Sara Pezzini continues her stint in Chicago, but are the stories and players there starting to lose their spark?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

“ABSOLUTE CORRUPTION,” Part One
The bitter, former Witchblade bearer Katarina has transcended the Faerie realm, travelling to Chicago to intercept the fugitive murderer Toio Mulranny. And she’s going to get the Witchblade’s help to catch him, whether Sara Pezinni wants to or not.

It can be said that this particular gauntlet weaves a web, and as the intricacies of that very fact become more apparent the creative team launches yet another story arc.  The results found here reveal something that’s absolutely entertaining as quite a few paths and previous tales cross each other to give birth to this latest series of complicated escapades.

Tim Seeley pens the script and the scribe delivers an engaging experience that’s sure to hold the attention of even the most hardcore fans.  The root of the tale, on face value, may seem to be a bit outlandish but truth be told any preconceived misgivings quickly fall by the wayside because of the dialogue found within. More to the point: it’s the natural flow of the character interactions that ultimately sell the concept.  To expand further, the author is able to write a large ensemble cast with ease and find places for them to interact in an ever evolving narrative that’s been forming since he took the literary reign with Witchblade #151.

At this point I find myself absolutely digging the work done by Diego Bernard. The pencil strokes he executes form beautiful renditions that speak to the central elements that have kept this series going for well over a decade.  From the first page to the final panel he keeps all the varying elements in check but to the detriment of his total work on display there were a few moments early on that just came off a bit rushed.  In summary there were some underwhelming panels in an otherwise exemplary outing.

Witchblade #167 is another really good release that deserves to be on every one’s pull-list.  Recommended.

4/5