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The Dark Horse Book of ... #2
The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft
The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft conjures up weird tales of horror and magic the likes of which one seldom sees in graphic novels. Mignola returns with another Hellboy story; Thompson (Scary Godmother) and Dorkin (Dork, Hectic Planet) return to their characters in the stunning "Stray" story, the surprise hit of the first volume in this series. Morse (Ancient Joe, Soulwind) presents an evocative and carefully researched tale of old Salem, digging into the madness of the accusations leveled there, which ended more than thirty lives in a few short months.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2004
3 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Scott Allie
240 books23 followersScott Allie is an American comics writer and editor, best known as an editor and executive at Dark Horse Comics from 1994 to 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 10, 2021
Muy bueno conceptualmente. Con una pequeña proporción de historia/bibliografía. la entrevista a la suma sacerdotisa Wicca. El arte en su gran mayoría es muy acertado. Y en cuanto a las historias y/o adaptaciones lo mas destacable es 'La Bruja Troll (historia de Hellboy por Mignola),"Los infamiliares" y en menor medida el relato ilustrado de "La madre de los Sapos" (clásico de Clark Ashton Smith). El resto de las historias, sinceramente, son bastante mediocres
October 1, 2017
definitely a lot weaker than the first volume of this collection. i feel like in the introduction he basically said 'we tried to subvert the idea that all witches are just gross old women / evil' or whatever but then besides the interview and maybe 1-2 other stories, they were all exactly like that. especially the frog woman story. and i'm so sick of the whole ~she was fat therefore she was disgusting~ trope. i didn't come here for that. the interview with the real life witch was probably in theory a good touch but i personally found it too cringeworthy to read more than a few lines. all in all this was definitely a flop for me.
October 15, 2017
Yeah, weak stuff! Liked only Hellboy and the graphics of Beast of Burden.
September 9, 2017
Outside of the Hellboy and Beasts of Burden stories nothing else caught my eye. Probably the weakest of the 4 Dark Horse Book of's.
May 2, 2018
Probably closer to 2.5 stars, but I’ll round up because Hellboy. Not a lot going for this collection, most of the stories didn’t leave an impression. I expected more from the stories based on the intro from the editor.
February 5, 2025
No ha estado mal, pero esperaba más, parece como que ninguna historia acaba del todo y se quedan cortas... El dibujo muy bueno, eso sí.
January 15, 2024
(3,2 of 5 for the poorest anthology of them all)
This anthology about witches has only two good and interesting stories and that's to no one surprise are again Beasts of Burden and Hellboy ones. The rest left my memory with ease, so I would not bother to make short evaluations of each. There is a lengthy interview with a "modern witch", which is kind of interesting, but doesn't convince me it's more than well-sorted esoterism that many women enjoy mixing in their interests in some form/amount (from horoscopes to feng shui).
This anthology about witches has only two good and interesting stories and that's to no one surprise are again Beasts of Burden and Hellboy ones. The rest left my memory with ease, so I would not bother to make short evaluations of each. There is a lengthy interview with a "modern witch", which is kind of interesting, but doesn't convince me it's more than well-sorted esoterism that many women enjoy mixing in their interests in some form/amount (from horoscopes to feng shui).
October 29, 2018
I really liked this book due to all the different types of writing styles and drawing styles shown in it. the short stories in it all depict something to do with some form or stereotype of witches. one of my favorite stories was the one of the girl that goes blind while trying to catch her sister peeping into an old lady's window, the old lady being the "witch". this one also had my favorite art. the little sister in bright white colors, while the teen sister was wearing darker colors, eventually wearing black, and the witch wore a black cloak. I think the sister's behavior is very relatable in that they're fighting and the older one does something for the younger one without them realizing. I think the message is just to not peep into others windows or you might see something you didn't want to see or that something life changing could happen. I totally think others should read this, especially with Halloween coming soon, it'll help you get into the spirit of things.
April 12, 2019
This was an interesting and different read with multiple stories about witches retold and reconfigured. Frankly, I don't think I will ever see a toad the same way again in my life! You'll have to read the story in order to understand why. The illustrations are great and many of the panels are so intricate that you want to study them closely.
March 28, 2009
Maybe my expectations were too high for this. But this did nothing for me. I came away asking myself why I had wasted my time.
