The Dark Horse Book Of Witchcraft
Various writers and artists, Edited by Scott Allie
Dark Horse Publishing
96 pages

This hardback anthology is a collection of seven comics and one illustrated short story exploring various interpretations of the titular subject. The Hellboy piece is, as usual, the highlight – Mike Mignola continues to refine the storytelling potential of sequential art, and his pacing is a delight to behold. Editor Scott Allie’s contribution (with regular collaborators Paul Lee and Brian Horton) is typically open-ended, while Evan Dorkin’s story about talking dogs saving the world from a coven of witches ups the cuteness factor, thanks especially to Jill Thompson’s art. The short story is an unexpurgated piece by pulp writer Clark Ashton Smith, with classic-style illustrations by Gary Gianni, and there’s also a lengthy interview with genuine Wiccan High Priestess Phyllis Curott to counter the stereotypes portrayed in the book. Tony Millionaire’s excerpted adaptation of Macbeth may be a weak opener, but on the whole it’s still a more fulfilling collection than IDW’s similar Tales of Terror book.

Owen Heitmann