Wytches: Bad Egg is a great jumping-on point for newcomers to this wonderfully haunting series by Scott Snyder. If you haven’t read the previous issues, that’s okay, because we’re given what’s essentially a crash course into the lore of Wytches.
Seb’s mother is a member of “The Irons” which, essentially, hunts down Wytches. He comes to learn about all of this relatively quickly after being almost used as a sacrifice to feed a baby Wytch. Of course, it just so happens that Seb’s new friend next door is part of a family of “High Born” Wytches who Seb and his mother have to eliminate. The question becomes, though, are their fates truly sealed? Or can you break your own destiny?
It’s the perfect comic to read during this time of haunting atmosphere. You understand that everything that is going on is wrong, as though we shouldn’t be looking into the lives of this mother and son, yet you can’t turn away. And the more you look, the more you realize how screwed up everything is. It’s fantastic.
Sometimes, a story with deep lore has issues conveying the story, and, sometimes, the exposition can be clunky and/or awkward, especially if the story is short in length. That is not the case with this story, though. The lore is told through a natural progression that smoothly glides the story forward, almost like we aren’t unconsciously being told the background. There are many examples of this sprinkled throughout the comic, yet one of the best examples has to be through a homework assignment. Seb starts off sarcastically doing his homework (writing down a family tree) that soon becomes a history lesson regarding The Irons and their hunting of Wytches and Sucklers. It would be very obvious that this was just a cruel trick to insert exposition if it wasn’t done so well.
The overall plot itself is enticing. I found my heart beating quickly from terrified about what might happen to Seb and Jackson. Of course, fearing for the main characters isn’t the only impact caused by the story. It makes you yearn for a better and happier story while keeping you engrossed in everything. You can credit Snyder, the masterful storyteller, and JOCK, whose art complements and completes the story. In fact, I’d go so far to say that if there was any other illustrator, the story would just seem too silly.
Wytches: Bad Egg is the perfect comic for anyone looking for that extra slice of macabre in their daily life.
Creative Team: Scott Snyder (writer), JOCK (artist), Matt Hollingsworth (colorist), Clem Robins (letterer)
Publisher: Image Comics
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