[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Ben Blacker
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Colors: Marissa Louise
Letters: Josh Reed
Summary
This issue picks up with the cliffhanger from issue #2, Isadora has discovered a strange old woman in a room behind a bookshelf in her house. The woman claims to be her mother and tells her she is a witch. Isadora is completely befuddled by her words. Aaron arrives fairly quickly and tries to convince Isadora that she’s seeing things. Isadora’s not sure what to think, but Aaron clubs her over the head with Jeannie’s bottle (as in I Dream of Jeannie).
The next morning, Isadora gets a story from Aaron about how she fell out of bed. He’s conveniently created a kitchen mess with an “I’m a helpless man in the kitchen” verbiage for her to clean up before he goes to work. When he does go to work, he and the other husbands are spying on their witch wives. It pays off as the get nervous when they hear them talking about the medications they are on. Aaron pulls up soon in a fancy rental car and offers to take everyone on a celebratory picnic for a big deal the men have landed at work. They end up at the end of the road where the fire encircles the city. It’s clear that the women don’t really understand what’s going on and find the random fire to be “normal.”
Greg, one of the husbands, makes an attempt to breach the fire, but it ends up burning him and getting him taken to the hospital. It’s all a ploy by the men to distract their wives from the discussion of their medications. The next day, Isadora visits Greg’s wife. She’s in a state and their daughter is attending to his needs, as he’s been released and returned home. On her way home, she runs into Rebeckah who’s tending her garden. After Isadore leaves, Rebeckah ends up confronting Greg and Mabel’s cat, who’s making a mess of her garden. It ends up with a “de-cat-itaion,” but Rebeckah learns something even more terrifying in the event!
Positives
It’s nice to learn that the witches are in the dark about their true nature. They aren’t simply playing a game with the men. They genuinely don’t know, and it won’t last for long, now that Rebeckah has made a discovery. Rebeckah’s discovery ties in nicely with what Isadora’s mother told her.
There are more mysteries still unsolved, and as long as one is revealed per issue or two. The pace of this story is just right. It wouldn’t be wise to unveil everything at once, but you’ve got to give the reader a little something, which the team is doing.
It may just be me, but I feel like Aaron is going to surprise us at some point and turn things in a completely different direction. The cover to this issue is the tell this time.
Whether likable or unlikable, the characterization is very strong in this series. While the mystery and backstory are interesting, it’s the characters that are slowly being built that will make or break this series.
Negatives
No real negatives. It’s a unique world that is slowly being revealed, and as long as that continues and the characters develop, there won’t be.
Verdict
If you liked the first two issues of this series, or at least found them intriguing, this issue sets the course for what comes next. You probably aren’t pulling for the husbands, so you’ll be glad to know at least one of the wives gets a win in this issue There’s a complexity here that should it remain, will make this not just a really good series, but an excellent series.