First off, the cover illustration just did not get my attention. The inside was just as bad. There is no punch to the stories and the endings are not that; there are no endings. The one story in the book is mediocre at best and the interview, well I didn't get past the first few questions.
First off, the cover illustration just did not get my attention. The inside was just as bad. There is no punch to the stories and the endings are not that; there are no endings. The one story in the book is mediocre at best and the interview, well I didn't get past the first few questions.
January 9, 2009
This was pretty cool. T really liked the art (and the story) for the Clark Ashton Smith story (Mother of Toads). The interview with a real life wican high priestess was cool and the dog/cat story was surprisingly great. The Hellboy story was good too.
I've got another one of these collections that's about monsters so I'll probably check that out soon.
I've got another one of these collections that's about monsters so I'll probably check that out soon.
December 9, 2012
A collection of stories about witches plus one essay by a practicing Wiccan. The stories were so-so, the accompanying graphics were so-so. The essay 'The Truth about Witchcraft' by Phyllis Curott was very good, it presented Wicca in a manner that distances itself from many common misconceptions and places it in the shamanistic tradition.
August 19, 2009
Great anthology book. I especially enjoyed the Hellboy story as well as "The Unfamiliar", by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, where a cat and his dog friends try to save the world from an ancient evil. A good mix of humor and spookiness.
January 17, 2018
The book is a collection of stories which are: Macbeth, The Troll
Witch, Mother of Toads, The Flower Girl, The Gris-Gris, Golden Calf Blues, The Truth about Witchcraft, Salem and Mary Sibley, and Unfamiliar. The Troll Witch for example is part of the hellboy comic line, the story is concentrated on a troll who was birthed by a human after she ate the “bad” flower that had been given to her, and the troll’s live was terrible. The book has a lot of hardship in some way, or another.
The weaknesses of the book are minor concerning that the book is a collection so things like involvement are nonexistent, while the one thing this book has a lot of is controversial matters. The book itself is chalk full of the topic of witchcraft that will put some off, since due to their beliefs. There are points in the book that some will question: Like the humanoid cat god that is not wearing clothes, and other similar things. This one of the many things one could find offensive.
The strengths of the book are the different depictions of witchcraft, also It’s great exposure to girm dark topics, and setting. Along with its dieverseite for writing styles, and takes on the same subject. AS for this type of book is good for easy comparing of many different writing directions one can take when writing about things of a same nature. I personally like grim stores they have a charm of blunt realistic nature of the fantastical stores. If even that it was short, and while with many different things in it, I found it quite enjoyable.
There is some reasons the book may of had people attempt to ban it. Although wichcraft itself puts off a good number of people when the nastiness of the more descriptive acts of witchcraft come out. For this reason the book is’t for those who can’t handle it, but I feel like this is a good read for juniors to seniors in high school. The book may have uncomfortable topics, but we as people need to be able to talk about it. I will recommend this book for a decent read.
Witch, Mother of Toads, The Flower Girl, The Gris-Gris, Golden Calf Blues, The Truth about Witchcraft, Salem and Mary Sibley, and Unfamiliar. The Troll Witch for example is part of the hellboy comic line, the story is concentrated on a troll who was birthed by a human after she ate the “bad” flower that had been given to her, and the troll’s live was terrible. The book has a lot of hardship in some way, or another.
The weaknesses of the book are minor concerning that the book is a collection so things like involvement are nonexistent, while the one thing this book has a lot of is controversial matters. The book itself is chalk full of the topic of witchcraft that will put some off, since due to their beliefs. There are points in the book that some will question: Like the humanoid cat god that is not wearing clothes, and other similar things. This one of the many things one could find offensive.
The strengths of the book are the different depictions of witchcraft, also It’s great exposure to girm dark topics, and setting. Along with its dieverseite for writing styles, and takes on the same subject. AS for this type of book is good for easy comparing of many different writing directions one can take when writing about things of a same nature. I personally like grim stores they have a charm of blunt realistic nature of the fantastical stores. If even that it was short, and while with many different things in it, I found it quite enjoyable.
