Wytches #1 and #2 Review

Title:	Wytches
Contributors:	Scott Snyder Jock
Publisher:	Image Comics
Issue #:	1, 2
Year:	2014
Pages:	32 Pages
Age Rating:	18+ (Violence, Gore, Sexuality, Adult Themes)
Story Grade:	A
Art Grade:	B

Scott Snyder's 'Wytches', published by Image Comics is first and foremost a horror comic and it does horror absolute justice. This is a story about a family that has relocated after the daughter, Sailor (Sail) has been through a horrifying life event. The woods near their home are home to some of the scariest monster concepts I can recall of late. This isn't Scott Snyder's 'Batman' or 'The Wake', this is some scary material truly worthy of the ink laid down (not that Batman and Wake weren't).

The Wytches in the woods near Sail's home have taken an interest in her for some, currently unknown, reason. The Wytches are wish grantors, but they require something in return for the granted wish; an offering, a sacrifice... a pledge.

Snyder discloses at the end of Issue #1 that he draws deeply from his childhood in the telling of this story and that personal touch really shows in this story. The first two books in this series really highlights, painfully at times, the pain and alienation that the new kid in school experiences, which includes bullying, especially a new kid with Sail's past and a legend following her around.

One arch of the story is a violent bullying sequence with strong sexual overtones. This is where Jock's artwork plays a heavy hand at setting the dark tone of the story. His hard contrasts and heavy lines add a sense of anger and resentment to the story. It is this aspect of his artwork that benefits the story, which isn't covered in rose petals and lilacs. No, this is an aggressive story, thus far, and the artwork truly matches the tone of the story being told.

In all fairness, there are some issues with character expressions during the course of the books, unexpected facial responses to certain events or dialog being shown. But, all in all the art was really fitting.

I grade these two books a solid B+. The story is a spot on A and the character development is fantastic. The art takes a ding for the less than perfect expressions throughout, so a B grade goes there. Picking this series up was a huge stretch for me considering how pissed I was with Snyder's handling of the Wake. I remain hopeful that Snyder won't tread into that storytelling style here.

Until next time... Ask yourself, "What would I pledge."