Witchland: The Graphic Novel

My Rating

“Witchland: The Graphic Novel”

The house, none of the kids passed by it since the rumors began. “A Witch lives there”, they would say to friends and anyone who would listen. For the few skeptics still left at Richland high school, the peer pressure from true believers came in the form of taunts and double-dares.

“If you don’t believe us, go check it out for yourself”, was the typical ploy. “Just don’t take any of the Witch’s sticks!” Someone, presumably the Witch, placed a small pile of sticks stacked in a pyramid just outside the front door on the driveway. Tonight Brett’s girlfriend Shannon was the latest student to tempt fate by proving the story to be bogus. Would she get cancer just for taking one of the sticks? According to Brett’s friend Nick, another boy at school took one of the cursed sticks last year and was diagnosed with cancer just days later.

“It wouldn’t be from the Hanford Nuclear Power Plant nearby, would it”, Shannon retorted with contempt. “The boy did work there last summer, didn’t you know”. It was true. The residents of Richland were prone to developing cancer, but that was fifty years earlier when the plant used plutonium. People have been safe there ever since the plant updates were implemented years before the two were even born. The only logical solution for Brett’s friend of a friend was the Witch’s curse.

The two now stood in front of the sinister looking house. The property didn’t look abandoned, but the house and yard were definitely suffering from years of neglect. As Brett and the others had told Shannon, a pile of sticks awaited their arrival located fifteen feet from the front door. It was time to show these assholes all the rumors were bunk. With a little taunting, Shannon ran up to the sticks and laid waste to them with her right foot. The sticks flew in every direction, scattering on the cement driveway where they came to rest. To show her boyfriend she wasn’t playing around, Shannon sprinted to the front door and pressed the doorbell. “No”, Brett yelled.

It was too late. Shannon looked through the living room window into complete darkness. Then the woman appeared in silhouette form. Was it the Witch? It was hard for Shannon to tell. But within seconds she knew she had made a mistake. With a scream, Shannon turned and bolted back to the street from where she came. Wide eyed, Brett scalded her actions, but it didn’t matter. His girlfriend ran past him in pure terror. What had she seen? Was the legend true? They both stopped for a brief moment to look back at the driveway. The broken sticks had returned to their original position as if nothing had happened. How was that possible? Brett and Shannon never waited to find out.

Was there a Witch living in the quiet suburbs of Richland, Washington? Why were so many of Richland’s residents being diagnosed with cancer? Would the town’s newest Environmental Engineer discover the true history of the little girl who now haunts the city with Witch eyes? Collect the graphic novel to find out!

Reviewer Notes

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Tim Mulligan, the author of Witchland: The Graphic Novel. He asked if I would be interested in reviewing his one-hundred page horror story for the Relic Keep. As a fan of independent publishers and horror comics since the 1980’s I was more than happy to take a look. I received a PDF version of the book a few days later.

I had no expectations when I began reading Witchland, but I can say I was impressed by the quality of production here. I was unfamiliar with Highpoint Lit publishing but the company appears to offer multiple services for independent writers, which include market analysis as well as print on demand options. I would definitely check them out if you are looking to self publish your works and ideas.

The illustrations by Pyrink brought me back to the days of virgining publishers such as Dark Horse, Valiant, and First Comics. I loved those books as they introduced new art styles to comic book readers, who frankly had grown bored with the Jack Kirby inspired comic books done the “Marvel way”. The art in Witchland has a unique style reminiscent of the older Dark Horse horror books.

As a reader, I did find some of the panel layouts a little wonky on some of the pages of Witchland. In some parts the panels varied in size, making me guess if I was supposed to continue reading to the right, or follow downwards in a column formation. I know this has been an issue in the past even with Marvel and DC Comics books. Some artists would use arrows to lead the reader to the next panel in sequence. I’m not a fan of that practice, but I can only suggest a tighter alignment of rows and columns.

I did enjoy Tim Mulligan’s story as it included elements of the supernatural and real world science. The main story arc revolves around a non-traditional family who moves from Seattle to make a better life for themselves. Their fears of local bigotry are quickly overtaken by the presence of a supernatural force and the threat of radiation from a nearby environmental disaster. All this is topped off with a twist ending.

I must say I truly love movies and books like this one. Vanali, or “Van” for short, was definitely the breakout star of Witchland. I just wished he would have done less name dropping in his red wine induced rants. I’m not sure if Tim Mulligan is getting paid for product placements, but some scenes reminded me of the “Wayne’s World” movie. Was Van about to hold up a box of Tide laundry detergent? The constant use of real world product and company names became a bit annoying at times. Other than that, I’m waiting for some type of sequel starring Vanali and the high school student Shannon.

I’m giving Witchland: The Graphic Novel a solid three out of five stars. If you are into independent comic books and graphic novels definitely check this one out. You can find a copy of the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble today. I would like to thank Tim Mulligan again for introducing me to his book. Until next time…