The Witchblade concept is given a Hindu twist in Namaha, the first volume of the Devi series published by the Shakti line of Virgin Comics. A stated goal of the line is to promote Indian art and culture by creating a new comic-book mythos for an international crowd.

The art is striking, and the storyline is fairly strong -- given that we never really get to know the title character at all. When the book begins in ancient times, Devi is a mortal dressed in a skimpy flaming leotard and imbued with godly powers by the Hindi pantheon to fight the evil god Bala. Following her victory, Bala is contained and Devi's powers returned to the gods who gave them -- apparently.

Here's where it gets a little confusing. The focus changes to modern times, and Tara Mehta, the good-hearted girlfriend of an Indian gangster and nightclub owner, is kidnapped by a Devi cult so she can be ritually murdered and reborn with those self-same godly powers to continue the fight against evil. Why this needs to occur -- and, for that matter, why this has apparently been going on for millennia -- is never explained. Why one cult member decides that, this time, they should let the poor victim live is also not explained, nor is the reason Bala is suddenly free again, why his chief general is still alive and posing as an Indian gangster (guess which one!) or why a warrior for Heaven is now acting as a high-paid rogue assassin.

Oh, and there's Rahul Singh, an unshaven, hard-drinking cop in Sitapur with a heart of gold, who stumbles into the mix. I bet he and Devi fall in love....

Hard to say, though, because we get no sense of who she is by the end of the book. In fact, since she only comes into her powers at the conclusion, we don't get much insight into what she can do, either. I suppose that's grist for volume 2, if the art and writing here are enough to lure you back.

I can tell you, though, that in these modern times, Tara Mehta's Devi does not wear a skimpy flaming leotard. Damn it.