Collecting Witchblade issues #80-85.

I picked this book up because it was so damn cheap! For $4.99, you can’t go wrong getting six comics collected into one nicely printed volume.

Of course, even though the title claims this book is “Volume One,” it isn’t. When you look at the numbering of the issues collected in this book, you’ll notice that the story starts out with issue #80. However, as the title suggests, this collection is a starting point for readers who have never have read a Witchblade comic, like I haven’t.

The story starts out with the introduction of Sara Pezzini, a good looking brunette who happens to be a detective with NYPD. She is in a coma after a mysterious attack. Her former partner, Jake McCarthy, is watching over her, when another detective enters the room. Detective Patrick Gleason is there to investigate the assault on Sara, but Jake isn’t very friendly or helpful in handing out any information--if he evens knows any.

Within these few pages, Ron Marz lays a solid foundation for the rivalry between the two men who seem to be competing for Sara. The way Mike Choi pencils this tension makes this a strong scene--particularly in the contrast between lights and darks within the illustrations.

After she comes out of her coma, Sara and Gleason investigate the attack that put her in a coma in the first place. The trail leads to a Catholic church, where there is more going on than just praying and saying “Hail Mary.”

The heart of the story is a variant on the superhero concept. In this case, a woman possesses a strange kind of power, the Witchblade, that places her above the common folk. Of course, since this is a Top Cow/Image title, the woman is drop-dead gorgeous and has a bigger chest than Pamela Anderson.

A strong female lead is always welcome in my book. However, Ron Marz and I seem to differ what constitutes a “strong female lead.” In his introduction, Marz notes that superheroes are “comfort food” that we’ve all grown up enjoying—but that as we get older we develop more mature tastes that make us crave something more than “the same burger and fries.”

If this story is Marz’s idea of something appropriate for a “mature taste,” then I’m puzzled. There is nothing in this book that indicates maturity. There are no deeper meanings to this story, nor any mature analysis of the superhero genre--or, to quote Sara Pezzini, “don’t bother playing armchair psychologist with me.”

This book is more like a cheeseburger and a Coke rather than brie and a fine bottle of wine. In other words, this is the same old “comfort food” Marz grew up reading--but with bigger breasts. If this book had been priced in the usual area of $14.95, I wouldn’t have picked it up. The cheaper price makes it more analogous to the fast food “comfort meal” that Marz thinks it transcends. He’s wrong, and I got what I paid for.

For more information about this reviewer, go to http://www.martijnform.com

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