Dark Horse Comics 2016
Written by Kate Leth
Illustrated by Megan Levens
Coloured by Marissa Louise
Three young witches are robbed of their magical items, and they’ll have to hit the road to track down the mysterious thief before he does any damage to—or with—their possessions.
This was cute I enjoyed the way Kate not only sets up the story but her depiction of these three friends. A coven of three, yes much like Charmed, who reside in Massachusetts. While they are working a fair their home is broken into by someone who is looking for very specific items and seems to be having a hard time of it. While there are no magical traps per se there are things there that tend to get in his way and keeps pricking his fingers. It’s an interesting way to open things up really. Dual opening seeing the break-in and the girls at work.
It becomes very clear though that at least one is very in tune with the house and magical wardings placed upon it. They know someone is there and rush home. While this may seem straight up it’s not it’s really about the way Kate showcases the triggers and the feelings the girls have when this happens. She manages to create a scenario where these are real actual witches whose cover is excellent and creative. She also sets up the scenario where the guy doing the break-in knows their secret and has a very specific reason for doing what he’s doing.
The characterisation here is incredibly strong as we get to see how the girls compliment one another personality wise. A glimpse into each of their specialities. I love the reaction to them getting home and realising the full scope of the situation. How each of them reacts to the event of the break-in is really well done. We definitely see a clear sense of who the “leader” is and how confident in personality the girls are. It’s hard not to like them and feel for them as we get to know them.
Megan and Marissa do a really nice job of making this feel like an all-ages book with an edge in the work they do on the interiors. The use of page layouts with angles and perspective are well done. The use of backgrounds is nice to see, too many folks nowadays ignore them largely but here it gives us a chance to get to know them better through their surrounds, see home furnishings.
The direction seems to be like Charmed meets Thelma and Louise as the girls go on a road trip to retrieve the stolen items. We’ll see who they meet along the way as they attempt to get their stuff back and maybe vanquish a few baddies who knows? All I know is that this is the kind of story that melds a few recognisable elements and creates something brand new that’s fun, entertaining and has the promise to it of something great.
This is a book for everyone and anyone who likes good entertaining stories. There’s an innocence and edge to it that balance each other out nicely. Oooh Charlie’s Angels if it were coven of witches that’s it that’s what the potential here is!