What happens when the Witchblade is split in two? Since the Witchblade is the balance between "dark" and "light," it creates a tense and action packed story between the two bearers, Sara Pezzini and Dani Baptiste. With volume 8, you will learn a lot about the Witchblade and how powerful these Artifacts really are. It's a great lead-in to the Artifacts series. The Curator also figures prominently, and you'll get some important clues for what could lie ahead. Come for the well crafted Ron Marz story. Stay for the beautiful Stjepan Sejic art. This collects War of the Witchblades, a very important story in the Witchblade canon.

Never heard of this title before I saw it on DriveThru. As it was free I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did!! Great story and art work. Definitely picking up the rest of the run.

This is a compelling 5 issu mini-series that I recommend to anyone who is a fan of suspense. Issue 4 was the most satisfying of the series. This is the issue that gives you a glimmer of hope - even though you dread the events that will inevitably come.

Time is the real wildcard in this series. Where are you? When are you? Can this be a little of what madness is like? Good series.

This is a terrific series. If you enjoy a Hitchcock thriller, then you'll like the Echoes mini-series.

The artwork is excellent in spots, and the writing consistently gives you that creepy nervousness of a good horror-thriller. Josh Fialkov really crafts a story that pulls you at a steady clip.

In the end, we think we know the answer, but we can also imagine other scenarios. This is done in a good way, in a way that draws you to read the whole series again. Well done.

This is a valuable reference at a great price. If you're following Artifacts or any other current Top Cow series, then this reference book is worth picking up. It features character profiles, great artwork, and some details that you might have missed in your reading. I have found myself digging into it regularly.

I actually really enjoyed this comic. It's not a series I was deeply familiar with and it had been awhile since I'd picked a comic up. It jumped a little, but I was able to follow the story progression pretty well and was looking forward to reading more every time I hit the end of a section. So I give it a thumbs up, definitely.

It is time for Jeremy Haun to take over the artwork on Artifacts! His style is a natural progression from the kinetic action-style of Whilce Portacio.

Writer Ron Marz digs deep to help us understand the Top Cow Universe, taking us to the last time when all 13 Artifacts were brought together and better clarifying the history and role of the Survivor. Make no mistake, the Survivor is no "good guy" to us and our world.

After making it through the first 8 issues of Artifacts (or 9, if you're counting the #0 issue), this issue helps to pull everything together. We get a better understanding of why this event is taking place.

That being said, this is not an "all ages" issue. There is some very well done adult content that moves the story forward but is still not for kids.

How can you go wrong with a Ron Marz script and Whilce Portacio pencils? You can't.

Artifacts 8 is the action book that Portacio fans have been expecting. The scales are tipping against the "good guys" (at least the side we are rooting for). Things are looking grim. Sara (the Witchblade) and Jackie (the Darkness) remain focused on one goal = getting Hope back alive and well. The rest of the team are focused on surviving attacks and keeping the Artifacts out of the wrong hands.

Tension. Setbacks. Romantic angst. Be sure to read it more than once, because the pacing and art might pull you through the book too quickly the first time you read it!

While the artwork is stunning, and I know it is only a zero issue, it really has no intriguing hook. This is really just the first few pages from issue one, I guess, where an actually story would be. It is worth downloading, reading, and deleting, but that's about it. And she has to be a robot simply because of that wedgie.

You don't have to know anything about Cyberforce to read this comic! And I didn't know Cyberforce and I enjoyed this zero issue. That's a good thing, what with all the series reboots this thing has had, I was worried about coming in without reading the previous series. But it reads as a great zero issue, with information, but also has enough intrigue to entice you to another issue. And the artwork is superb. Good stuff. I recommend the download as the price of FREE is perfect!

Has a book made your heart beat a little faster? Have you found yourself breathing a little deeper after reading a disturbing story? Echoes #1 will give you all of that. The first time I read this issue, I wasn't sure the story really matched my taste. The second reading, however, really caught my interest. Each time I read this issue, I get just a little bit more out of it.

This is a compelling story, with a disturbing overtone of serial killing and mental instability. The storytelling is remarkable, with the words providing a steady pace. The writer pulls you into the intrigue, and the artwork pushes you on despite the intensity of the story.

