Written by Caballero Oscuro
I’m a Witchblade comic book fan. Not just a casual reader, oh no. I’ve literally been on board since day one, collecting and reading each and every issue upon release, as well as most of its crossovers with other titles. I was devastated when original artist Michael Turner passed away recently. I sometimes find myself wondering what original writer Christina Z is up to nowadays. Yup, I’m a fan. Sure, it’s a guilty pleasure, one that’s always been certain to draw jeers from even the most mundane of DC/Marvel superhero fans, but something has kept me coming back every month for well over a decade now. That something is Sara Pezzini.
A gorgeous, tough-as-nails NYPD homicide detective, Pezzini finds herself chosen to be the bearer of a mystical artifact that grants her unimaginable powers. However, the Witchblade shares an uneasy alliance with Pezzini, frequently acting on its own accord and stymieing her continued attempts to control its power. No, it doesn’t have conversations with her or step out on its own when she’s not around, it’s more like a mood ring that frequently has its own moods. While the Witchblade is a fascinating instrument, Pezzini is the star and a wholly interesting character on her own merits. It’s this character strength that allowed for a believable and satisfying move to a TV series format that relied much more on the drama than the special effects.
In the Witchblade TV series, gorgeous, tough-as-nails Yancy Butler fully embodied the Pezzini role, passing for a wholly believable detective while concurrently becoming a shaky neophyte learning the extent of the Witchblade’s powers. Seemingly due to budget concerns, the show tended to focus on the crime procedural aspects of Pezzini’s life rather than the Witchblade’s powers, but a fair balance was struck between the two. Also, after a fairly faithful pilot, the show largely took its own path rather than following the comic book’s blueprint, borrowing the major characters but developing its own villains and stories. As such, some devout fans of the book may cry foul, but when viewed as a series “inspired by” the source rather than a slavish translation, it’s clear that it holds up well on its own.
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