Witch for Hire

by Ted Naifeh

When a series of high school pranks get out of hand, teen witch Faye Faulkner is the only one who can solve the case in Witch for Hire , a spooky YA graphic novel from New York Times bestselling writer/artist Ted Naifeh.

Faye Faulkner isn’t popular, and that’s just fine by her. She spends her lunches at the Loser Table with the other social rejects, aka her best friends, and brushes off the uninspired taunts from the cool kids. But when lonely freshman Cody finds her way to Faye’s corner of the cafeteria, it sets off a peculiar chain of events . . .

To Cody’s surprise, these kids aren’t so bad; an overdramatic theater nerd, a handicapable girl in a wheelchair, an overweight boy, and Faye, who comes to school every day dressed like a witch. But it’s no costume, Faye really is a witch!

While high school can be hell for many reasons, this year the ante has been raised when a series of pranks swiftly go from mischievous to downright dangerous. From the lowliest debate team nerds to the prom queen, no one is safe, not even the teachers! When things start to really get out of hand, Cody owns up to In a moment of desperation, she signed up for an online challenge that promises to grant popularity to those who follow the website’s twisted demands.

Now Faye is faced with a Reveal her witchy nature to Cody and help her, or stand aside and keep her secret identity safe. Despite her misgivings, Faye takes on the case, but will her powers be strong enough to solve this mystery? And will people ever stop asking her if she puts newts’ eyes in her homemade baked goods?

Witch for Hire is a gothic whodunnit about resilience, magic, and the power of friendship.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Young Adult, Comics, Witches, Magic, Horror

128 pages, Hardcover

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

Ted Naifeh is an American comic book writer and artist who gained notoriety for his illustrations in the goth romance comic Gloomcookie. Naifeh has since become most known as the creator of the Eisner-Award-nominated series Courtney Crumrin, published by Oni Press.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 3 out of 5]

High school can be a hotbed of abuse for those who don’t fit the mold of “popularity” and social media has become an outlet where bullies can continue the abuse even once a kid is home. I’m sure you’ve seen the countless articles about how social media enhances bullying and exacerbates mental health issues, and this platform of potential abuse becomes the landscape for horror in Witch for Hire, written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh. Transforming the infamous Momo Challenge hoax into a supernatural detective-style thriller, Witch for Hire follows Faye, a young witch and leader of the Loser Table (you know, where all the supposedly “uncool kids” sit at lunch trope) as she investigates a mysterious internet prank as it turns deadly. While the plot is pretty uneven and sort of a rushed jumble near the end, it makes up for it with cool artwork and a story that teases a lot of backstory with only minimal revelations about it and seems like a wonderful set-up to a graphic novel series I would be very excited to follow.

Witch for Hire has a raw and edgy vibe to it that embodies a lot of hard boiled crime elements. The high contrast art is really fun, using a lot of great attention to shadows and light with a highly stylized color palette that adapts to the mood of each scene. The basis of the story is a viral online self-improvement social media account, @shy_shelbi, that promises popularity and success if you follow her steps and do anything she says, but her commands start to turn from pranks to hate crimes and violence, with deadly consequences for those who fail to complete her tasks. Who Shy Shelbi is and what her motivations are become the mystery driving this story that is successfully creepy and unsettling for readers of the target age group.


If the artwork of the “cursed creature” haunting the students in this book looks familiar, you probably remember the Momo hoax going around a few years ago (explained here if you don’t). See:

Naifeh does well to use an idea that will be familiar to teens as it will boost their excitement and engagement, but it becomes more than a cheap copy and an investigation into why people get sucked into abusive online schemes as well as the horrific effects of bullying. If you are someone who appreciates trigger warnings, there is a forced outing that occurs, though it was nice to see that the author has a character mention that this is a hate crime and it feels like the author was sensitive towards the issues used in the book that helped construct the fear aspects.

