So maybe I didn’t read as many comic books as I thought I would, but it was still a good week off. I decided that I wanted to return to one or two series for the next few reviews that I perhaps had begun to lose hope in or didn’t give a proper chance initially. The first of these series was the ‘Scarlet Witch’ series of which I had only read the first novel. I had really slated that one, so it could only get better from here on in for me. Right? Right Marvel?
‘World of Witchcraft’ is almost an anthology novel. Composed of several different stories, it sees Wanda travel the world to meet other magic users. The first issue sees our titular hero travel to France where she is looking for their famed hero, ’Le Faucon Pèlerin’, aka the Peregrine. It appears that this winged wonder has stopped fighting crime and when confronted by Wanda, it seems that heartbreak is to blame. After an attack on the city, Alain, the Peregrine was unable to save his wife in an accident and thus finds himself obsolete. The next story has Wanda go to Hong Kong where she teams up with Alice, the daughter of a famous witch, ‘August Wu of the Coral Shore’. Alice is now a semi-magical detective who solves all the crimes where paranormal activities are involved. Together the two heroines go after one of Hong Kong’s darkest Warlocks; ’The Dark Tongji’. The third story, which is arguably the most interesting depicts several scenes between Wanda and her therapist, Dr Roland Grand. Over the issue, however, a lot of mysteries are discussed and it appears that both characters may not be exactly who they say they are. The next story sees Quicksilver come to visit his sister and the two siblings discuss this latest Civil War between Captain Marvel and Iron Man. Although brother and sister have stood side by side for years, it appears that both have grown up from outside of each others’ shadows. The final story regarding Wanda sees her travel to Japan to investigate the death of Hiroshi Tanaka, the Aoi Master of Kyoto. Visiting friend and foe, she attempts to find the real killer. But can she do it in time? And just who follows her on this journey?
Straight off the bat, I’m usually not a fan of anthology stories. I find that they’re rarely executed well and if one of the stories is lacklustre then the rest of the novel suffers. This novel though? It didn’t have that problem! Each story was different and intriguing in its own way and the more it went on, the more exciting it got. I thought there was a lot more character development than the first novel and I actually liked the Scarlet Witch in this novel. I liked the issue with Pietro because I think that as Wanda has catapulted to the height of popularity, she’s left her brother in obscurity. It was pretty fascinating to see the relationship between the two because I always felt that Pietro was the rash and somewhat stupid one, but he thought that was Wanda? Damn.
The artwork for each issue was different and I don’t think any of them were bad. The styles were unique and I especially enjoyed the issue based in Japan. The covers, on the other hand, were a little bland and unfortunately, there weren’t any variant covers to be used. Overall, this was a good novel and it did relight the spark of interest in the character. Maybe this series can be redeemed!
Favourite Panel:
These two have an odd relationship.
Favourite Character:
Wanda is honestly such a grounded character in this series. It’s interesting to see the stark difference between who she used to be from who she is now.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★½
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★★★
Level: Advanced