The characters of the long-running series Charmed first came to Zenescope in 2011 in what was kind of a surprise move. It is not that the characters were not endearing. The show managed to last for eight seasons, and despite not being a fan of the concept nor being really in the targeted demographic, I still ended up seeing one or two episodes here and there.  What was strange at Zenescope was that the characters were brought back at all.  Their series left them at a place of complete resolution and while the characters were well-liked by many it was not as though there were heavy demands for their return. The first Zenescope Charmed series was ongoing for twenty-four issues before it met its second demise.

Zenescope still held the rights though and presumably still had an interest in pursuing the stories. In the meantime a small but seemingly significant change occurred in comics, specifically those based on television shows. The trend first started in the Buffyverse where instead of one-shots or short story arcs, that the series were lumped together into seasons. Television seasons generally have a specific format, with individual episodes where self-contained stories take place, but also in which there are sub-plots which allow the stories to progress leading to a climax for the specific season at its end. As a new format for comic series elsewhere, it seemed as though Zenescope thought it might try the same with Charmed. The first Zenescope series was relabeled Season 9, even though it didn’t really satisfy the format of a television series, and then Season 10 was launched.

It would seem as though that the rebranding failed. After reading issue #1, there is very little to draw a new reader in, and for fans of the series, aside from the presence of the characters, there is very little of the same dynamic going on.  While I get at what the writers are going for with the big idea behind Season 10, it is not at all engaging, at least not from this first issue, as the Halliwell girls join together to battle a demon with changing powers, told over a sloppily connected span of months. In the meantime other demons are behind the scenes pulling strings. The end result is not so good, but really I am not sure if it should be expected to be anything more. This is a franchise well past its expiry date, and it might be better for Zenescope to give up on this while they are ahead.

Story: Pat Shand Art: Elisa Feliz
Story: 5.0 Art: 6.5 Overall:  5.0 Recommendation: Pass

Zenescope Entertainment provided Graphic Policy with a free copy