Wytches, Vol. 1

This monster-fighter origin story masquerades as a damsel-in-distress tale. Wytches follows the Rook family as they move to a small town in the wake of several family tragedies, only to find something much worse in the New Hampshire woods. Writer Snyder (Batman, The Wake) deftly weaves myths and folktales of New England witchcraft together with modern rural monster fiction. Art from Jock (The Losers, Detective Comics) strikes the right balance between family drama and creepy underground monster chases, and the colors by Matt Hollingsworth (Hawkeye) make the scary scenes even scarier. Sometimes Jock and Hollingsworth’s art can make things difficult to discern, but this always feels on-genre and intentional. Flashbacks of the Rook’s tragic past are spring-colored and bright, but the modern-day horrors are rendered with autumnal reds and browns. The book underplays teenage Sailor Rooks’s attempts to fit in at a new high school, but then that’s already well-worn territory for stories like this. As it stands, Wytches is a strong, symbol-heavy starting point for a new take on what lurks just beyond the shadows. (July)