With the end of “Witchblade” in November 2015, the tale of the Thirteen Artifacts seemed to have come to a conclusion with the title that brought them about. However, the concept has been rejuvenated with this retool of “The Magdalena,” to kickstart a new era of the Top Cow universe, one of the few cohesive comic universes published by Image Comics with a classic tale of amateur demon slaying.
Written by Ryan Cady and Tini HowardCover by Christian DiBari
Illustrated by Christian DiBari
Colors by Mike Spicer
Lettering by Troy PeteriThe Magdalena has always defended the world from demonic evil, empowered by the blood of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene in her veins. But when a brush with death leaves her gravely wounded, Patience decides to seek out the next in the bloodline and train her replacement. The replacement, meanwhile, is having enough trouble with finding her purpose even without the whole holy- warrior gig.
What is a holy warrior’s place in an increasingly secular world with diminishing faith in the divine? That is the question that guides much of Ryan Cady and Tini Howard’s take on the Magdalena. Whereas the role of the Magdalena was most commonly linked directly to Vatican City and the Catholic Church in some way, Cady and Howard’s newest wielder of the Spear of Destiny is barely religious, if at all.
With the new wielder comes a perfect opportunity for the writers to reintroduce the concept of the Magdalena to a new audience, one that they succeed admirably in utilizing. By demonstrating the work of a veteran Magdalena and a novice to the role, each in combat with infernal powers, Cady and Howard manage to show what kind of mixture of brains and brawn is necessary to face down the manipulative denizens of Hell.
Rather than focusing on the holy aspects of the Magdalena or her connections to divinity, Cady and Howard’s new take seems to concentrate on the more human aspects of the character, including Patience’s vulnerability. The writers have shown their intention of modernizing the idea of the holy warrior woman to incorporate not only the Catholic Church, but also street-level faith. Rather than following the teachings of scripture, the protagonist of this incarnation, Maya Dos Santos, seems to have faith in the idea of fighting evil in and of itself. This new arrangement, divorced of a specific religion while simultaneously incorporating Biblical connections, helps to place the mantle of sacred blood into the hands of a self-confessed atheist surprisingly smoothly, without being insulting to either ideology.
Troy Peteri’s lettering showcases the inhumanity of the demonic forces. Whenever one of them speaks, their writing is in a shaky, altogether different font. Furthermore, the word bubbles also seem to quiver, as if the words shake a human to his or her core. Even our main antagonist’s word bubbles are normal, showing he is still human, unlike his associate, “Id.” The demonic fonts seem to be scrawled, more than clearly written out, giving a sense of ever-changing emphasis from one word to another.
Christian DiBari’s artwork does well at meshing the grotesque behaviors of demons with the comforting defense of the righteous. These two types of imagery work together to show the central thematic conflict of the series over the place of religion in the modern age.
All of the imagery given of hellish influence is gruesome and disturbing. A festering tattoo drips dark, rusted blood, while the bandage that covered it paradoxically has red, fresher residue. Flies emerge from broken skin as often as from the shadow beneath a bandage. A body is torn to shreds in an instant by an internal eruption. When the imagery is not to the higher grisly extremes, it still remains unsettling, such as the psychotic combination of the widened eyes and gritted teeth of our arc’s antagonist, or the crazed, faded, unholy tattoos that mark much of his back.
On the other hand, the artwork surrounding the role of the Magdalena has a combination of comfort and worry. Comfort at the strength of a fully realized Magdalena, in the masterful use of the bright gold of the Spear of Destiny, but also worry at the diminishing glow for its longest-known wielder. Even the most comforting image of the weakening wielder, that of herself in full battle attire facing down a demon, is tainted with fear over the diminishing glow and increasing shadows over her face. This worry increases when she is shown at home, her depression clearly shown in the fact that the only light in the room seems to be that of a television.
Continued belowThis use of shadow and light is present throughout the issue, especially that of shadow. In times of normal life such as a teenager going off to school, there is no emphasis on light outside of a realistic sheen off of a smart-phone’s screen. In scenes with increasing or otherwise predominant influence of Hell or otherwise depression, darkness reigns. Sunken eye sockets are bathed in shadow around a dim glow of the eyes. A particularly disgusting image is that of a fly scurrying out from under a bloodied bandage, out of the shadow of a man’s own body. The only glow shown on the side of evil is that of hellfire surrounding a manifested demon, or that of the candles around a pentagram before the arc’s antagonist. As such, their light is decidedly malevolent, and the monstrous image of the demon itself negates any ability to draw comfort.
Even with all of this focus on the serious conflict between the light and the dark, DiBari manages to fit in some visual comedy. Due to the overall seriousness of the issue, the image of a plush toy of a famous figure in the Top Cow franchise could make readers laugh out loud at its sheer absurdity.
Mike Spicer’s coloration is also excellent. The color palette helps to discern one person’s affiliation from another’s. Green and deepened shadow seems to indicate a demonic influence, whereas gold and brighter colors relate to the holy power of the Magdalena. The use of green in particular is especially evident in the coloration of Beelzebub and his manifestation as a swarm of insects. The dark green causes readers to feel sick to their stomachs due to its connection to the vomit expelled shortly beforehand, lessening any feelings of sympathy for the demon.
In contrast, Maya’s temporary assumption of the role of the Magdalena comes with a wide variety of bright colors, even going so far as to redecorate the entire arena of battle as if it were formed of stained glass, down to the ceiling lights and tables. This association with a holy institution helps the readers to feel safer, as the dark has been, even temporarily, pushed away by a defender of the defenseless.
On the whole, this was a very good way to show the Magdalena, in the mythos and the character both, to bring in readers new and old for the next stage in the saga of the wielder of the Spear of Destiny.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Very well constructed reintroduction to the Magdalena for a new era.
