Roald Dahl, But for Adults: “Wytches #1”

Before taking on the Bat, Scott Snyder made a name for himself writing about another creature of the night in American Vampire. His horror streak continued with limited series Severed and the Wake, keeping one foot firmly planted in his horror roots while the other resides in Gotham. Snyder can’t help but let those roots occasionally crop up in Batman, especially when the Joker shows his face (or lack thereof) just in case things get a little too cheery. Snyder can’t betray who he is and that is a writer who enjoys taking his readers to very dark places before stabbing them in the heart. A horror writer has got to write horror and that brings us to Wytches.



Kicking off the series is a cold open that is equal parts chilling and intriguing, as Snyder wastes no time hooking us with a nightmarish sequence that establishes the tone in just a few panels. This isn’t just a bloody gore fest made for shock value alone. At its core, the book is a personal story featuring a tight knit family who are loving despite some underlying issues. They have recently relocated but not under the happiest of circumstances. 

The daughter, Sailor, is starting over at a new school which would be a challenge for any teen and a great starting point for your average coming-of-age tale, but there’s more than just the change in venue and trying to fit in that’s eating away at poor Sail. As if being the new kid wasn’t bad enough, she’ll also be battling with her fellow classmates’ preconceived ideas about her upon arrival. It’s one thing if there’s a rumor flying around that you made out with a senior at the Spring Fling, but it’s a whole other level of high school hell when the word in homeroom is that you are responsible for murder.

While her peers are sweating test scores and their complexions, she is struggling internally with the fact that she feels responsible for a wytch attack on a bully and as a result she has crippling anxiety issues that plague her ability to function. The fact that she’s not in a padded room tearing her hair out after what she experienced is a testament to how strong she is that she’s even able to interact with society again. But no doubt things are going to get worse before they get better.

Snyder again reteams with Jock, his collaborator on Detective, which gave us the fantastic “Black Mirror” arc. As much as I enjoyed their teaming before, from the outset, this one has the potential to top it. Jock was born to draw horror comics. His wytches are the things nightmares are made of. We don’t get to see a lot of them, which is good as less is more in horror but hopefully we’ll be seeing more of them in upcoming issues.

I was pleased to discover that one of Snyder’s inspirations for the series was Roald Dahl’s The Witches as I always found that to be one of the scariest interpretations of witches as a kid. As it turns out even the notion of wytches living in trees is inspired by Snyder’s childhood of going witch hunting in the woods. Although the concept may be rooted in childhood fears, Wytches aims to be The Witches for adults. It certainly has all the ingredients to tap into what scares us the most about these mystical creatures. Part of this is the idea that from page one, Snyder declares that we forget everything we know about “witches” as this is going to be a decidedly different take on the broomsticks and pointy hats variety. And that’s the scariest thing of all is the unknown. Where do these wytches come from and what do they want? How does Sail come into play in their wicked ways? Do they mean her harm or are they her protectors? Maybe her classmates do have reason to whisper about her throughout the halls.

It’s not the greatest #1 I’ve ever read by a long shot but it shows promise that the horror is just getting started and if Snyder’s track record is anything to go by, we’re in for a horrifying ride indeed. If you’re a fan of horror comics and you’re looking for a new series to sink your teeth into, you could do a lot worse than Wytches, which isn’t just a blood soaked schlock fest but ultimately is about a family struggling to make the best of their situation and we are rooting for them to overcome the odds.