There is some reasons the book may of had people attempt to ban it. Although wichcraft itself puts off a good number of people when the nastiness of the more descriptive acts of witchcraft come out. For this reason the book is’t for those who can’t handle it, but I feel like this is a good read for juniors to seniors in high school. The book may have uncomfortable topics, but we as people need to be able to talk about it. I will recommend this book for a decent read.
June 24, 2015
Leido: “El Libro de las Brujas”, varios autores, colección Made in Hell de Dark Horse, publicada en español por editorial Norma, 2005.
Libro de cuentos en formato gráfico que tienen un tema en común: las brujas. Los cuentos son:
* Las brujas de Macbeth de William Shakespeare. En la obra original, la escena de las brujas es apenas una viñeta literaria, es decir, una escena sin historia, con personajes que no tienen peso en la trama, solamente sus accionnes. La adaptación al cómic es igual, tan sólo muestra el extracto que escribió Shakespeare, aunque el trabajo gráfico es brillante, mostrando la imaginería clásica de las brujas tal como lo marca la tradición medieval.
* La bruja troll de Mike Mignola. Un cuento de Hellboy, con todos sus elementos clásicos: una historia dura, no complaciente, difícil y amoral, y un desenlace muy raro (no malo, sólo raro) que pone a trabajar la mente, la imaginación y nuestros lineamientos éticos.
* La madre de los sapos de Clark Ashton Smith. Un relato en formato de texto. Quizá un poco fuera de lugar un un libro de historietas, pero completamente a sus anchas dado la temática tratada: una bruja que vive en medio de un pantano, enorme, horrible y obesa, tan parecida a un sapo que la apodan “la madre de los sapos”, trata de seducir a un joven mensajero por medio de engaños y una poción mágica.
* La chica de la flor de Scott Allie. Un relato mucho más contemporáneo y urbano, pero igual de escalofriante si se pone uno a reflexionar: dos hermanas, una apenas una niña y la otra ya adolescente, tratan de pasar unas horas solas en su casa mientras llega su mamá. Las travesuras y maldades de la niña llevan a la adolescente a tal nivel de exasperación que le da una bofetada en la cara a la niña; ésta, presa del dolor y la sorpresa, corre huyendo de su casa. Sin embargo, su carrera la acerca a una vieja casa abandonada; la adolescente, en su frenética carrera para alcanzar a su hermana, alcanza a ver por accidente a una bruja anciana rodeada de demonios, la alcanza una maldición y regresa a su casa con un ojo velado, como si ya estuviera enfocado a otro mundo. Al otro día la adolescente encuentra a la bruja para pedirle que le quite la maldición; la bruja le ofrece una flor para que la maldición recaiga en la niña y la adolescente se convierta en su pupila, con todos sus privilegios y poder; sin embargo, no le puede dar la flor a su hermana porque le pasaría la maldición, así que ambos ojos le quedan inutilizados en este mundo, pudiendo ver sólo “el otro universo” lleno de demonios.
* El gris-gris de Jim y Ruth Keegan. Una narración más clásica de brujería en el sur profundo de Estados Unidos, un terrateniente orgulloso, prepotente y fanfarrón ofende a un famoso duelista (la acción ocurre a fines del siglo XIX) y lo reta a un duelo a muerte. Presa del pánico recurre a una bruja, ella le dice que para matar a su contrincante necesitaría alguna pertenencia de él. Como el terrateniente no tiene pertenencias íntimas, la bruja le ofrece un poderoso amuleto llamado “Gris-Gris” que es un murciélago muerto envuelto en un hilo rojo, le advierte que es muy poderoso, concede lo que pidan, pero puede llegar a ser muy malo. Cuando el terrateniente le pregunta cuánto dinero quiere, ella le contesta que nada, pero que le de algo que a ella le guste, en su caso, su sombrero, pero al terrateniente le parece demasiado ridículo y se va de ahí. Al día siguiente, durante el duelo, el terrateniente en vez de empuñar la pistola y disparar, se encoge de miedo, el duelista, lleno de asco por la cobardía de su contrincante, dispara al suelo gritando que “la bala encuentra más honor en la tierra que en su piel cobarde”, el terrateniente aprovecha que está de espaldas y ya sin pistola ni balas y lo mata de un disparo. Cuando está huyendo en su caballo, encuentra a la bruja en su camino y le dice que ya debe pagar, puesto que el gris-gris ya cumplió su parte, pero el terrateniente alega que el amuleto no ayudó, que fue su actuación; en ese momento el gris-gris se vuelve malo, espanta al caballo para que se encabrite y caiga sobre el terrateniente, recupera la vida, se convierte en un murciélago amenazante mientras una niebla negra y espesa envuelve al terrateniente.
