Wytches Volume 1

by Scott Snyder

[pamela]

Snyder's 'Wytches' is a fascinating blend of the uncanny, horrific and intensely familiar, brought together in a perfect pitch of dread and tragedy. He perfectly blends elements of a familiar genre, with the truth of human failings for an ending that was simultaneously poignant, horrific and hopeful.

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.