Issue: Charmed #11: Last Witch Effort
Release Date: June 2011
Author: Paul Ruditis
Artist: Tess Fowler
Cover A: David Seidman
Colors: Milen Parvanov
Letters: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
We delve into the new issue of the Charmed comic with questions and hopes that we’ll have answers before it’s all over. Piper, Paige, and Leo are all spread out and remain lost. Poor Phoebe is left to deal with the aftermath and attempt to figure out a way to get her family back. However, I start off the comic confused again. This is becoming a common occurrence.
Apparently Sam, Paige’s father, has shown up between last issue and this one. I don’t like time gaps that exclude key information like this. It leaves me trying to catch up before I’ve even started. And if Sam were’t enough, Phoebe and Piper’s father Victor shows up at the house, too. I always forget about the men of the Halliwell family because the focus is always on the women. Henry gave me the hope that a Sam-versus-Victor showdown might come to pass but, alas, it did not. I like exploring that dynamic, with the feelings they must have towards one another, but I guess there was too much other drama to delve into it for this storyline.
Meanwhile, Leo is trying to reason with Neena, as I’m sure only he could. I understand Neena’s motivations of just wanting to return to her lover’s side, but as with all motivations of passion, it’s surely not going to end well for those around her. Her actions have put all realms in danger and she’s blind to see it. Neena has her target in mind and nothing anyone else says or does will change her path. And since she has a legion of helpers, it seems like the fight is definitely weighted in her favor. Also, as an aside for this scene, I have come to really like Rennek. Sure, he’s on the opposite side of good, but his sense of humor is fun.
And with all that going on, Phoebe is trying to contact her sisters. Thankfully, she was able to tap into the Power of One and call out to Piper and Paige telepathically. Hey, whatever works, right? And Piper has determined that the best way to get back to her sisters is to trust Cole and eat the apple. Turns out she was right. Piper, on the other hand, is moving in the opposite direction and has actually moved on to another realm where she meets up with Grams and her mom. And they have gathered together a whole host of family to help set things right once again. It’s an exciting image to end on.
The art for this issue was a bit rougher than in previous issues. I’m not sure why Fowler has seemed to lose the ability to adequately render their facial features to match more closely the reality of the characters, but hopefully it was a one-off problem. Additionally, the lettering has put extra emphasis on words that shouldn’t have been emphasized. If I were to read aloud the dialogue with the words emphasized as written, I’d end up sounding like William Shatner. That’s not the appropriate image to convey here. So, with these minor problems adding up, I am a bit less pleased with this issue when compared to former ones. Perhaps the next issue will make up for that.
Rating: 2 / 5 Stars
