Witchblade #169 Review


An unbalanced but entertaining era sees a finite conclusion, but does it go out with a whimper or an outlandish bang?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

“ABSOLUTE CORRUPTION,” Conclusion

Sara has faced ultimate evil embodied within a bubbly twenty-something, an ex-convict who deals in black magic, and a boyfriend who keeps a supernatural, artifact-eating mystic in his basement. She has managed to thwart each threat separately, but when they converge, can she put up enough of a fight to save her adopted hometown?

Since Witchblade #151 this creative team has done some interesting things with this long lasting franchise.  From the inclusion of a biker club of witches to the revelation regarding a seething pile of hate beneath the streets of Chicago, they’ve put our intrepid heroine through the wringer and this issue is no different.

Tim Seeley pens the script and once more the scribe uses all the tools in his chest to bring this odyssey to a fitting end.  His characterizations suffered a bit from time to time but for the most part in this release the pieces were used smoothly, as Sara Pezzini and her allies took on the Corruption Cataract.  The dialogue is by far the strongest portion of this affair but there were quite a few times when wit or clever timing failed to give the necessary weight required by some potent scenarios.  In short: the story told more than fit the narrative but there were bumps along the way.

The art by Diego Bernard for the most part captures the essence of his previous work while highlighting how far the talent has grown.  I found his interpretations to be more than satisfactory but there were a few off moments where a lack of subtle details left some panels a tad unfinished.  For the most part though I was enthralled by the level of skill that was brought to bare, especially as this fight got more and more complicated.

Witchblade #169 is a fine piece that doesn’t tarnish nor uplift this run but instead sends it out on a proper note.  Recommended.

3.5/5

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