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The Witching Hour #1
The secret spell to controlling the universe is contained in this anthology! Also included are nine new supernatural tales by a coven of the best writers and artists VERTIGO could cram into 70 pages. Practice witchcraft with VERTIGO and destroy all men!
80 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2013
96 people want to read
About the author
Toby Litt
89 books208 followersToby Litt was born in Bedfordshire, England. He studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury, winning the 1995 Curtis Brown Fellowship.
He lived in Prague from 1990 to 1993 and published his first book, a collection of short stories entitled Adventures in Capitalism, in 1996.
In 2003 Toby Litt was nominated by Granta magazine as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists'.
In 2018, he published Wrestliana, his memoir about wrestling, writing, losing and being a man.
His novel, A Writer's Diary, was published by Galley Beggar Press on January 1st 2022.
A Writer's Diary continues daily on Substack.
He lives in London and is the Head of Creative Writing at the University of Southampton.
He lived in Prague from 1990 to 1993 and published his first book, a collection of short stories entitled Adventures in Capitalism, in 1996.
In 2003 Toby Litt was nominated by Granta magazine as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists'.
In 2018, he published Wrestliana, his memoir about wrestling, writing, losing and being a man.
His novel, A Writer's Diary, was published by Galley Beggar Press on January 1st 2022.
A Writer's Diary continues daily on Substack.
He lives in London and is the Head of Creative Writing at the University of Southampton.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 7, 2015
Spellbinding reading!
This is one-shot comic book published under the label of “Vertigo Comics” featuring nine different short illustrated stories made by nine different creative teams.
The general rating is based in the average sum of the individual ratings given to each short story contained in the book.
Cover art: Jenny Frison
DANIEL
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer & Illustrator: Steve Beach
Amusing tale, set in a typical contemporary All-American neighborhood, about three female kids which they are witches (in training, I guess) and that after bonding a friendship with an old man, they serve as a conduit during a seance to give a message to him from a very close person who was gone long ago.
Good chracters, cool artwork, but I felt that the ending lacks of some punch, still quite enjoyable reading.
BIRDIE
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Lauren Beukes
Illustrator: Gerhard Human
Crafty story, set in the future (2020) at the town of Atlantis, part of the city of Cape Town, South Africa, featuring a young girl with a fame of being able to speak to the dead and delivering messages from them but in a particular system. Due her notoriety a mob boss sends for her to check if a recent dead talked about him or his operations, however no one can control whose dead one(s) will be eager to deliver a message to which live one(s).
Great characters, the artwork could be better but it works fine, and an excellent development of the story taking in account the limitations of pages in the comic book.
MARS TO STAY
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
Writer: Brett Lewis
Illustrator: Cliff Chiang
Mind-blowing adventure, set in the future at the planet of Mars, where exploration teams have been sent through financing of commercial sponsors which sell the live feed of the mission to Cable TV audiences. Big Brother comes to Mars!!! There are already two teams at Mars, one American, one Japanese, but when a third team is crossing the red planet’s atmosphere, those get burn along with key supplies for the survival of the first two teams. And the “good” news? TV ratings are getting low having many sponsors to stop giving money, therefore “Mission Control” (more likely the TV show production) is unable to send a replacement third team with the much needed supplies. What happens in Mars... stays in Mars!!!
And the story is just beginning...
Well defined characters, acceptable artwork, a priceless premise with inventive setting and technology, definitely the best story of the bunch.
THIS WITCH’S WORK
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Annie Mok
Illustrator: Emily Carroll
A very brief account about a kinda paranormal technique to deal with overwhelming gruesome unfair events in life.
The story is too brief but it works enough to deliver its sad but powerful message.
LEGS
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Illustrator: Ming Doyle
Creepy good tale about how relevant is that you hear your mother when you are still a kid. If she tells you to do something for your own safety... listen to hear! Not matter how sillly it may sounds the warning... Mothers know best! Or, you will developed a very unusual lifestyle when you’d be a grown-up. Maybe your life won’t be so bad, but those around you will be quite unfortunate!
Gripping brief tale, with good characters, a functional artwork and an awesome twist at the end.
FELLOW TRAVELERS
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
Writer: Matthew Sturges
Illustrator: Shawn McManus
Wonderful fable, set in June 23rd, 1953, Washington, D.C., but in a reality where magic, witches and flying brooms (which they even can drive a car!) are common stuff, unfortunately so are the “witch hunts”. And not matter if a spell is performed to change reality, there are “witch hunts” that no one is able to escape from.
Priceless historic characters, vibrating artwork and an ingenious story, easily the second best one in the comic book.
LITTLE WITCH
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Akes Kot
Illustrator: Morgan Jeske
Sad story about a soldier and how he is unable to escape from his past and the regrets about his decisions during war.
Good characters, acceptable artwork and a crafty story to read.
