Image Comics and Top Cow have announced that “Witchblade” will be relaunched next year with the creative team of writer Marguerite Bennett, artist Ariel Kristantina, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Troy Peteri. Marc Silvestri has supplied the creative team’s debut with its cover art.
The series will see Sara Pezzini, the original wielder of the Witchblade, return to the titular mantle after a five-year absence. In addition, the Witchblade itself has undergone a redesign, as shown in the cover art. Other details about the story have been kept to a minimum. Bennett described the series as “iconic,” with the relaunch set to explore “a world of cosmos and mythos, horror and sensuality, romance, and danger.”
The relaunch was announced as part of Top Cow’s rewards for their current “Witchblade” Vol. 2 hardcover Kickstarter campaign, which will see backers of the project having early access to “Witchblade” #½.
The ‘Witchblade’ franchise debuted twenty five years ago with a comic series by Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner. The franchise has since expanded to include adaptations into a television series, an anime, and a manga, as well as a novel. The last volume of the comic, written by Caitlin Kittredge with art by Roberta Ingranata and starring Alex Underwood, ended with issue #18 in March.
“Witchblade” #½ is scheduled to debut as a digital-first comic in February 2021.
