cornerfolds
Written on Oct 16, 2018
*Review to come!*
“It's fabulous. A triumph.”
-Stephen King
“Dark and
brutal... Wytches are like nothing horror fans have ever seen”
-USA Today
Everything you
thought you knew about witches is wrong. They are much darker, and they are much
more horrifying. Wytches takes the mythology of witches to a far
creepier, bone-chilling place than readers have dared venture
before.
When the Rooks family moves to
the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they're hopeful
about starting over. But something evil is waiting for them in the woods just
beyond town. Watching from the trees. Ancient...and hungry. Collects
Wytches #1-6.
“The most
terrifying comic you've ever read.” -MTV
News
“Dark and brutal...
Wytches are like nothing horror fans have ever seen” -USA
Today
“Very, very scary...
Much like the works of Mary Shelley and the other writers of the Villa
Diodati..." -Paste
Magazine
“Snyder has
tackled horror before, but Wytches sets out to be an entirely new level
of scary." -Complex
Magazine
“An awesome and
at times terrifying tale.” -IGN
- ISBN10 1632153807
- ISBN13 9781632153807
- Publish Date 7 July 2015
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Image Comics
- Format Paperback
- Pages 144
- Language English
Reviews
*Review to come!*
leahrosereads
Written on Jun 10, 2018
When the issues were being published I had grabbed the first 3 every month, but I couldn't get into the story at all. And I know why now. This story lends itself to be read completely start to finish without 30 days in between.
The art style may be one of my favorites, and Snyder's storytelling is so mesmerizing. His characters are interesting and their connections with each other adds this family element to a horror story that I sometimes don't get but feel like I need going forward.
That element of this story is what made it. Sail and her father's bond was undeniable and really brought this story to life and made it a very fulfilling read.
I highly recommend it!
celinenyx
Written on Dec 3, 2017
A family moves to a small town. Sail, their daughter, is a teenager with anxiety issues - which worsen by the sensation that something is lurking in the woods. As reader we already know something that our characters still need to find out: the woods do contain monsters from our nightmares, and if they're not careful, they might get eaten.
There are three main characters in the story: Charlie, Lucy, and Sailor. At first I was intrigued by the fact that Lucy, Sail's mother, is disabled and in her portrayal does not seemed to be defined by this. Graphic novels are possibly even worse than novels with regards to diversity, and it was nice to have some small scenes dedicated to make this aspect of her characterisation realistic. Sadly, that little representation that was gained in the beginning is completely undermined at the climax of the story. Ultimately, Lucy sells her own daughter for the wytches to eat so she can walk again. Not only is this presumptuous and ableist, it did not fit in the story at all. Where Charlie has plenty of page-time with Sail, Lucy is little more than a wall-flower as the story progresses.
And that touches on my biggest issue with Wytches. Ultimately, it's a egocentric piece of writing about a father figure. Charlie is the hero - one that is flawed, but redeemed by the end. The graphic novel is about his fears, his interactions with Sail. It is about fatherhood, and then it becomes clear that the women in this comic are only present as foils to him. Even though Sail is present in probably half the pages, we rarely see her thoughts outside of Charlie's lens. She is merely there to be cared for, to be saved. I found it tragic that a character with anxiety issues - something that could be so powerful for people struggling with something similar - had very little growth in this respect and got turned into a damsel in distress, so she could be rescued by her father. I feel like Snyder did attempt some character growth in Sail, but the structure of the story prevents her from becoming an independent character.
Image publishes some truly groundbreaking comics, but I'm afraid Wytches isn't one of them. The panelling is great, the illustrations effective, and the colouring especially is stunning. It is atmospheric, it is creepy - but it is also problematic, and I tired of reading about a father's fears without the daughter's feelings to counterpoint them. The representation of disability in this story (both physical as well as neurological) is atrocious; probably unintentionally.
pamela
Written on Jul 20, 2015
This is not just a work of skin deep horror. Its depth lies in its ability to question our human nature. In some wonderfully written personal articles toward the end of this graphic novel, he begins with the question 'who would you pledge?' Do we all have a price? Something that we would sacrifice the life of another human being to achieve? And indeed, is there anything that we would sacrifice our very lives to save?
Snyder borrows from established works, and there are elements of Dahl's 'The Witches', a general feel of Stephen King, the bleak colour scheme of 'The Blair Witch Project' and even moments reminiscent of 'Twin Peaks' or 'Children of the Corn'. And yet despite owing so much to all these influences it never feels derivative or unoriginal.
The art style is wonderful. It is chaotic, dark and claustrophobic. Each panel is crafted with obvious love and talent and really made the reading experience something else. It's content was horrible without being overtly and grotesquely visceral. This allowed the art and prose to stand on its own feet rather than relying on shock tactics.
I'm looking forward to volume two and definitely recommend this book for anyone who's a fan of Snyder. This appears to be a deeply personal work for him, and is enjoyable on its own, but also for his personal essays collected at the end which talk about his love for this project and how he began his love affair with all things horror.