| The Magdalena Vol. 1 Issue 1 | |
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| Writer(s): |
Marcia Chen |
| Penciller(s): |
Joe Benitez |
| Inker(s): |
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| Colorist(s): |
Tyson Wengler |
| Letterer(s): |
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| Editor(s): |
Renae Geerlings |
| Cover by: |
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| Published: |
April 1, 2000 |
Magdalena Vol. 1 Issue 1 is the first issue of the first Magdalena comic series volume published in 2000. This is the first part of Blood Divine story arc.
Synopsis
The Magdalena is back! Straight from the pages of The Darkness, the Magdalena returns to star in her own three issue story arc. Brought to you by Joe Benitez (Darkness), Marcia Chen (Ascension) and Joe Weems (Fathom), this first issue takes place before the "Spear of Destiny" story line in The Darkness. The Magdalena, holy servant of the Catholic Church, is sent to a rural orphanage in France to investigate a series of killings reputed to be have been performed by a vampire. Meanwhile, Father Jasper, a priest from the Netherlands, arrives at the Vatican to speak with Cardinal Innocent, bringing with him ancient relics he found hidden in his church, which could spell the downfall of all Christianity. Don't miss out on what is sure to be one of the hottest books of 2000!
Characters
- Rosalia
- Cardinal Innocent
- Cardinal Jasper
- Father Dominique
- Father Jean
- Colette
Plot Summary
In the old French abbey, Father Jean is reading the Bible. As he finishes reading it, he's startled by someone watching him from the shadows. Believing it to be Colette, one of the orphans in the abbey, he calls her by name. Instead of Colette, shadowy creature attacks Father Jean. As he tries to run away, he falls into the altar, smashing his head. The creature then corners Father Jean and proceeds to drain his blood. After hearing the commotion, Colette walks into the church. Noticing her, the shadowy creature approaches the girl.
The next day, late afternoon, Rosalia arrives to the abbey. She inspects Father Jean's corpse, noticing the two puncture wounds on his neck and the fact, that he was drained of his blood. Though she concludes, that it doesn't mean a vampire did this to him. Rosalia then introduces herself to abbey's superior, Father Dominique. The Father is perplexed to see a young woman to be tasked with this mission. Rosalia quickly reassures him, that although she looks young, she's been thirty-three years on this Earth and handled many situations for the church. She then asks the Father to recount the details of the accident.
Father Dominique tells, that Father Jean's corpse was discovered this morning by one of the monks, completely drained of the blood and with bite marks on the neck. With all the excitement from earlier vampire killings, Father Dominique decided to call the bishop. Rosalia then tells the Father to tell her about the other killings. The Father reveals, that two nights ago in an apartment located in Paris, three were killed with two of them drained of their blood. The local media was quick to name the killer, the vampire killer. Rosalia isn't so quick to link the murders to vampires, knowing that people are far too eager to lay the blame on fictitious monsters. Although if this was done by a vampire, she will find him and destroy it.
Meanwhile in Vatican, Cardinal Innocent is visited by distressed Father Jasper. The Cardinal questions Jasper as to why he has come all this way from his small church in Belgium to visit him. Jasper explains, that while they were remodelling the church, he found a pair of artfiacts, wrapped in cloth and hidden under a loose stone behind the altar. Remembering, that Cardinal Innocent studied Biblical archaeology, he decided to bring them to him. The Cardinal takes a look at the items. He finds a crown, a sceptre and two rings. He guesses that these items were crafted many hundred of years before Christ and seem Hebrew in design. He notices Hebrew characters inscribed on the rings with a unicorn one of the rings and a lion on the other one. Cardinal Innocent believes the artifacts to be real and may have once belonged to some ancient Jewish ruler or even King David himself.
Cardinal then ponders as to how these artifacts ended up in a small Catholic church in Belgium. Father Jasper then reveals, that he knows the Cardinal sometimes works with Magdalena. Cardinal confirms this, but is confused as to how he came to know this. Father Jasper explains, that he has heard rumors about the woman and that the Cardinal is connected to her. Seeing no harm in revealing this information, Cardinal tells the Father, that Magdalena is the guardian of the church. After Mary Magdalene was blessed with a special gift to reveal the sins of one's past, all the women descendent from her, possessed this power. For centuries, the heirs of Mary Magdalene, all women, have served the church taking the title of Magdalena and utilizing her gift in the best interests of the Vatican. Their best triumph was revealing his past sins to Hitler and retrieving the Spear of Destiny from him.
Father Jasper, then points out, that there's no mention of Mary Magdalene having the child in Bible. The Cardinal answers, that there's no mention of her not having a child either. And being a prostitute, she wasn't particularly important person. Her descendants were lost in anonymity for over a thousand years, until the year 1253, when a convent in France discovered that one of its wards, a young woman who claimed to be a descendant of Mary Magdalene, was gifted with remarkable abilities. Father Jasper then quickly says, that the woman was Arianne De La Croix. This confuses the Cardinal, as Jasper claimed to know nothing of the Magdalena. The Father tells him, that with the artifacts came also a letter, written by Mireille De La Croix to her daughter Arianne in the year 1239. He adds, that if the letter is true, it could bring about the destruction of the holy church.
Back in France, Rosalia inspects the crime scene. She notices, that the body wasn't completely drained of blood, though a substantial amount was taken. Rosalia also finds footprints on the ground and walls, as if the attacker was leaping from point to point. She then notices an open window, concluding, that how the attacker got into the church. As its getting dark, Rosalia decides to follow the tracks the attacker has left. She also finds a plush toy. The trail leads to a crypt with a young girl inside. As she approaches her, the girl leaps onto her, revealing to have become a vampire. Rosalia smacks her over the face with a flashlight, forcing the girl to back away. She then throws holy water at the girl's face, but this does little to stop her. As the girl leaps again, Rosalia pierces her with a spear. Believing the vampire to be dead, Rosalia prepares to leave. But then the girl wakes up and attacks her. Rosalia draws a sword, but before she can hit her, a man grabs her hand and then proceeds to kick her away. The girl then pulls out the spear, revealing now to be surrounded by a group of vampires. To be continued...
Gallery
