It’s the end of the month, which means it is Witchblood time once again! We last saw our favorite chaotic cerulean-haired witch, Yonna, teaming up with her rivals Atlacoya and Big Red at the conclusion of issue four. The last month has been spent with countless questions being asked about all the wild reveals and twists that were dropped, so how does one keep that momentum going?
Witchblood’s fifth issue is much quieter than the last. It almost feels as though issue four didn’t happen in some ways. I don’t mean that as a bad thing in the slightest, mind you. Issue five feels more like it comes after issue three than four, and in that I find both the previous issue and the continuing larger narrative arc of Witchblood that much more intriguing.
We start this next chapter with yet another new face. A woman with an adorable otter and dowsing rods is surveying an area, only to happen upon the town of Sargasso. The town is ominous, and seems to almost be under sea, despite being very much on land like any other regular small town. After an ominous start with our new character, the trio we’ve come to know and love are shown essentially right where we left them: in hot pursuit of the Hounds of Love. The banter between Atla, Red, and Yonna is snarky and fun as usual and I personally could watch them bicker and be put in a “play nice” sweater together for eternity. The ladies end up in the same town as our fresh-faced mystery lady, Sargasso, to try and get some fuel for Atla’s gas guzzling truck only to find themselves knee-deep in the town’s sea-centric curse. While trying to uncover the source of this curse, Yonna runs into our mystery woman. Arteria is a witch and knows Yonna from “the old days”, which also gives us a glimpse of what Yonna was like before the tale of Witchblood began.
The issue continues with discovering the source of the curse via a quippy spelunking expedition with our ladies, and low and behold, it was a witch. When Yonna ensures the curse has been fully listed, she’s asked if she knew the witch in question, to which she hauntingly replies, “I knew all of them.” Arteria asks to join up and help our witch and her reluctant allies, but Yonna assures her that her dowsing talents are more needed in Sargasso to help them rebuild after the curse. We end on another self-reflective soliloquy from Yonna about her intimacy issues and whether or not she truly believes she keeps people at arm’s length for their safety, like she tells herself. The very last thing shown is the Hounds of Love seemingly close to approaching Esme in the flesh and are left to spend the next month wondering how all of this is going to play out.
Overall, I did feel a bit let down after the adrenaline rush of issue four initially, but I think in retrospect, the way this issue played out gives the audience more time to flesh out theories, think of new questions, and continue to read Yonna and company’s adventures with rapt attention. With so much still unknown and unanswered, the road ahead for our gals looks to be very exciting. Now to spend the next month chewing on what we do know, and where it could all lead!