Taking flight from the pages of “War of the Witchblades”! Danielle Baptiste returns home to New Orleans to come to grips with her new role as the Angelus, the human bearer of the primal force of Light. To complicate matters she must sort out her undefined relationship with Finch while maintaining control of the Angelus host, some of whom covet her power.

Coming next Wednesday, December 23rd, from Top Cow is Angelus #1, spinning out of the recent Witchblade event, War of the Witchblades.  The last bearer of the Witchblade, Dani steps out in her own mini-seires, which sets the stage for next year’s Artifacts event.  How did the first issue of Angelus, from the Witchblade team of Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic, compare to the excellent Witchblade series?

Read my full review after the jump, AND check out a preview of the first issue!  MAJOR SPOILERS for War of the Witchblades after the jump.

During War of the Witchblades, Dani Baptiste was killed by Sara Pezzini, and the Angelus took over her body, bringing her back to life as the bearer of the artifact (the opposing force to the Darkness).  Sara got her mind back after being crazy, and is now the sole bearer of the Witchblade artifact (the spawn of the Darkneess and Angelus).  Meanwhile, Dani and kinda girlfriend Dani have moved to New Orleans for Dani to be able to find herself, and figure out what she wants to do in her life.  Meanwhile, one of the Angelus, Sabine, wants to be the bearer of the artifact, and will go to Hell and back to figure out a way to get it.

If you were a fan of Dani while she was the bearer of the Witchblade, then you’ll really dig Angelus.  The fact that this series is done by the same team as Witchblade helps with consistency, as this really feels like it fits in perfectly with that title.  The fact that this continues many of the lingering plot threads from Dani’s run on the title is great in that fans of that run will dig it, but it’s a little bit too involved in those plot threads for new readers to truly enjoy.  Marz tries his best to sum it all up to make it new reader friendly, but this series will definitely be more enjoyable if you know what’s come before.

An enjoyable first issue, this is definitely helped by the excellent art of Sejic.  The fact that the guy can produce two beautiful painted books on a monthly basis is amazing, and though the art isn’t as detailed as his stuff on the Witchblade, it’s still damn pretty to look at.

Don’t believe me?  Well, check out the preview below!