Broken Frontier

After the 10th anniversary issue events, Detective Sara Pezzini reflects on her life and choices. Her introspection just may lead her to an uncomfortable discovery.

Sara is trying to get her life back to normal while she internalizes her new knowledge of the Witchblade’s origin and purpose. It is at this delicate time that she bumps into a police academy buddy just getting back to active duty after maternity leave. As the woman discusses her hectic but contented home life, Sara’s own solitary existence is highlighted. Once begun, this train of thought haunts and pursues her as people she encounters keep her aware of her single status and the passing years. Of course, being the bearer of the Witchblade means that introspection is often broken by the arcane and this is no exception. This time, what Sara faces will forever color her life.

I will admit that I never had much interest in this title and heard little that convinced me otherwise. Until Ron Marz. There has been a buzz lately about the new direction he has been taking the title in, as well as the new artist, Mike Choi. I was intrigued enough to take a look. What people have been saying is true – Witchblade is a solid comic with an amazingly grounded story.

Coming off of what I assume was a rather frenetic story for the title’s 10th anniversary, Marz drops back and tells a quiet, introspective story. Not having read the previous issue I did, at one point, feel a little lost but aside from that I found it very easy to slip into Sara Pezzini’s life. I was really impressed by the way Marz captured the pressures, conscious and unconscious, that begin to prey on many single women sooner or later. Loneliness, questions of a family, fears of ending up old and forgotten...all of these play out naturally and gently. There is not a lot of action here but that’s okay as this issue is obviously a rest period, a chance for writer and reader to catch their breath and (as the title implies) reflect.

I was also unfamiliar with Choi’s work before picking this title up. I had seen examples of some of the past Witchblade art and was not terribly impressed; mostly because Pezzini was often drawn in poses and proportions that would make a normal woman cry in pain. While Choi maintains a certain standard when it comes to Sara’s appearance, his figures are graceful, their gestures human and natural, particularly Sara’s. He makes her thoughts and emotions pass across her face and through her eyes, allowing her to become a human character rather than a Barbie doll. He particularly catches the title’s theme and uses Sara’s reflection in water and glass at various points to good effect.

There is no mistaking that Ron Marz is making Detective Sara Pezzini a fully rounded character here: a woman who is human enough to have questions and vulnerabilities but also strong enough to embrace a difficult destiny. Marz understands that it is not the superpowers that make a hero, it is the willingness to make sacrifices. If you’ve been wondering about this title like I have, its time to stop and start picking it up because Witchblade is about more than just another pretty face.