Witchblade #131: Just Like Starting Over

I hadn't originally planned to comment on or review Witchblade #131 but having just finished reading the issue I can't resist my regular - and always, I feel, well deserved - praise for Top Cow, Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic.

The War of the Witchblades story-arc that ended with #130 was pretty 'full-on' and I must admit I wasn't sure how the creative team would follow on from it. The answer, I found, was a story with warmth, a sense of fun, some regret and the promise of great adventure.

This issue is subtitled Just Like Starting Over and could be described as a 'dust settling' story: dealing with the aftermath of the 'War', showing the central characters questioning their own - and one-anothers - motivations, hinting at future directions the book might take while ending on a 'Wow! What's that all about?' moment!

At the core of this book we witness Sara Pezzini and Dani Baptiste saying their goodbyes as Dani - now The Angelus - and Finch set off for a fresh start in the city of New Orleans. Their departure sets up the forthcoming Top Cow six-part Angelus series which launches at the start of December 2009.

Speaking at comicvine.com Angelus and Witchblade writer Ron Marz commented 'Sara and Dani were really dual leads for the better part of the last three years in Witchblade, and I liked having both characters be part of the storyline. But now that we've paid off everything we'd been working toward since issue #100, I'm looking forward to Sara regaining the solo spot in Witchblade. Moving Dani into her new role as the Angelus, and into her own mini-series, allows me to approach her character and the concept from a fresh perspective. Just like when I took over Witchblade, my goal with Angelus is to start with the foundation we already have, and build something new and exciting from there.'

With so many strong books in the works at the moment these really are good times for readers of the Top Cow Universe.