no IP is safe from being revived and subverted in an attempt to sell it to ‘modern audiences’, Top Cow has announced that their fan-favorite supernatural cheescake series Witchblade will soon be receiving a comic book “reimagining” courtesy of DC’s Batwoman Vol. 3 and Marvel’s A-Force Vol. 1 writer Marguerite Bennett.
Created in 1995 by veteran comic book creator and Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, the writing duo of Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and the late artist Michael Turner, Witchblade focuses on a sentient, supernatural weapon of the same name whose usage is meant to keep balance between the universal concepts of good and evil known as the Light and the Darkness (the latter being the same entity which features in the eponymous The Darkness spin-off series).
However, unable to operate on its own, the Witchblade must bond with a host – typically a woman – in order to carry out its mission, in doing so imbuing them with superhuman conditioning and a risqué suit of symbiotic armor.
Set to hit shelves in July, the reboot will see series co-creator and Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri work with Bennett and artist Boom! Studios’ Saban’s Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon and DC’s Suicide Squad Vol. 5 artist Giuseppe Cafaro team to offer readers “contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution.”
Notably, rather than an original protagonist, the series will focus on a new version of the series’ first protagonist Sara Pezzini, an NYPD detective who eventually turns to a life of protecting humanity from the supernatural after being picked to serve as the weapon’s latest host.
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“This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns,” Silvestri exclaimed to Top Cow in promotion of the series.. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”
To this end, the official logline for the series’ debut issue teases, “In Witchblade #1, New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?
Speaking to the publisher regarding her attachment to the series, Bennett recalled, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.”
“Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on,” added the co-writer of Emilia Clarke’s absolutely abysmal M.O.M.: Mother of Madness series. “I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”
Finally offering his own thoughts on the project, Cafaro asserted, “The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac!”
Set to release with a total of eight variant covers – as provided by Silvestri and Arif Prianto (their cover coming in standard, virgin, and line art versions), Cafaro and Prianto, Dani and Brad Simpson, J. Scott Campbell, and Bill Sienkiewicz, with a blank sketch cover rounding out the line-up – Witchblade Vol. 3 #1 hits shelves on July 17th.
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