* El blues del becerro de oro de Mark Ricketts. Otro punto de vista de las tradiciones y leyendas del sur de Estados Unidos. En Nueva Orleans, ciudad musical, del blues y del jazz, se dice que la guitarra es invento del diablo, y los que saben tocarla bien es porque le vendieron el alma al diablo. Una señora le compra una guitarra muy barata a su hijo adolescente puesto que no le alcanza para un radio. El adolescente se aficiona a la guitarra y aprende a tocarla, pero solamente toca melodías tristes y melancólicas, de blues, no puede tocar bien ninguna otra. Toca tan bien que pronto atrae a más gente que la propia iglesia. Igual que la idolatría al becerro de oro predicha en la biblia.
* La verdad sobre la brujería; entrevista con Phyllis Curot. Es una de las promotoras más sobresalientes de la religión Wicca (la religión original de las brujas). Tiene doctorado en derecho y licenciatura en filosofía, además ya ha escrito tres libros acerca de la religión Wicca. Es una cháchara New Age, pero entretenida.
* Salem y Mary Sibley de Scott Morse. Una historieta sin historia, solamente con contenido gráfico (y sí, diálogos), sin embargo la historia que le sirvió de base es más interesante y le da sentido al cómic: es un homenaje a la caza de brujas en Salem, Massachussets: una de las declarantes de los “juicios” ya llevaba nueve años muerta, así fue como los puritanos “purgaron” a Nueva Inglaterra.
* Los infamiliares de Evan Dorkin. Un simpático cuento más de aventuras que de terror, pero sí de brujas: una manada de perros ven cómo su pueblo se va llenando de gatas negras y de mujeres de olor raro. Descubren que son brujas y que están a punto de despertar a una diosa destructora, también descubren que todas las involucradas deben ser mujeres (las brujas) o hembras (las gatas) y creyentes. Si introducen un elemento que no cumpla con esto, el hechizo no resulta y las creyentes van a sufrir las consecuencias. Pintan de negro a un gato parte de la pandilla, atrapan a una de las gatas negras y la sustituyen. Ya con él, el hechizo no funciona y la diosa destruye a las brujas y a las gatas. Y la manada salva a su pueblo.
Entretenida, sin llegar a ser muy brillante.
Libro de cuentos en formato gráfico que tienen un tema en común: las brujas. Los cuentos son:
* Las brujas de Macbeth de William Shakespeare. En la obra original, la escena de las brujas es apenas una viñeta literaria, es decir, una escena sin historia, con personajes que no tienen peso en la trama, solamente sus accionnes. La adaptación al cómic es igual, tan sólo muestra el extracto que escribió Shakespeare, aunque el trabajo gráfico es brillante, mostrando la imaginería clásica de las brujas tal como lo marca la tradición medieval.
* La bruja troll de Mike Mignola. Un cuento de Hellboy, con todos sus elementos clásicos: una historia dura, no complaciente, difícil y amoral, y un desenlace muy raro (no malo, sólo raro) que pone a trabajar la mente, la imaginación y nuestros lineamientos éticos.
* La madre de los sapos de Clark Ashton Smith. Un relato en formato de texto. Quizá un poco fuera de lugar un un libro de historietas, pero completamente a sus anchas dado la temática tratada: una bruja que vive en medio de un pantano, enorme, horrible y obesa, tan parecida a un sapo que la apodan “la madre de los sapos”, trata de seducir a un joven mensajero por medio de engaños y una poción mágica.