There is a really cool grittiness to this book that just works. Set in what seems to be a school district full of wealthy white kids, there’s an element to the power dynamic that shows how often abuse can be passed down. The older sister in the novel to Cody, through whom the narrative takes off before switching focus to Faye later on in a pretty cool and effectively executed bait-and-switch storytelling misdirection, is certainly the queen Mean Girl of her school. Yet at home we see how this is enabled by her father, a rich land developer who will not hesitate to use intimidation, bribes or lawyer up to get anything he wants. The book also looks at mental health issues and how these are often the effects of psychological abuse and obdurate gender roles that subject women to erase themselves in service of their husbands. It is also pointed out that the wealthy school has no interest in providing accessibility for students with disabilities, such as the girl in a wheelchair at the Loser Table.There’s a lot of subtle social commentary going on that mixes well.

I’m hoping this is meant to kickstart a series, because I’d be interested in this PI-style Witch for hire narrative to continue with more of this grit and edginess. The story seems to hint at a lot that never gets addressed, with much backstory being intentionally vague which gives the impression more is coming. This hooked me, though I could see how readers might see this as half-finished? It doesn’t help that the ending does feel a bit rushed and jumbled, though it was satisfying nonetheless. There's a definite pacing issue here, which is a shame because the ending was strong and would have worked better if the final few ideas had more room to breathe. This feels like a clunky pilot episode for a show, but one that there's so much promise you can't help but root for it in order to see what is coming next. And while I only gave it 3 stars this is really fun and definitely worthwhile. If you are looking for a cool and dark YA graphic novel for Spooky Season, though, Witch for Hire is a great choice!

3.5/5

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting graphic novel. I really liked the art work and felt like it added a lot to the story. I thought the story was ok and had a lot of potential, but I was left wanting more from it. I did like the characters even though it was mostly stereotypes that were one dimensional. This story gets to the heart of the cruelty people do to each other in high school. Faye is the one constant member of the loser table and she’s ok with being alone. But when her newest friend asks for her help with an internet account that is sending threatening messages she doesn’t want to get involved.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faye Faulkner is a teenage witch who hangs out at the loser table. When an internet spirit targets the students at the school, Faye gets involved. The impetus behind the story could have used some more fleshing out. Like why these kids would just do whatever this Shy Shelbi avatar told them too. I did like that the spirit was tied into the Momo internet craze. Although if you're going to tie into that, you should probably go all in and tie it completely into that myth instead of just using Momo as the design for your curse creature. My main problem with the book is that everyone in this is completely unlikable. Everyone's a jerk including our "hero" and the people she's helping.

Received a review copy form Abrams and Edelweiss.

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected something sort of kiddish based on the title, but ended up finding this surprisingly gritty, an atmospheric read that I wish was longer. The whole vibe of Witch for Hire—art and story in combination—felt like a supernatural movie from the early 2000’s, which I absolutely loved. The colour palette was gorgeous, and the art style has a unique funk to it that I really liked. The only area I think that could have been improved was the length; spending more time with these characters would add a lot more meat to this story, and make it just a little more memorable. Still, I really liked this!

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay… Listen! I’m a fan of the author’s art style, but the story just felt incomplete. We get a typical beginning, middle(ish) and end, but it’s everything that builds those that feels like there is something lacking.

Honestly, this could have been longer. It felt short for no reason. There is a lot of the book that is shown and not explained. We get no story about all of these side characters. They go from eating lunch together, to being haunted by a cyber-bullying spirit.

Are you confused by my review? Now you understand how I feel.

[Eliani · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main villain of this book is an exact replica of the internet meme "Momo/Momo Challenge down to a T.
Which is considered harmful to young and impressionable youths, originally in connection with a Whatsapp profile. Asking, daring, challenging and overall pressuring people into doing harm to themselves or others to anyone that comes in contact with "it". Just like this story!
Which follows a "curse creature" doing.. for what reason? It's never exactly explained what the children get sucked into following these harmful challenges.

I strongly disliked the idea of this trend continuing to live on and effect more lives.

Along with mocking characters' metal health or seeking help as a weakness in someone.

This story was poorly written, inappropriately presented, and just left me asking "why was this made"?

Also, what high schooler only refers to people as "dearie"? This entire concept, from the writing, characters, plots twists, and ending left an sour taste in my mouth.

**ABRAMS Kids and Netgally provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Witch for Hire in exchange for an honest review.

