Comics
[Comic Book Review] Pledge Yourself to “Wytches” #2
Scott Snyder and Jock’s “Wytches” is back with a second issue and I’ll go ahead and call it eyebrow raising and eye err…neck-eye opening.
WRITTEN BY: Scott Snyder
ART BY: Jock
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 12, 2014
Reviewed by Nick Brehmer
We pick up just after the final events of issue #1. Sailor’s been attacked by some revenant creature, which she suspects is Annie, sent back by the wytches for reasons unknown. Her parents can sense the supernatural nature of the happening surrounding their daughter. Her father’s concern grows when the biopsy of Sailor’s neck would yields ancient results, and Sailor’s mother is confronted with the bizarre when a patient of hers awakens from a coma with knowledge of the wytches.
The whole concept of pledging is definitely a key interest point for this series. I know in my previous review for issue #1, I may have been a little harsh on my apprehensions regarding Snyder’s reworking of such a classic archetype. But the narrative motivations behind the pledge are very much align with the classic witch. In one word? Suspicion.
The witch trials are so fascinating due to the mass paranoia and suspicion regarding witchcraft and the defilement of community. This is very much present in “Wytches”. There’s an added level of unease with the idea of pledging as sacrifice. That one can choose an individual to be handed over to these horrific woodland creatures make the suspicion level two-fold – who has been pledged and who has done the pledging? Was Annie pledged? Has Sailor been pledged? How is the community involved? Who’s this sandman character and how does he relate? Questions, questions…
The concerns I raised in my last review are still bouncing around my mind as I flip through issue #2. In addition, with the encounter with the wytches themselves in the flesh, things are also progressing a little quickly for my tastes. I wish there was more atmospheric tension. Given the above mentioned relationship between classic witches and community, my hope is that Snyder explores this more in upcoming issues. It’s touched upon a little with her classmate interactions, but I would love to see something more built between Sailor and her new town after fleeing from the previous one due to Annie’s disappearance.
Also as mentioned in my previous issue, I will say that the artwork that Jock’s provided for this series is gripping. The wytches that he’s visualized are indeed creepy as hell.
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A product of the harsh lands of Northern Ontario, Nick Brehmer is in fact a sensitive flower currently blooming in the GTA. He spends his downtime wishing he was British. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @nicholasbrehmer
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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