* La chica de la flor de Scott Allie. Un relato mucho más contemporáneo y urbano, pero igual de escalofriante si se pone uno a reflexionar: dos hermanas, una apenas una niña y la otra ya adolescente, tratan de pasar unas horas solas en su casa mientras llega su mamá. Las travesuras y maldades de la niña llevan a la adolescente a tal nivel de exasperación que le da una bofetada en la cara a la niña; ésta, presa del dolor y la sorpresa, corre huyendo de su casa. Sin embargo, su carrera la acerca a una vieja casa abandonada; la adolescente, en su frenética carrera para alcanzar a su hermana, alcanza a ver por accidente a una bruja anciana rodeada de demonios, la alcanza una maldición y regresa a su casa con un ojo velado, como si ya estuviera enfocado a otro mundo. Al otro día la adolescente encuentra a la bruja para pedirle que le quite la maldición; la bruja le ofrece una flor para que la maldición recaiga en la niña y la adolescente se convierta en su pupila, con todos sus privilegios y poder; sin embargo, no le puede dar la flor a su hermana porque le pasaría la maldición, así que ambos ojos le quedan inutilizados en este mundo, pudiendo ver sólo “el otro universo” lleno de demonios.
* El gris-gris de Jim y Ruth Keegan. Una narración más clásica de brujería en el sur profundo de Estados Unidos, un terrateniente orgulloso, prepotente y fanfarrón ofende a un famoso duelista (la acción ocurre a fines del siglo XIX) y lo reta a un duelo a muerte. Presa del pánico recurre a una bruja, ella le dice que para matar a su contrincante necesitaría alguna pertenencia de él. Como el terrateniente no tiene pertenencias íntimas, la bruja le ofrece un poderoso amuleto llamado “Gris-Gris” que es un murciélago muerto envuelto en un hilo rojo, le advierte que es muy poderoso, concede lo que pidan, pero puede llegar a ser muy malo. Cuando el terrateniente le pregunta cuánto dinero quiere, ella le contesta que nada, pero que le de algo que a ella le guste, en su caso, su sombrero, pero al terrateniente le parece demasiado ridículo y se va de ahí. Al día siguiente, durante el duelo, el terrateniente en vez de empuñar la pistola y disparar, se encoge de miedo, el duelista, lleno de asco por la cobardía de su contrincante, dispara al suelo gritando que “la bala encuentra más honor en la tierra que en su piel cobarde”, el terrateniente aprovecha que está de espaldas y ya sin pistola ni balas y lo mata de un disparo. Cuando está huyendo en su caballo, encuentra a la bruja en su camino y le dice que ya debe pagar, puesto que el gris-gris ya cumplió su parte, pero el terrateniente alega que el amuleto no ayudó, que fue su actuación; en ese momento el gris-gris se vuelve malo, espanta al caballo para que se encabrite y caiga sobre el terrateniente, recupera la vida, se convierte en un murciélago amenazante mientras una niebla negra y espesa envuelve al terrateniente.
* El blues del becerro de oro de Mark Ricketts. Otro punto de vista de las tradiciones y leyendas del sur de Estados Unidos. En Nueva Orleans, ciudad musical, del blues y del jazz, se dice que la guitarra es invento del diablo, y los que saben tocarla bien es porque le vendieron el alma al diablo. Una señora le compra una guitarra muy barata a su hijo adolescente puesto que no le alcanza para un radio. El adolescente se aficiona a la guitarra y aprende a tocarla, pero solamente toca melodías tristes y melancólicas, de blues, no puede tocar bien ninguna otra. Toca tan bien que pronto atrae a más gente que la propia iglesia. Igual que la idolatría al becerro de oro predicha en la biblia.
* La verdad sobre la brujería; entrevista con Phyllis Curot. Es una de las promotoras más sobresalientes de la religión Wicca (la religión original de las brujas). Tiene doctorado en derecho y licenciatura en filosofía, además ya ha escrito tres libros acerca de la religión Wicca. Es una cháchara New Age, pero entretenida.
* Salem y Mary Sibley de Scott Morse. Una historieta sin historia, solamente con contenido gráfico (y sí, diálogos), sin embargo la historia que le sirvió de base es más interesante y le da sentido al cómic: es un homenaje a la caza de brujas en Salem, Massachussets: una de las declarantes de los “juicios” ya llevaba nueve años muerta, así fue como los puritanos “purgaron” a Nueva Inglaterra.
