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First Pin-Up Appearance Of Witchblade, Cyblade/Shi Preview At Auction

The comic book Witchblade created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner was published by Top Cow/Image Comics from 1995 to 2015, and along the way was adapted into a television series in 2001, as well as an anime, a manga and a novel in 2006. The series follows Sara Pezzini, a NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient gauntlet that bonds with a female host and provides her with a variety of powers in order to fight supernatural evil. Sara struggles to hone the powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, such as entrepreneur Kenneth Irons and his bodyguard Ian Nottingham A feature film based on the comic, titled The Witchblade, was announced for a 2009 release, but was never produced. A second  television series was announced for development in January 2017, but no news yet. Witchblade was revived as a comic book in December 2017 by Caitlin Kittredge and Roberta Ingranata and a new series launched in February 2021 featuring a new Witchblade creative team, writer Marguerite Bennett, artist Ariel Kristantina, colourist Bryan Valenza and letterer Troy Peteri which returned the original wielder of Witchblade, Sara Pezzini as the main character in this new series. Cyblade/Shi: The Battle For Independence was a comic book that used the Cyblade character from Silvestri's Cyberforce series, alongside Billy Tucci's Shi, to introduce all manner of characters such as Dave Sim's Cerebus and Larry Marder's Beanworld to a superhero audience. And, in the process, launching Witchblade as well.

First Pin-Up Appearance Of Witchblade, Cyblade/Shi Preview At Auction
First Pin-Up Appearance Of Witchblade, Cyblade/Shi Preview At Auction

Cyblade/Shi: The Battle for Independents Preview (Crusade-Image Comics, 1995) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages. Witchblade pin-ups by Michael Turner predating Witchblade's first appearance. Black and white interior. William story. Marc Silvestri story, cover, and art. Overstreet 2021 NM- 9.2 value = $40. CGC census 8/21: 19 in 9.8, none higher.

I can't find a scan of the original pin-up but here is how she looked in the final issue.

Cyblade/Shi: The Battle for Independents Preview
First Pin-Up Appearance Of Witchblade, Cyblade/Shi Preview At Auction
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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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