wytches Archives - Page 3 of 4

A busload of children disappears in the woods. A strange bite grows on a girl’s neck. And the wytches are getting closer, creeping from the woods. Be there for the terrifying second chapter of the new smash hit, WYTCHES.

Image Comics at Thought Bubble 2014

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Brett

Image Comics has announced that there will be a Thought Bubble Wytches #2 variant featuring artwork by Jeff Lemire for sale at Table 45-47 on Nov. 15 – 16 for 5 GBP.

A Wytches signing with series writer Scott Snyder and variant cover artist Jeff Lemire will be held at Tables 45-47 on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Scott Snyder will sign with series artist Jock on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 3 – 4 p.m at Tables 45-47.

On Saturday, Nov. 15th Image Comics will host the following panels:

I is for Inspiration: The artists of Image Comics
Sat 15th November, Bury Theatre, Royal Armouries, 2:30 – 3:20, free entry with Saturday/Weekend convention pass, all ages, but please note: Thought Bubble does not control panel content

Some of the best and brightest artists working with Image Comics live and work in the UK and Europe. Many of them are coming to Thought Bubble! Join Charlie Adlard, Jamie McKelvie, Sean Phillips, Emma Ríos, Matteo Scalera—and moderator Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics—for a conversation about creative freedom in the new age of comics independence and their exciting new projects at Image Comics.

I is for Innovation: The writers of Image Comics
Sat 15th November, Bury Theatre, Royal Armouries, 3:30 – 4:20, free entry with Saturday/Weekend convention pass, all ages, but please note: Thought Bubble does not control panel content

A wave of writers from the UK and Europe changed the comics industry forever. What’s next in comics? This year’s Thought Bubble hosts a wide-ranging discussion on storytelling, freedom, evolution, and more, featuring bestselling writers Kieron Gillen, Brandon Graham, Antony Johnston, Ales Kot, Scott Snyder, and Richard Starkings. Moderated by Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics.

Conventions

Review: Wytches #2

Posted on November 12, 2014 by

Starting off with an excerpt from a children’s book one of the main characters is writing that proves creepy out of its context, Wytches #2 dives back into Scott Snyder and Jock’s creepy new world of revamped witch monsters. This second issue doesn’t manage to be quite as striking as the first, but nonetheless it reminds readers why that debut was so damn good in the first place. That same mixture of sweetness, horror, and mystery is built upon in a thrilling manner. Wytches #2 combines skin-deep scary writing and harrowing, haunting artwork in this great comic.

As opposed to last issue, this second release sees the Rooks daughter Sailor do pretty well socially in school. Any warm comfort this conjures up is crushed whenever a chilling, closterfobic underwater scene butts its head in. This sequence is the highlight of the read, providing a true sense of discomfort that calls upon spooky flashbacks to increase the pacing and tension. The way Sailor reacts after this scene is a little much in terms of suspension of disbelief, but it is a bit of effective plot progression all the same.

Other parts of the comic add to the mystery of the mother, who was eerily silent and unfocused upon in the first issue. Seemingly mundane portions of her hospital job get more disturbing as her part of the plot progresses, more flashback nestled in between here to make things even tenser. The father, Charlie, has more progression too that all just exacerbates the stress of his particularly difficult time parenting at this point in his life; it still works due to the inherent sweetness that still shows despite the dread of the atmosphere’s attempt to suffocate it.

All of these threads are intertwined in a story layout that manages to be constantly fresh and interesting without being confusing. Part of what makes it work is the intrinsically connected nature of all of these characters’ struggles. As a whole, this creates a smart way to show all of the various sides to a family crisis. Jock’s art is the other thing that pulls everything together, constantly creating an ominous feel even in the calmest moments, due to the distorted coloring of Matt Hollingsworth. The visuals do their job of making every page of this comic terrifying, like something is wrong and abnormal even when the horrifically designed monsters aren’t on display.

The biggest problem with this issue is that nothing too substantial happens. Past plot points are merely expanded upon, and future plot points are teased. This issue reads more like an extension of the debut, but it’s hard to complain much about that. It is incredibly well-done and effective, making for a great comic that considerably amps up excitement for the next issue.

Story: Scott Snyder Art: Jock
Story: 8.75 Art: 9.00 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

To check out Matt’s about.me, click here.

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Sell-Outs and New Printing Roundup

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Brett

Here’s this week’s announced sell-outs and new printings.

Image Comics

Skybound‘s Birthright #1 by Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan has sold out and will return November 5, the same day as the second issue.

Copperhead #2 by Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski has sold out and will return for a new printing on November 5, the same day as the third issue.

The Fade Out #2 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has sold out. It’ll return November 5, the same day as the third issue.

It should be no surprise, but Scott Snyder and Jock‘s Wytches #1 has sold out at the distributor level. A second printing is in the works, and it’ll hit shelves on November 12, the same day as the second issue.

Around the Tubes

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Brett

New York Comic Con is kicking off! We have a few of the team there, and hope everyone has fun!

Around the Tubes

ICv2 – ‘The Flash’ Posts Best CW Debut in 5 Years – Well deserved!

