Angelus #1
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Stjepan Sejic
Letters by Troy Peteri
Logo and Book Design by Phil Smith
Top Cow
Release date: December 23, 2009

First of all, I’d like to know why it’s always the same people who get all the super powers. The same girl gets to be TWO superheroes, and I get squat. It’s completely unfair.

Spinning out of Top Cow’s Witchblade, Angelus follows the continuing story of Danielle Baptiste, former police officer and superhero Witchblade, as she relocates from New York to New Orleans. The relocation has more to do with just a change in scenery: she has now become Angelus, warrior of the Eternal Light, and with her new lesbian lover Finch, she is trying to navigate her new path in life. But she may be caught up in something she doesn’t understand. Her angel second in command Sabine plots behind her back and dispatches a team of warriors into the depths of Hell to retrieve a mysterious object.

Angelus #1 is an interesting comic, but I’m somewhat biased. I usually enjoy any story in any medium that plays with Christian mythologies, so I found Angelus very compelling. In particular, the art by Stjepan Sejic is incredible. The lines are faint, but the amount of detail and color content in incredible. Each individual costume design for the Angelus and the other angel warriors are unique, but the imagery of Hell that opens the book is graphic, and the concept of Hell as a series of circles a la Dante’s Inferno is a nice reference for more literary readers. Ron Marz’s script is solid as well. The character’s dialogue feels somewhat stilted at times, but the story moves along at a good pace, and Marz’s interpretation of Judeo-Christian mythology is unique enough to differentiate it from other Bible-based comics, such as Spawn and Lucifer.

In addition, Angelus #1 offers enough exposition on the Witchblade back story that you can get into the comic without being familiar with the characters’ history. It’s a solid start to what will hopefully be a successful and long-running franchise.

RATING: 4 out of 5 Halos

Angelus #2 was released on February 10, 2010.