Wytches #2

Similar to his previous issue, Scott Snyder ensures that his introduction to “Wytches #2” immediately captures readers’ attention. The first page of this issue is an excerpt of a children’s book that the father created. The story is illustrated in a completely different art style and colour scheme from the remainder of the issue to keep it separate from being a part of the character’s lives and make it clear that it is a different story. However, instead of simply showing the father sitting at a desk and working on creating a children’s book, Snyder actually dedicates a full page preview of the book for his readers to examine, and even includes legible text to confirm that the story should be read. This is how we know that this story is important to the remainder of the issue, and it certainly is. As the father explains what the story is about, the moral of his children’s book of being careful what you wish for connects to the similar message in “Wytches”. Placing it as the introduction to this issue also juxtaposes the lighthearted innocence of the story against the violent and evil plot of “Wytches”. Furthermore, it foreshadows the idea that Sailor needs to be constantly aware of herself and her surroundings, as things are not always as they appear to be.

Something that immediately stood out to me in this issue was the way Snyder constructed memories. Often times, when a character was speaking and reflecting back on a time, Snyder changes the scene back to the memory but still includes the voice over from the previous scene as if the character was narrating the memory. The way this was conducted reminded me of how it would be done in a film. I found it interesting to consider how Snyder does not include a narrator throughout the issue, but in this way, he has his character’s voices function as a narrator to report the occurrences of what I think he considers to be important scenes.

Aside from a complete change in colour scheme between scenes, another way that he includes a change of scene is at the end of the issue during two intense and action-filled scenes. Each turn of the page jumps back and forth between these two scenes to overwhelm the reader with an abundance of distorting chaos. It is also important to note that his choice of digitally constructing this comic made this technique very effective, as one simple click of the mouse can allow this transition to occur smoothly. A hard copy of this comic would have still allowed for a smooth transition in physically turning each page, but it would have still been a different experience.

I also noticed many ways Snyder emphasizes intensity in conversations. He includes many close ups and extreme close ups, which often makes the reader feel a little uncomfortable. 

He will also sometimes create one panel outside of a frame and make it a little larger than the other images on the page. While this technique certainly forces the reader’s eye primarily to that image, I noticed that this was often done to invoke a sense of sympathy with characters.

He also included more regularized paneling throughout the beginning of the comic, when more basic and simple conversations were taking place, and switched over to more irregular and chaotic paneling schemes as the story progressed in intensity.

Another common feature in this comic that also occurred in Snyder’s previous issue is his technique of placing all of the panels over one large image that acts as the background, as well as the gutter space for the other panels. I believe that this is used to give the reader an overall sense of what will be occurring on the page as they initially take it all in before reading, using Groensteen’s idea of spatio topia.

When considering the idea of world building in this new realm that includes witches, Snyder uses elements of Genette’s archetextuality concept to set up expectations for the reader. The reader is already expecting a horror comic, considering the elements of paratextuality in the title and cover page. Therefore, including the dark and ominous colour schemes adds to this idea as readers begin reading, and the horror tone is easily and immediately set.

As I began reading the second issue in this series, I immediately recognized the amount of braiding from the last issue and realized the importance of having to read the previous chapter. Similar strategies were implemented, such as paint splatters across pages to represent the presence of the witches and more hints about the mother’s accident. Although I have never read a comic series before, choosing to read two consecutive issues allowed me to notice the importance of starting from the beginning of a series.

Snyder includes many elements of reflexivity in the end of the comic, just like his previous issue. As he breaks down the production process and offers the reader an authorial awareness with an insight on his own personal life, it certainly adds a personal touch and builds a relationship between the reader and the creator. Furthermore, he includes a preview of the next issue to help build anticipation and leave the reader wanting to purchase the next chapter.

I did feel, however, that although it is only the second issue, Snyder still makes the second issue feel like an extended version of an introduction. It seemed like there were many stories being introduced in this issue but not enough answers or even things that kept the story moving. I believe that his intention is presumably to keep the reader wanting to learn more but I felt that there was not enough plot offered to keep me interested thus far. Although I do not think I will be continuing to purchase these issues, I really admired the way Snyder constructed “Wytches” and enjoyed analyzing his choices to discover how meaning was created.