While I really like the idea of which for hire and quite enjoyed the art style, I think this needed to be a tad longer to give the resolution a heavier weight. We get dialogue about characters becoming best friends but don't get many scenes of them being amiable which kind of dilutes the sentiment. We get a few frames of the impact the characters have at their school but no scenes that really show how that transition begins to happen. The villain here was so unique and I'd definitely want to read more of Ted Naifeh's ideas though.

[Courtney Lanning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts of this story were neat. The supernatural elements and unique art style were enjoyable.

But Cody was pretty frustrating and uneven. Her back and forth attitude with Faye agitated me. I just wanted her to pick a side and stick with it.

Overall, it was enjoyable, but not enough for me to seek out any future volumes.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was AWESOME. Seriously, an amazing read. I want more.

[Diana-christie Biancardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute.

[Esme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk how to feel about this. On one hand the art is stunning, but on the other hand this felt like it glorified bullying while getting a little *too* inspired by a pretty popular creepypasta.

[Nicki Bruns · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute art style, halloween vibes (kinda)

[Amanda Shepard (Between-the-Shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very much middle of the road for me. It took me a little to get into it, and then it felt like it was all over too quickly. There were parts that definitely need to be fleshed out as well. Like a lot of the reviews on here say, this could have easily been a little longer and it would have made the story much more fleshed out. The art was great throughout, I just wanted more from the story.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faye Faulkner has no interest in making friends or moving on from the loser table. It's easier that way. No one to lose. But when a social media account promising #selfacutalization begins tormenting students, Faye suspects there's something supernatural going on. And as a trained witch trying to live up to her late mentor, she feels duty-bound to help. But defeating a digital demon is no simple thing.

I loved prickly loner Faye and her band of losers that become her friends despite all her best efforts. And Naifeh's illustration style and signature spooky storytelling is on impeccable display here.

TW for characters making fun / light of mental illness, cyber bullying, and attempted suicide.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the mix of magic, science, and real-life. Connecting cyber-bullying to curses was fantastic, and the tension between helping people and protecting yourself was well done.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you ever find yourself watching a TV show or a movie that is set in a high school and wonder how it is possible for so much drama to take place in one little building? From the moment you enter those front doors, every miniscule little detail can determine how the rest of your 4 years will go. How should you dress? Who should you make friends with? Where should you sit at lunch? Well, Faye Faulkner certainly didn't get the memo.

You see, Faye Faulkner is a witch. She wears a pointed hat and dresses in a manner that the other students find strange. She also sits at the "losers' table" at lunch, a table that the students believe to be cursed, because the students that sit there will be stuck there forever. When Cory is relegated to the Losers' Table, she slowly befriends Faye, and asks her why she insists on wearing her hat, as it makes her look strange. Naturally, Faye refuses to take off her hat in order to fit in with the rest of the students. I'm sure that many readers can relate to Faye on being on the fence over whether or not to change themselves to fit in with the others students.

Your point is I should stop looking like I want, and look like they want. And then they’ll be my friends. Except I don’t call that friendship.

One interesting aspect of this book is that each chapter starts off with a short blurb from a social media account called shy_shelbi. Shelbi targets students by sending them threatening messages, blackmailing them into "punishing" others around them. Shelbi preys upon the insecurities of the students, specifically the loners at the Losers' Table.

She’s what I call a curse creature. This one preys on our loneliness, feeds on our misery.

If you're looking for a spooky themed book for Halloween season, give this one a try! This graphic novel will bring you nostalgic memories from high school.

[Annaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guess who’s finally gotten to the “books I placed on hold in October for spooky season but haven’t gotten around to until holiday season” section of her bookshelf?

This one was fun but a little too focused on playing horrible high school cliché bingo (Queen bee mean girl? Check. Someone’s locker gets graffitied? Check. Table full of unpopular students in the cafeteria where the main characters hang out? Check.) to be truly effective. Like many witchy/spooky books, it relies heavily on atmosphere to carry the story, and it does create an creepy one with moody color design and bold line art. Those stylistic choices create a gothic, noir-ish feel that helps with suspension of belief and smooths over some of the rougher story elements (i.e. stopping its human villains from feeling too much like the moustache-twirlers they are).

