My review is late and it’s not out of spite. It could be spite, but it’s not. I actually adore Switch and wish that it came out regularly, but then I don’t know what’s going on in Stejpan Sejic’s life and he owes me jack all of an explanation. Doesn’t change the fact that if this were released regularly it would be one of the boldest steps of any publisher in years. It still gives me great joy just thinking about the premise of this book. That Sejic was given free range with the Witchblade/Top Cow shared universe and rebooted it. It’s very bold and it’s extremely creative because Sejic was able to take all of the villains and pieces of the universe that came from being around for a couple of decades and just slam them together all at once. By doing that he wasn’t bound to following a certain story path like something out of the early pages of Marvel’s Ultimate line or DC’s New 52. Instead, he had all the good stuff, trimmed the bad stuff, and boiled it down to a thick and warm broth that makes your mouth water.
In this issue, Mary continues to have trouble after school when she agrees to meet with another kid who turns out to be the guy on the cover. Yeah, that’s not really a spoiler, he’s on the cover. Still, it’s Sejic pulling from more of Witchblade’s rich history. The half-blood Dragon prince makes his appearance and Mary learns about Jackie being the Darkness. She learns this after Jackie’s bodyguard asks her for the Witchblade so she can protect him. Mary doesn’t give it to her. Also, Una pulls forth another past bearer so we get to learn about another bearer who clearly likes to battle and have fun. Loved her instantly.
It’s really hard to dislike anyone in this book. That could end up being a problem later on, but even the villains are strangely likeable. That and everyone is cool as shit so that makes it even harder. Wait, wait… I hate Jackie’s girlfriend bodyguard. She’s annoying. But otherwise, Sejic manages to write believable characters and opens up their lives to us in a way that makes you connect to them. Learning why Mary’s obsessed with aliens gives us some insight into her personality and it comes from a simple explanation about her past. Sejic’s writing continues to be paced wonderfully and filled with characters that you want to visit and hear from.
Have you ever seen Sejic’s artwork? Yeah, cream. Seriously, his artwork is fantastic and I love how his style has grown and changed. The look and style is different from the days in which he was illustrating the book with other writers. The main thing about Sejic’s work that stands out to me is that it looks digital and hand-drawn at the same time. Maybe that’s just me, but it really brings an energy to his artwork. The other thing is his amazing coloring which gives his art a distinct look. You can pretty much spot it at a glance it’s so distinct.
Whenever this can release, I’ll be there to check it out. The story is still just getting going, but already there’s a sense that Switch could continue as long as the original Witchblade series ran for. That alone shows the strength in the material that Sejic is creating.
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Switch #4 Creator: Stjepan Sejic Publisher: Image/Top Cow Price: $3.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital
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