Book Review: Charmed issue #1

Book: Charmed issue #1 by Erica Schultz with illustrations by Maria Sanapo, color by Heartwork Studios, letters by Tom Napolitano and cover by Joe Corroney

Edition: Single Print Issue

Description:

Balancing work, witchcraft, and a life is never easy, and the Charmed Ones are stretched too thin. Meanwhile, a demon in the Underworld rallies the troops with a plan to take out the Charmed Ones forever.



Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

I'm not sure if this new Charmed series is supposed to take place during a specific season. But while I was reading this first issue I got the feeling that it was set somewhere during season four.

This opens with Piper, Phoebe and Paige fighting a demon in an alley but in what should have been an easy victory gave the sisters some difficulty. With the demon vanquished and back in the underworld, the demons, witches and warlocks needed a new plan to destroy the Charmed Ones and it appears another warlock may have the perfect plan.

With the demon fighting out of the way, the sisters were each dealing with a few issues. Piper was trying to sort out her nightclub P3's taxes while Phoebe has the opportunity to take on more responsibility at her job with the newspaper The Bay Mirror and Paige has a new charge, a witch who she is trying to help. With so much going on they were unaware that the demons were already putting their plan into place.

The writing is good and it feels like Schultz has a good feel for the characters and managed to capture each of their personalities. It read like I was watching the show, the chemistry between the characters is there. I love the artwork, the illustrations really do resemble the actors: Holly Marie Combs (Piper), Alyssa Milano (Phoebe) and Rose McGowan (Paige). I also love the color, it's a lot richer than what's shown in the picture that I took.

I like how this first issue is setting everything up and I can't wait to read the next one. I don't necessarily believe you need to have watched Charmed to read this first issue because the way it's written it's easy to following along. There's nothing here that feels like only fans of the show would understand. I think it's a good jumping on point for new fans.