Continuing my look at spooky-themed books, Witch Hazel: Variety Hour is a fun-time activity book for older teens and above. It features puzzles, stickers, and a few comic stories. The comics focus upon the titular Witch Hazel. She is a a youngish spell-caster, and she is trying to get her act together. In the first tale she is trying to get by via the gig economy, performing an exorcism ordered up on the Witchcraft app. Things do not go exactly to plan but play out in a clever and playful manner.
In the second story, there is a misadventure with a size changing spell and her familiar, an axolotl named Noot. In the final and longest story, she gets a job in the gift shop at a medieval theme park that used to be an apple orchard and ends up having to contend with the guardian spirit who lives there. Hazel also has to deal with her ex-girlfriend, Alice, as well as her friends who are visiting the park, which complicates matters.
I very much liked this book, which is a lot like a classic comic book but with a much sturdier cover. The artwork is colorful and energetic. The stories are fun and entertaining, and the whole enterprise feels so full of joy and whimsy. If you are looking for some contemporary Halloween comics amusement, this book should be right up your alley.
This book was written by Colton Fox and drawn by Beige Blum. Fox is an instructor and also featured his artwork in the film Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls. Blum is the founder of the Dirty Laundry Collective, a Toronto-based crew of women of colour and LGBTQ+ artists. Fox and Blum have collaborated on a couple other Witch Hazel comics, which they link to on their websites. You can find more info about these comics in a few interviews with Fox here.
I was not able to find many substantive reviews, but Brad at Graphic Policy called it "cute" and "fun." Witch Hazel: Variety Hour was published by Silver Sprocket, and they offer a preview and more here. There is another sizable excerpt available here from Solrad.
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