Around the Tubes Reviews

Comic Vine – Alien vs. Predator: Fire and Stone #1

Comic Vine – Amazing Spider-Man #7

Comic Vine – Arrow Season 2.5 #1

Comic Vine – Avengers #36

Comic Vine – Avengers & X-Men: Axis #1

Comicgirl – The Best American Comics 2014

CBR – Batgirl #35

Comic Vine – Batgirl #35

Talking Comics – Batgirl #35

Comic Vine – Batman #35

Comic Vine – Birthright #1

Talking Comics – Birthright #1

Comic Vine – Captain Marvel #8

Comic Vine – Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #1

Comic Vine – New Suicide Squad #3

Talking Comics – The October Faction #1

The Beat – The October Faction #1

Comic Vine – The Punisher #11

Talking Comics – Punks: The Comic #1

Comic Vine – Punks: The Comic #1

Talking Comics – World Trigger Vol. 1 and 2

Comic Vine – Wytches #1

Talking Comics – Wytches #1

Around the Tubes

Review: Wytches #1

Posted on October 7, 2014 by

WYTCHES_1_Cover It all starts with a cold collection of words set to a black background, reminiscent of last year’s eerie thriller Gravity. Then, storytellers Scott Snyder and Jock thrust the reader right into an ugly tip of the iceberg from the past to set the atmosphere for the present, taking place in the real life present of 2014. Both of these decisions are sound, giving the story a striking aura of grandiosity and substantiality. Intimately tapping into anxiety, the hardship of parenting, and plain ol’ fear, Wytches #1 succeeds tremendously, looking stunning all the while.

The first arc of Wytches focuses on the Rooks family, complete with a loving father passionate about his cartooning career, a disabled, supporting wife, and an anxiety-ridden, troubled teenage daughter. Strong fathers are always nice to see in fiction, Charles representing a solid example. The conversations he has with his daughter Sailor in an attempt to assuage her worrisome thoughts, along with his own worrying over her well-being, feels genuinely sweet. Snyder did a remarkable job of quickly making these new characters worthy of caring about.

The content is already disturbing in this first issue, making this comic more than worthy of its M rating. A glimpse into the bullying Sailor had to deal with is downright terrifying, proving itself as something the faint of heart will have a difficult time reading. As somebody who has lived with anxiety issues his whole life, the way Sailor’s brain tortures her is wholly, palpably realistic. I’m not a father, but the suffering Charles deals with in trying to do what is best for his daughter comes off as authentic too. Snyder has done a dastardly job of ruthlessly exploiting these characters, putting them in a very vulnerable position for these Wytches to give them Hell.

Stringing all of the great story beats together are the amazing pencils from Jock, aided tremendously by the coloring of Matt Hollandsworth. Jock’s pointy, angular, and twisted style fits this book perfectly, bringing some really uncomfortable environments, creatures and people to the table. What’s especially great is that his pencils don’t fall flat whenever the calmer, intimate dialogue takes place. His style actually creates a feeling of foreboding, on top of totally functional and charming expression. Hollandsworth’s coloring, filled with oddly colored and placed splotches and lines, makes everything all the more tense, adding a particularly impressive and subtle effect to the calmer moments. The book looks really unique and attention-grabbing, offering some pretty stellar splashes, used sparingly.

I was shocked when I hit the last page because the fact that the comic was over was such a surprise. The comic goes by quickly because it’s so good and because it’s so tense. Wytches begs to be read.

Story: Scott Snyder Art: Jock
Story: 9.25 Art: 9.00 Overall: 9.25 Recommendation: Buy

To check out Matt’s about.me, click here.

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Brett

Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in! Below are ten suggestions of comics, graphic novels, or trade paperbacks you should spend some extra time checking out and think about picking up. And this is a week that this list could easily be double the size.

Pick of the Week: Sabrina #1 (Archie) – Archie comics launched one of the best comics in a while with their twisted horror series Afterlife with Archie. It looks like this new series focused on the teenage witch will attempt to do the same. To say we’re excited is an understatement.

Alien Vs. Predator: Fire and Stone #1 (Dark Horse) – Dark Horse has been doing some very interesting things with their interconnected relaunch of Alien/Predator/Prometheus in comics. So far, each issue has been solid and while the stories are connected you don’t need to read one to enjoy the other.

Avengers and X-Men: AXIS #1 (Marvel) – Marvel’s next big event promises to flip things upside down. We’ll see how this one does.

Battling Boy: Rise of Aurora West Vol. 1 (First Second) – Battling Boy was one of our favorite graphic novels from last year. This is a prequel focused on the West family, and boy is it just as fun.

Birthright #1 (Skybound/Image) – For the Rhodes family, losing their son was the most devastating thing that could’ve ever occurred… but it couldn’t prepare them for what happened when he returned.

Black Science #9 (Image) – Conflict is the only constant, as the Dimensionauts are embroiled in a brutal war which threatens to engulf the fantastical land they are stranded in. But how can they uncover the horrible truth about the Pillar when every second is a fight to survive?

Jack Hammer: Usurper #1 (Action Lab Entertainment) – We love our noir, and the first volume of this series mixed a fun detective story with super powers.

Klarion #1 (DC Comics) – Klarion the Witch Boy makes his New 52 debut and stands for the forces of chaos in this new ongoing series! Yeah, this is one we didn’t see coming.

Punks: The Comic #1 (Image) – Dog, Skull, Fist, and Abe Lincoln live in a house, beat the #### out of each other, and frequently humiliate themselves. There is bleeding and sadness; Morrissey would likely approve. The cult hit comedy returns with new stories and a classic in the back.

Wytches #1 (Image) – Across the globe, century after century, men and women were burned, drowned, hanged, tortured, imprisoned, persecuted, and murdered for witchcraft. None of them were witches. They died protecting a terrible and hidden truth: witches, real witches, are out there. They are ancient, elusive, and deadly creatures that are rarely seen and even more rarely survived. A new horror series from Scott Snyder and Jock? Done!