Wytches #5
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Story: Scott Snyder
Art: JOCK
I can’t believe it took the release of Wytches’s fifth issue for me to decide to finally catch up on the series. I’m sure glad I did, no matter how long it took me.
Let me just say this: this book should have a warning sign on the front of every issue because it’s daaaarrrkkk, and in a great way. The themes in the story line Scott Snyder writes about are personal to him, you can tell as the reader. It’s by design too. Snyder writes these excellent and insightful columns at the end of each issue to help you better understand the origin of Wytches, which by the way aren’t your typical “witches.” And I put the word “witches” in quotes for good reason. Not going to spoil it for you here, but think xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. Don’t let that thought sink in. Go start reading Wytches instead!
When I first began reading Wytches, I thought the supporting cast would take a back seat to the main characters Sailor and Charlie Rook and, of course, the wytches themselves. Oh, how issue five proved me wrong. As I forgot about one character that same one came back to haunt me — masterful use of the horror genre. Each character has a past, present and future. Their arc can last a few pages in an issue or extend across a couple of issues. Out of all the character arcs, the best is Charlie’s. His character is so relatable and the one you care for, not that the others aren’t either but, I think, he’s our vessel as the reader. He reacts to things the way one should act in the situation the book places you in.
There’s not much to say about the writing and art of Wytches. It’s written by Scott Snyder! And drawn by JOCK! C’mon, arguably the best writer/artist collaboration in comics right now — read The Black Mirror. Snyder is a hell of a writer, enough said, and JOCK’s art made my throat throb at the sight of some of the visceral violence and images in this book.
If you’ve been reading Wytches, you should care for Charlie to the point that when the bottom right-hand side of the page read “TO BE CONCLUDED” I said, “What?! No…!” It’s such a great cliffhanger that the finale on May 20 can’t come soon enough.