The Quarter Bin

Was one flagship series from Top Cow not enough for you this week? Witchblade #129 also hit shelves Wednesday, and I wasn’t about to let it slip through the cracks.

Witchblade #129
“War of the Witchblades” Part 4 (of 6)
Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Stjepan Sejic
Cover Artists: Sejic, John Tyler Christopher

“War of the Witchblades” has been an action-packed battle, and now, with this penultimate issue in the storyline, it is blatantly clear that there will be no going back. In Witchblade #129, we see Sara and Dani at their absolute extremes. Sara, the dark side of the Witchblade, has unleashed her power on an unsuspecting New York City, summoning hundreds of Darkling-like creatures to serve her. She has taken on a new form, and there appears to be very little of Sara Pezzini left in her; she is succumbing to darkness.

Dani, on the other hand, is embracing the light, assisted by the Angelus and determined to defeat Sara for the good of everyone else. She doesn’t want to take down her mentor and friend, but bravely faces her anyway; after all, she has no other choice.

Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic have delivered an incredibly climactic issue. My favorite pages were Dani confronting Sara at the darkness-infested bridge; Sara turned the neutral location into a battlefield. You could almost feel Dani’s apprehension, the feeling of knowing that there was truly no going back. If the epic battle between good and evil wasn’t enough, it appears that the Angelus are finally ready to choose a new leader, though I’m not sure how this will affect the balance (especially now that Jackie Estacado’s out of New York City). There were definitely some surprises in this issue, and I’m anxious to see what the fallout will be in the final chapter of “War of the Witchblades” next month.

Witchblade #129 is in comic shops now. The “War of the Witchblades” is almost over; who will be left standing when the dust clears?