Pledged is pledged is pledged. Never have those words been more frightening as in the pages of Scott Snyder’s Wytches, a horror comic series from Image that just wrapped its first story arc in terrifying fashion.
I’ve been on the fence with Wytches for a while now. The first two issues really hooked me into this frightening world that Snyder and artist Jock had created where these monstrous Wytches creeped me out. However, during the mid-way point I became less captivated and more distracted by the over stylized color scheme layered on top of Jock’s work courtesy of Matt Hollingsworth. In large spreads the colors look gorgeous but when you’re trying to tell the more frantic and action packed moments of the story – it becomes too jarring and confusing to look at. In other words — I am not a fan of it – not in the slightest.
The behind the scenes content in the back of the issues shows a before and after of the coloring process and every single “before” shot of Jock’s pencils – looks far superior in my opinion. I’ve not had this problem in other comics but I guess I feel that less is more when it comes to telling a horror story such as this one… Maybe I’m missing the ball and the coloring technique is too important to the dark and supernatural atmosphere of Wytches. That’s up to you to decide.
Issue #6 was so stellar and action packed AND emotionally explosive that despite my grievances with the coloring, I was still hooked from start to finish as Snyder wraps up the first story arc in perfect fashion. So much so that the statements echoed by a main character are as if Snyder himself is speaking to the readers about where this story is headed and why. It’s brilliant really.
The reasoning behind Sailor’s pledging to the Wytches is explained and it’s a heartbreaking twist that truly stunned me… It leads to not one but multiple major character fatalities and we’re now thrust into a new direction as this series marches onward. Sailor’s father Charlie was spectacular here – from start to finish he’s truly the hero of issue #6 and the way he battles the Wytches in his own home was probably the highlight of the series thus far.
If you’re able to look past the acid-induced colors of the series then I urge you to continue Wytches, but as glorious as this final chapter was, I’m still not sure it was enough for me to personally look past the jarring nature of the visuals going forward. Wytches is one of the most unique books out there today so it comes as no surprise that it would have that love it or leave it factor.