This is horror and suspense that is subtle and surprising. I can't wait to read Echoes #2.

Do you like frantic action, a fair amount of destruction, and provocative mysticism? Then Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box will work well for you. Add in a solid plot and really effective coloring, and you get a really well made comic. Fans of a rugged, sketchy style of artwork will be pleased with what Percio brings to the book.

In this issue, the race to find "Pandora's Box" comes to the end. Now, it is up to the wielders of the Ember Stone and the Glacier Stone to stop it from being opened. If opened, there is the potential to unleash grim brutality across the world.

Back in the mid-1990s, Top Cow launched a daring new series about an artifact that could be wielded only by women — and the man who tried to take possession of it. In Witchblade: Origin, the first eight issues of Witchblade are brought to an audience who missed them the first time around. It’s a great origin story: Sara Pezzini, the tough cop who becomes the bearer of the Wicthblade, is far more vulnerable here than we see her at the current point in the series. She’s largely alone in the world: she has an irresponsible sister, a neighbor whose murder leaves her with a teen girl seeking her advice, and a partner who dies in the first issue. Her parents have been dead for some time, but she still thinks of them, often, talking to them in the box text. While she knows she has her boss — who is much like a father to her — and coworkers who care about her, she hesitates to share herself with them, especially when she is feeling weak. Not to mention she isn’t sure how to explain the Witchblade — or the deaths she inadvertently causes when she first dons it — to anyone she trusts. She has to be strong, and in steeling herself against her emotions, she falls into the trap laid by the villain who wants the Witchblade for himself.

Ken Irons is the archetypal billionaire bad guy — he’s got an empire built, and he donates to all the right causes, keeping himself squeaky clean in the public eye while getting into all sorts of bad business through back doors. His right hand man is Ian Nottingham, an assassin of tremendous skill. Through a ritual, Nottingham and Irons intend to harness the power of the Witchblade, allowing Irons to become the bearer. To work, Irons has to undermine Sara’s confidence — making her unworthy of the Witchblade — and has to be prepared for the Witchblade to transfer over to him. But Nottingham is no tame dog, and the tensions between the pair, along with mysterious dreams Nottingham has that make him sympathetic to Sara, complicate Iron’s intricate plan.

There’s much that isn’t explained in this first arc: Sara’s sister Julie and teen neighbor Lisa get involved with a very bizarre modeling community that looks more like a kinky version of the Playboy mansion than any sort of legal business realm. Irons is revealed to be at least 90 years old — and we never learn his true nature or how he extended his lifespan. Sara is assigned to a case (before she is put on leave after the death of her partner) that features a microwave killer — a serial killer who burns his victims from the inside out, and then poses them as supplicants. Those threads aren’t tied up at the end, leaving the curious reader to wait for Top Cow to release other old issues of Witchblade in graphic novel form.

I’m not sure how I’d think this story arc would stand up on its own without knowing how Witchblade has grown from its origins. If this were all of Witchblade that existed, would I pick up more? I’m not sure. But knowing the depth the series has gained since these early years, it’s nice to see how it all began.

• Alana Abbott, read the full review at Flames Rising:

http://www.flamesrising.com/witchblade-origins-1-review/

If you plan to pick up the Darkness II video game, then you'll want to grab this Free Comic Book Day edition of Darkness II: Confession. On the whole, this book feels like a video game intro and will help anyone not familiar with the current wielder of the Darkness: Jackie Estacado.

First, give me some Michael Broussard art anytime. Second, this is a good profile of Jackie Estacado and what motivates him since learning to control the Darkness. This issue is not action driven. Rather, it includes some important exposition about the character and what he cares about.

The Artifacts story is ramping up, and Top Cow gives an easy jump-on point with this issue. This issue also is the first to feature Whice Portacio as the artist. What does Whilce bring to the book? A fierce, kinetic style. The action starts now.

This is also a good issue to learn about Cyberforce and who they are in the Top Cow Universe. Cyberforce is introduced, and you get to know about the key powers of the team quickly as Aphrodite IV invades their headquarters to get this issue rolling. Make sure to read the "House of Cards" profiles written by Brian Rountree and featured on page 31 and 32 of this issue. These features are very helpful in getting to know any characters who may be new to you.