* Los infamiliares de Evan Dorkin. Un simpático cuento más de aventuras que de terror, pero sí de brujas: una manada de perros ven cómo su pueblo se va llenando de gatas negras y de mujeres de olor raro. Descubren que son brujas y que están a punto de despertar a una diosa destructora, también descubren que todas las involucradas deben ser mujeres (las brujas) o hembras (las gatas) y creyentes. Si introducen un elemento que no cumpla con esto, el hechizo no resulta y las creyentes van a sufrir las consecuencias. Pintan de negro a un gato parte de la pandilla, atrapan a una de las gatas negras y la sustituyen. Ya con él, el hechizo no funciona y la diosa destruye a las brujas y a las gatas. Y la manada salva a su pueblo.
Entretenida, sin llegar a ser muy brillante.
November 7, 2020
“Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.
Harpier cries ’Tis time, ’tis time.
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw!
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first in the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
This anthology of witch-based stories is a fun little read. It opens with the classic three witches scene from William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Also included is a short story from Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others, an interview with High Priestess Phyllis Curott, and a number of short stories based around witchcraft.
I found it a little lacking in places but this series of Dark Horse horror anthologies looks interesting.
Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.
Harpier cries ’Tis time, ’tis time.
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw!
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first in the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
This anthology of witch-based stories is a fun little read. It opens with the classic three witches scene from William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Also included is a short story from Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others, an interview with High Priestess Phyllis Curott, and a number of short stories based around witchcraft.
I found it a little lacking in places but this series of Dark Horse horror anthologies looks interesting.
June 4, 2017
This is basically a collection of short story comics, written and illustrated by a bunch of different writers and artists. The biggest name is probably Mike Mignola with a Hellboy short.
The stories, while all based around witchcraft, they are all different in tone, style and art, which makes them all at least interesting and very different from each other and not boring. In the kind of arc the stories have, they seem like Twilight Zone stories in the way they are all constructed. The problem is that none of them really appealed to me. None were really that bad, but then none really gripped or shone through. Many had interesting threads in them but nothing to make them really stand out and stay in my mind. In the middle, an interview with a modern-day witch is thrown in, where she discusses how she became a witch and a short history lesson on witches.
As a short curious read, this won’t take too long to read then go ahead. If perhaps if it features a writer/artist you like or you just have a liking for the supernatural and witchcraft then there’s nothing to really put people off. Otherwise it seems like if you don’t read it you won’t be missing anything.
The stories, while all based around witchcraft, they are all different in tone, style and art, which makes them all at least interesting and very different from each other and not boring. In the kind of arc the stories have, they seem like Twilight Zone stories in the way they are all constructed. The problem is that none of them really appealed to me. None were really that bad, but then none really gripped or shone through. Many had interesting threads in them but nothing to make them really stand out and stay in my mind. In the middle, an interview with a modern-day witch is thrown in, where she discusses how she became a witch and a short history lesson on witches.
As a short curious read, this won’t take too long to read then go ahead. If perhaps if it features a writer/artist you like or you just have a liking for the supernatural and witchcraft then there’s nothing to really put people off. Otherwise it seems like if you don’t read it you won’t be missing anything.
August 6, 2018
This YA anthology is a beautifully illustrated collection of stories by various artists and authors, but the crown gem for me is the interview with Phyllis Curott. Her interview is concise and intelligent. It is a great introduction to what Wicca and being a witch is truly about. And it dispels all the superstitious and misguided stereotypes demonstrated in the stories included in this book. I highly recommend this collection simply for the interview, if you are curious about learning the truth about Wicca.
August 6, 2021
Highlights for me included "The Truth About Witchcraft: An Interview with High Priestess Phyllis Curott" and the extraordinarily well written "Mother of Toads" by Clark Ashton Smith. One of the finest pieces I've ever read- it's like the sirloin of writing for you fans of reading out there.
Cool art, some okay stories.
Cool art, some okay stories.
February 29, 2024
Una antología que recoge diferentes relatos de varios autores en relación a las brujas, como toda antología, la calidad de los relatos varían. Una historia corta, entretenida, y con algunos relatos buenos 🙌
September 2, 2017
I enjoyed most of the stories. I could have done without the interview though.
January 17, 2018
Beautifully composed.
November 4, 2024
A mixed collection of short stories, an interview with an actual modern day witch all of which focus on various aspects, factual, imagined, of witch behaviour
November 5, 2025
Some good, some not so great, but overall a pretty decent collection.
