Trinity: Blood on the Sands

Trinity: Blood on the Sands
Writer: Phillip W. Smith II
Art: Sheldon Mitchell, Admira Wijaya, Tom Grindberg, Joe Weems V
Colors: Arif Prianto, Sunny Cho
Letters: Troy Peteri
Published by Top Cow

Last week, Newsarama showcased a 5-page preview of the Top Cow trinity one-shot, Trinity: Blood on the Sands. To be quite honest, there is a lot of story in this 25-page issue. It doesn't have just one story, but three self-containing ones that are sure to please Top Cow fans. It features the bearers of the Darkness, Witchblade and Angelus trinity during the 14th Century in the Arabian desert. Now first off, the character design is phenomenal. From the Darkness' (Idris) iron horse to the bearer of the dark half of the Witchblade (Amali), it's all really well done.

The whole issue is narrated by Idris, the bearer of the Darkness, and he sort of has an almost Shakespearean vernacular. While he doesn't actually give his origin, he does go through the Witchblade bearers (rival sisters Amali and Amani) and the Angelus (Abdul Salaam). I especially thought the Witchblade's story (entitled "Assahiya") was interesting for numerous reasons. One, being the art. Admira Wijaya's art is spectacular. Actually, calling it even that is an understatement. There is such drama and expression behind it and reminds me of the Hildebrandts. What's also interesting is how it's told. It's almost entirely in narration with maybe one or two actual speech balloons. It's tragic, yet reflects the current War of the Witchblades. It gives you something to think about.

The Angelus story's ("Chermera") art is done by Tom Grindberg, who I'm a big fan of. At first, this story didn't make a whole lot of sense, since Smith used a lot foreign terms. However, I later noticed that he included a glossary, which is a great asset with these sorts of stories. All of the titles to the chapters mean something significant, ie "Chermera" is the site of an ancient temple is Norther Iraq. Smith did his homework and it adds a little something special to the issue.

It's definitely not for the kiddies though, but I'm sure if you're familiar at all with these characters you were aware of that. There's plenty of action played out, it sort of feels like an old Conan story. Bottom line: I say pick it up if you're a Top Cow fan, or just willing to try something a little out of the ordinary.