Review: Witchblood #1 & #2

Deserts. Motorcycle gangs. Witches. Vampires. They’re all here in Witchblood, a new monthly comic book from Vault by writer Matthew Erman and artist Lisa Sterle, with top-notch colors by Gab Contreras. In this fast-paced action adventure, the roving witch Yonna d’Arc and her raven Bhu find themselves zooming down the dusty roads of Texas and locking horns with The Hounds of Love–a vampiric motorcycle gang on the hunt for blood and power.

In the breezy first two issues we meet Yonna, a centuries-old witch traveling the dusty roads of Texas on her trusty alchemical motorcycle, Ramblin’ Rose, as she makes her winding way toward her estranged progenitor, a mysterious being known as Esmerelda. Running low on food and funds, she resolves to shake down a small human community–but her plans change quickly after a run-in with a hex hunter turns into an unexpected showdown with The Hounds of Love. After her fellow witch Liana patches her up, Yonna finds herself roped back into conflict with The Hounds and headed down a road toward something much bigger and scarier than she had bargained for.

Witchblood is both the first Vault title I’ve spent any time with, and the first of Erman and Sterle’s work I’ve read. I went in with zero expectations, and I have to say I’m impressed with nearly everything here. The art, writing, design, and even the concept all feel fresh and lively. I’m no stranger to Goth Shit™ but it’s nice to see a take on the witch and vampire mythoi that eschews stereotypical gothic trappings and injects plenty of humor. The press release namedrops Cowboy Bebop and Wild at Heart, and I totally see the connection–Witchblood contains much of those works’ feel for outlaw romanticism and lurking danger. While I haven’t yet read Erman and Sterle’s previous collaboration, Long Lost, Witchblood appears to be a marked departure from the style and tone of that book. I appreciate seeing relatively new creators flex their muscles and push themselves in new directions.

I’m not a pen-and-paper snob by any means, but when I say I can’t tell whether Sterle’s art was created digitally I mean that as high praise. There’s a kinetic, analog quality to the linework that feels great, with a style fitting comfortably somewhere between classic manga and Jeff Lemire’s loose, expressive pencils. The distinctive, catchy character designs leap off the page, and the frequently excellent layouts contrast beautiful landscapes with detailed close-ups. Those familiar with Sterle’s work from her Modern Witch Tarot will certainly recognize her knack for design, but in Witchblood it’s the well-paced, coherent, and above all exciting action sequences that really sing.

Colorists often get short shrift, but I can’t say enough nice things about Contreras’s outstanding work here. The first issue in particular features a neon sunset palette with striking purples, pinks, and yellows taking the front seat, and this goes a long way toward boldly setting Witchblood apart from works drawing from similar genre influences. The colors shift to fit the scenes and characters, with reds creeping in when the Hounds appear, or the sun-rising-over-verdant-meadows quality of the first pages of issue #2. The vibrant washes of color and glowing gradients look beautiful on a computer screen, but I really look forward to seeing these colors and textures on nice paper.

Though the push-pull between once-upon-a-time fairy tale narration and aw-shucks American western dialogue initially turned me off, the tension between the two emphasizes Witchblood’s dedication to genre bending, and the juxtaposition ultimately works because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Far from the earnest, folksy cheese of something like Firefly, Erman’s dialogue is actually fun, and he’s clearly having a blast writing it. That goes a long way.

It’s tough to present well-formed characters this early in a story, but Yonna makes one hell of a first impression. A wiley, funny free spirit, she only gets involved in this epic plot because she stumbled into the middle of it. A reluctant hero, only turning down the right path when she’s cursed into it. This may be due to a recent re-read, but Yonna’s character and design remind me of Scott Pilgrim’s Ramona Flowers. Only Witchblood drops that magical loner girl on the run into a much more precarious situation–without a needy boyfriend in sight. I love seeing a character like that set loose in her own story rather than acting as a glorified macguffin in someone else’s.

In contrast, the vampire Paxton poses an entertaining but still very believable threat. Sinister and eccentric in equal parts, Paxton felt to me like a less manic version of Dennis Hopper’s turn as Frank in Blue Velvet (and wearing Hopper’s fringe jacket from Easy Rider). I also sense some of the cult leader Jeremiah Sand from Mandy–another neon-drenched genre story featuring a demonic biker gang. In a particularly good scene from the second issue, Paxton and his Hounds invade a bar, where Paxton insists on playing Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee” while delivering a searing lecture about the history of the Chattahoochee region and the erasure of its ancient native culture. I love this vampire’s apparent first-hand knowledge of that civilization, and totally buy that he may have been around to witness it. It’s a lovely bit of character building.

And that may be the thing I appreciate most about Witchblood’s approach to storytelling: character and action first, world-building later. This world clearly has a ton of unique lore, but rolling it out slowly creates mystery and anticipation. Forty pages in and I couldn’t tell you exactly who Esmerelda is, how Yonna feels about her, where The Hounds of Love came from, or what hex hunters actually do, but I know they’re all important and I can’t wait to find out more. These first two issues do an excellent job of giving more questions than answers, while still presenting a clear statement of purpose: Witchblood is a ripper with a sense of humor, a rollicking adventure story with plenty of well-considered genre influences. This creative team is having a great time with it, and I am too.

Witchblood #1 will be in stores on Wednesday, March 31st, 2021.