May 31, 2012
When someone suggested I read this series ("The Dark Horse Book Of...") I figured it had to be good, because Dark Horse puts out so much that I DO like... but this is proof that a name on the cover of a book isn't always a gaurentee of what's inside.
Filled with both graphic novel style stories and written text stories with a few illustrations, this book was a mixed bag for me.
Some of the stories were a hit- and I loved them. A few left me boggling at the art or story and wondering why someone thought it was a good idea to add it in there.
What the book DOES do, it take a stab at showing the progression of how society views witches and witchcraft.
Alas, in the middle of the book is a prolonged 'real life interview' with a real long time practicing witch. Now, this is fine and all, but what's it got to do with stories and art?
Nothing.
In fact, as a practicing pagan myself, I found myself bored and faintly offended at her 'I know it all' mentality- and I ended up feeling like that was the biggest waste of pages in the book.
Of course, if you don't KNOW about modern witchcraft or those who call themselves Witches, Wiccans, or similar... well. It might be a facinating topic, and you might love it being there.
All in all, this book wasn't half bad, and I intend to explore the series further. Sometimes, when you like SOME of the book, but not other parts, it just means that different people will like different parts- and you never know, what I disliked might be the part you liked best. Check it out and see.
February 27, 2015
Another collection of tales from the folks at Dark Horse, this one focusing on the dark arts of witchcraft.
To kick it off in high style after Scott Allie's introduction, we get an illustrated version of Macbeth's witches. There is another Hellboy tale, "The Troll Witch" and a Beasts of Burden story called "Unfamiliar," both of which are excellent. Also included is a Clark Ashton Smith story illustrated by Gary Gianni, along with an interview with Wiccan High Priestess Phyllis Curott. Of course there is a story from Salem, and a creepy, beautifully drawn tale called "The Flower Girl."
Some good stories with fantastic artwork, just like The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings.
To kick it off in high style after Scott Allie's introduction, we get an illustrated version of Macbeth's witches. There is another Hellboy tale, "The Troll Witch" and a Beasts of Burden story called "Unfamiliar," both of which are excellent. Also included is a Clark Ashton Smith story illustrated by Gary Gianni, along with an interview with Wiccan High Priestess Phyllis Curott. Of course there is a story from Salem, and a creepy, beautifully drawn tale called "The Flower Girl."
Some good stories with fantastic artwork, just like The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings.
Read
July 28, 2011It's rare that I read horror fiction because the quotidian world is scary enough, between wars, crimes local and not-so, racism in its various cryptic and not-so-cryptic forms. I had bought this book for Evan Dorkin's and Jill Thompson's tales of intrepid dogs and cats vs. a witch's famililar and acolytes of Sekhmet, but avidly read the others. I especially appreciated "Mother of Toads," a story by the mostly-forgotten horror-pulp author of the 1930's, Clark Ashton Smith. Expect to be fascinated and horrified, in a good way, I think.
July 8, 2020
Ocho relatos de varios equipos creativos a los que se agrega una entrevista a la Suma Sacerdotisa Wicca Phyllis Curott... La irregular colección Made in Hell no estuvo escasa de títulos interesantes como THE DARK HORSE BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT, donde destaca un buen puñado de historias como "La Bruja Troll" de Mike Mignola; el clásico de Clark Ashton Smith "La Reina de los Sapos"; la maldad implícita en "La Chica de la Flor" y una incursión contra la brujería de "The Beasts of Burden" que rompe su tono usualmente triste. Ratas rojas, gatos parlantes, un perro o un puerco y un hombre de negro...
November 23, 2012
Unlike "The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings" ...Witchcraft is definitely for an adult reader. A few of the stories are overtly sexual, in appropriately creepy ways. This collection plays up gender insecurities and stereotypes of witchcraft, without being misogynist. Mignola's Hellboy and Clark Ashton Smith's "The Mother of Toads" are standout tales that will provide multiple re-reads. Long interview in the middle with the head witch in America was surprisingly enlightening and engaging.
October 20, 2010
A thoroughly average graphic novel with a hodge-podge of stories about Witches. I particularly enjoyed both the plot and the art of Mignola’s Hellboy entry of “The Troll Witch” and Jill Thompson’s “The Unfamiliar.” The interview with the “real Witch” was a bit self-righteous and quite unentertaining. Otherwise, the stories were disappointingly average.
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