Dead Boy Detectives in:
RUN RAGGED
Rating: * ( 1 star )
Writer: Toby Litt
Illustrators: Mark Buckingham & Victor Santos
Some meddling teenage self-appointed detectives in the middle of a mystery involving a hellish school.
I don’t like this story since it resulted to be the third part in a bigger story published in some other book. I don’t understand the point of publishing a chapter of a story in an anthology marketed as “one-shot” reading, therefore it’s supposed that I don’t need to read anything before or later to enjoy/understand the narrative at hand. If the creative team was unable to came up with a stand-alone tale to be developed in eight pages, please clear the room to some other creative team willing to do it.
RISE
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Mariah Huehner
Illustrator: Tula Lotay
A backpacker girl is finally doing the journey of her dreams after a lot of time planning, but her dream turns into a nightmare soon enough due the apparition of an insane spirit with a timeless grudge.
Rich characters, acceptable artwork, and a very good bittersweet style to work out this black comedy.
This is one-shot comic book published under the label of “Vertigo Comics” featuring nine different short illustrated stories made by nine different creative teams.
The general rating is based in the average sum of the individual ratings given to each short story contained in the book.
Cover art: Jenny Frison
DANIEL
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer & Illustrator: Steve Beach
Amusing tale, set in a typical contemporary All-American neighborhood, about three female kids which they are witches (in training, I guess) and that after bonding a friendship with an old man, they serve as a conduit during a seance to give a message to him from a very close person who was gone long ago.
Good chracters, cool artwork, but I felt that the ending lacks of some punch, still quite enjoyable reading.
BIRDIE
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Lauren Beukes
Illustrator: Gerhard Human
Crafty story, set in the future (2020) at the town of Atlantis, part of the city of Cape Town, South Africa, featuring a young girl with a fame of being able to speak to the dead and delivering messages from them but in a particular system. Due her notoriety a mob boss sends for her to check if a recent dead talked about him or his operations, however no one can control whose dead one(s) will be eager to deliver a message to which live one(s).
Great characters, the artwork could be better but it works fine, and an excellent development of the story taking in account the limitations of pages in the comic book.
MARS TO STAY
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
Writer: Brett Lewis
Illustrator: Cliff Chiang
Mind-blowing adventure, set in the future at the planet of Mars, where exploration teams have been sent through financing of commercial sponsors which sell the live feed of the mission to Cable TV audiences. Big Brother comes to Mars!!! There are already two teams at Mars, one American, one Japanese, but when a third team is crossing the red planet’s atmosphere, those get burn along with key supplies for the survival of the first two teams. And the “good” news? TV ratings are getting low having many sponsors to stop giving money, therefore “Mission Control” (more likely the TV show production) is unable to send a replacement third team with the much needed supplies. What happens in Mars... stays in Mars!!!
And the story is just beginning...
Well defined characters, acceptable artwork, a priceless premise with inventive setting and technology, definitely the best story of the bunch.
THIS WITCH’S WORK
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Annie Mok
Illustrator: Emily Carroll
A very brief account about a kinda paranormal technique to deal with overwhelming gruesome unfair events in life.
The story is too brief but it works enough to deliver its sad but powerful message.
LEGS
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Illustrator: Ming Doyle
Creepy good tale about how relevant is that you hear your mother when you are still a kid. If she tells you to do something for your own safety... listen to hear! Not matter how sillly it may sounds the warning... Mothers know best! Or, you will developed a very unusual lifestyle when you’d be a grown-up. Maybe your life won’t be so bad, but those around you will be quite unfortunate!
Gripping brief tale, with good characters, a functional artwork and an awesome twist at the end.
FELLOW TRAVELERS
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
Writer: Matthew Sturges
Illustrator: Shawn McManus
Wonderful fable, set in June 23rd, 1953, Washington, D.C., but in a reality where magic, witches and flying brooms (which they even can drive a car!) are common stuff, unfortunately so are the “witch hunts”. And not matter if a spell is performed to change reality, there are “witch hunts” that no one is able to escape from.
Priceless historic characters, vibrating artwork and an ingenious story, easily the second best one in the comic book.
LITTLE WITCH
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
Writer: Akes Kot
Illustrator: Morgan Jeske
Sad story about a soldier and how he is unable to escape from his past and the regrets about his decisions during war.
Good characters, acceptable artwork and a crafty story to read.
Dead Boy Detectives in:
RUN RAGGED
Rating: * ( 1 star )
Writer: Toby Litt
Illustrators: Mark Buckingham & Victor Santos
Some meddling teenage self-appointed detectives in the middle of a mystery involving a hellish school.
I don’t like this story since it resulted to be the third part in a bigger story published in some other book. I don’t understand the point of publishing a chapter of a story in an anthology marketed as “one-shot” reading, therefore it’s supposed that I don’t need to read anything before or later to enjoy/understand the narrative at hand. If the creative team was unable to came up with a stand-alone tale to be developed in eight pages, please clear the room to some other creative team willing to do it.