Unfortunately, its supernatural villain is just not that scary, especially when compared with the bizarre, uncanny valley horror show that is Keisuke Aisawa’s original statue and the close-cropped images that circulated as a much hyped and much overblown social media “challenge,” which turned out to be nothing more than a disconcerting bird lady photo and a good ol’ fashioned moral panic. It is fun to play “spot the Momo” (or spot the Shelbi, I guess) in the backgrounds of Naifeh’s panels, and a horror-themed Where’s Waldo is absolutely a property I’d invest in, except that someone’s probably done it already.

Witch for Hire is a good time but not something I’m writing home about. I would probably read a sequel, though.

[Peixuan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars...I think.
It's ok. I guess this is for young teens that are at a bully-able age? They managed to fit every vulnerable/visible minority demographic into this, most diverse high school I've ever seen. I think the whole witch backstory was both too much and too little. Either keep the mentor a mysterious part of her past or make her an actual character beyond "helpful old lady". Also, she had a mom this whole time? It makes her both less interesting/mysterious and more conflicting as a character.
Also the other main character is annoying as hell. I'm not sure why we needed that scene at the end where she complains about what Faye did and then also thanks her for it? Needlessly dramatic.

Don't read this if you have beef with an older sister, you'll get an aneurysm.

There is a good quote to come out of it, though I think it's unintentional:
"You keep looking for a way to make everybody happy, but some people are only happy when they're making everyone else miserable"

+1 star for the quote

[Giavanna Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the arc I received in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think this graphic novel was long enough to be a fully fleshed out story. There could've easily been 100-150 more pages added to this novel.

The main character, Faye, was unlikable and mean. Every side character was naïve or undeserving of sympathy. Witch for Hire is, unfortunately, not developed enough for me to even write a full review.

The illustrations were interesting, but a little confusing at some points. The font/coloring on my iPad made it nearly impossible for me to read any small text in the novel.

Overall, I just didn't like this book.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faye Faulkner presides at the "Loser's table" at her high school. She has chosen to stay there because she did not want to get involved any friendship or relationship. But when Cody, a new freshman, joins the table and asks for help, Faye gets herself involved with a curse that seems related to an online advice site. But it is not just Cody that has signed up for its advice and there is more to its scheme than Faye had realized. What Shy Shelbi and her minion had not counted on was the lengths to which Faye would go to defeat them Who knows, Faye may have found herself a profession! A different take on high school.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An exceedingly bland graphic novel in which a small-time witch conquers a curse creature that's wreaking havoc in the local high school. The art is often ugly and the story is predictable. The ending seems to set up a series in which this witch hires herself out for other magical maladies - a series I won't be following.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent graphic novel about the power of friendship & compassion in a world that banks on us hating ourselves and tearing each other down. The artwork was lovely; my favorite part was the usage of bold colors. I think I shall look into Naifah’s other graphic novels as I’m intrigued now to see his better known work!

[Kiera Beddes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen witch Faye doesn’t think that she needs anyone and minds her own business by sitting at the “losers table” in the cafeteria. Faye is brought into a series of mysterious, escalating pranks that she is tasked with solving at the request of lonely new student Cody.

It was an interesting enough premise that I picked up this graphic novel. I’m not sure I loved the storytelling, but enjoyed it for an afternoon read.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unpopular teen witch Faye Faulkner is fine with spending her lunches at the Loser Table with the other social rejects, her best friends, and brushes off the uninspired taunts from the cool kids. An entertaining mash up of Gossip Girl and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

[Maija · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I like Naifeh's "unlikeable" characters, but the pacing felt rushed at times and the story set-up was a bit off, there were pages that just felt like they were throwing new stuff at you without a warning. I'd still happily read more, maybe a second volume would be more fine-tuned?

[Crowinator · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Great idea, but something was missing. I think it needed to be more developed as a story overall.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked his other series so much better. This one felt like it didn't really get into the characters. It also felt a bit rushed.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ Cool witchy graphic novel. A little creepy creature and some triggers that need to be checked but otherwise good read for my emo girlys during spooky season.

[Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, origin story.