Bump

@captain13: Hey late reply but if you're still interested...

The thing about the Witchblade series is that every new writer likes to throw out the supporting cast and bring in their own creations. As such, Ian was mostly used by his creator, David Wohl, during his two runs on the series, while other writers have him make appearances here and there sparingly.

The opening arc of Witchblade (Witchblade #1-#8) does a good job of introducing Ian, setting up his abilities, his douchebag charm, and his incredibly abusive relationship with his boss Kenneth Irons.

While Ian is an important part of the Family Ties crossover between Witchblade and The Darkness, he's just used as a puppet by the bad guys throughout the whole thing and doesn't get to do or say much, so I wouldn't really recommend reading it to learn about Ian. The important thing about it is that Ian ends up wielding the Witchblade which sets up...

Witchblade #20-#25 in which the Witchblade slowly turns Nottingham into an out of control monster.

At this point in Witchblade history the quality of the writing took a pretty steep nosedive, especially once Wohl handed over full writing duties to his co-writer Christina Z. Nottingham continues to appear during her run but the writing is so bad I could never recommend issues 26-39 to anyone but completists. Endless subplots that never get resolved and bad dialogue everywhere... Only thing you need to know is that Irons makes Nottingham kill his lover, and that puts an end to their partnership for the time being.

(After her run, Christina Z wrote a miniseries called Witchblade: Destiny's Child which basically serves as a condensed version of future stories she wanted to tell in Witchblade, including Nottingham's origin. Everything it establishes about Nottingham was contradicted in the main Witchblade series a few months later, so it is thoroughly out of continuity. Again, avoid unless you're a completist.)

Paul Jenkins eventually brought Ian back in Witchblade #50, where he's now wielding a weapon similar to the Witchblade called Excalibur. He and Sara are part of a prophecy to stop a demon and the end of the world and all that. We also learn his true origin and get deeper into his personality from #50-53, so I'd say its a pretty important Ian story. Jenkins sorta humanizes Ian Nottingham, mostly doing away with the cold-hearted assassin personality from the start of the series.

David Wohl returned as writer, and his second run sees Ian getting a lot of prominent screen time. Nottingham's main arc here is his very symbiotic relationship with Excalibur. Witchblade #54-#57 has Ian reuniting with Kenneth Irons and using Excalibur for assassination purposes. He continues to make appearances in most of Wohl's issues until Witchblade #70-#75. which is one of my favorite Witchblade arcs, and culminates in a big showdown between Sara and Ian. I'd call this one vital reading.

Some time during Wohl's run, a one-shot starring Ian, Witchblade: Nottingham, was published. It's a pretty good character piece about him, mostly spotlighting his relationship with the Yakuza.

After Wohl left the book for the last time, Ian's time as a key player in Witchblade was over. Ron Marz centered a two-parter around him in Witchblade #97&#98 with a follow up in Witchblade #102, which mostly serves as a kissoff to the character. To be honest I find that Ron Marz didn't really have a handle on the character. Ian mainly shows up to make Sara's new love interest look like a much better catch. Hardly vital to understanding the character, but if you feel like seeing his last major appearance in a Witchblade story, this is it.

Ian then plays a part in the opening story of Artifacts, which spans the first 12 issues (though Ian doesn't show up until issue 3), and got his own spotlight issue a couple years later in Artifacts #34.

And there you have it, all the important Ian stories. There's really not that many centered around him since, like I said, Top Cow keeps letting new writers throw out every character besides Sara when they take over. Don't know why they keep letting that happen, but I digress...

@lagozzino said. Great post. I actually spoke to Ron Marz at a New York Comic Con about a year after he took over Witchblade. He mentioned that he felt Ian's stories were over and concluded so he moved on with him. Glad he brought Ian back for Artifacts. He was bad ass.