RISE
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Writer: Mariah Huehner
Illustrator: Tula Lotay
A backpacker girl is finally doing the journey of her dreams after a lot of time planning, but her dream turns into a nightmare soon enough due the apparition of an insane spirit with a timeless grudge.
Rich characters, acceptable artwork, and a very good bittersweet style to work out this black comedy.
November 20, 2015
As far as collections of stories goes, this felt like rough sketches. While others strove to put in as much scenes in a few pages, the others played safe and steeped their stories into cliches. The art on some of these looks really rough too, with some stories being downright bad or nonsensical. I can't even remember what the best story is.
September 7, 2021
(4 of 5 for nice haunting/mystery "witchy" stories collection)
This is seventy-ish pages of short stories. Nine of them. As those anthologies go, the quality is greatly wary. Best ones are "Mars to Stay" and "Rise". There is a highlight for Czech readers - one story is from Aleš Kot.
Daniel: 3,8/5, art is decent and fitting, the story is fine.
Birdie: 4/5, art is somehow OK, the story is cool, gangster style.
Mars to stay: 4,5/5 art is fine, fitting, the story is cool - colonising Mars, funded by reality show stream, psychological pressure on the crew leading to catharsis. Very well executed story.
The Witch's work: 2/5, art is like from Boom LGBT+ artists, story somehow too, so I wasn't surprised it didn't work at all.
Legs: 4/5 art is nice with Noir atmosphere, the story is cool and simple, well-executed.
Fellow Travelers: 3,7/5 this is a bit old school styled story (and art), balancing between action and grotesque. The premise is pretty fun.
Little Witch (Aleš Kot): 3,9 the story is pretty cool, dreamy, tough, but the art is underperforming for my taste.
Dead Boy Detectives in Run Ragged (Santos): 3,8/5, art is cool, I really like Santos' style, but the setting of the story was a bit confusing, not knowing DBD stories.
Rise: 4,2/5, art is very nice, I like those inks and colours. It's quite a grim story with a nice twisty end.
This is seventy-ish pages of short stories. Nine of them. As those anthologies go, the quality is greatly wary. Best ones are "Mars to Stay" and "Rise". There is a highlight for Czech readers - one story is from Aleš Kot.
Daniel: 3,8/5, art is decent and fitting, the story is fine.
Birdie: 4/5, art is somehow OK, the story is cool, gangster style.
Mars to stay: 4,5/5 art is fine, fitting, the story is cool - colonising Mars, funded by reality show stream, psychological pressure on the crew leading to catharsis. Very well executed story.
The Witch's work: 2/5, art is like from Boom LGBT+ artists, story somehow too, so I wasn't surprised it didn't work at all.
Legs: 4/5 art is nice with Noir atmosphere, the story is cool and simple, well-executed.
Fellow Travelers: 3,7/5 this is a bit old school styled story (and art), balancing between action and grotesque. The premise is pretty fun.
Little Witch (Aleš Kot): 3,9 the story is pretty cool, dreamy, tough, but the art is underperforming for my taste.
Dead Boy Detectives in Run Ragged (Santos): 3,8/5, art is cool, I really like Santos' style, but the setting of the story was a bit confusing, not knowing DBD stories.
Rise: 4,2/5, art is very nice, I like those inks and colours. It's quite a grim story with a nice twisty end.
March 17, 2018
Being a graphic novel anthology about witches The Witching Hour should have been an easy 4 stars but most of the tales proved dismal at best. One I couldn't help but feel that panels had been removed and several of them the illustrations were hard to look at. Little Witches, Mars to Stay and This Witches Work were the only ones worth reading.
It really is a shame to see such a lovely cover go to waste.
It really is a shame to see such a lovely cover go to waste.
October 31, 2020
I found most of the stories very hard to read. Either because there wasn't a sign telling me "we're starting a new story" (perhaps that is on me, having little experience with comics/graphic novels) or because the plot was nonexistent or the organization of thr panels confusing. It did feel like watching a bad horror anthology at times.
June 6, 2017
Not every story was a five of course, but the ones that are make this well worth it. Probably easy and cheap to find (i got it from my lcs dollar bin), so well worth your time - especially the kelly sue deconnick and ales kot tales.
August 4, 2020
read it for Emily Carroll's comic, which I liked, but the rest were not bad either, however nothing too special
October 29, 2013
This was okay. Some obviously better than others. And while it's cool and all that Dead Boy Detectives are getting their own series, it kind of pissed me off that one of the stories in this collection was basically just there to advertise.
January 22, 2014
Esperava mais. Decepcionante. :/
October 30, 2013
Some of the stories felt rushed or incomplete because of the short page length, but I did enjoy the collection, particularly "Daniel" and "This Witch's Work."
May 12, 2014
This was a really amazing horror anthology with some really great artwork. Most of the stories included racially diverse and LGBT+ characters which is absolutely fantastic.
October 7, 2016
This was alright, my biggest issue was that most of those stories were too short to tell the story they want and felt rushed or just plain flat. Enjoyable, but rather average read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews