Towards the end of the 90's Image was finally starting to find their own niche after their intial line of superhero and titilation titles bottomed out. They started to open up to many new projects that were off of the beaten path in the hopes that they'd hit some new markets. Witchfinder was a 3 issue miniseries from 1999 that probably went unnoticed by most of the comic readers of the time, which is really a shame because it's a thoroughly enjoyable, if not formulaic, read.
The story starts with our main character, the Witchfinder, hunting down a witch. We also learn that he's a witchfinder because his brother was killed by witches and when they killed him, they also left the Witchfinder with mystical scars which play a role in the story later on.
As he's hunting down the witches for the head witchfinder of the town, he sees that what they are doing is wrong. They were killing innocents along with witches just to exercise their power. Not being able to continue letting innocents die, he saves one of the suspected witches and in the process his scars are revealed which, of course, leads to him being branded a witch himself.
As the story progresses we find that the Witchfinder has magical powers himself that he is afraid to use. The remainder of the story deals with his struggling to accept that witches might not all be evil and his quest to make right the wrongdoings of the head witchfinder of the town. It's at this point that the story becomes somewhat formulaic as the Witchfinder is simply on a revenge quest, but it is written quite competently.
The art in this series is very good as well. I was impressed by the detail in many of the splash pages, but unfortunately this detail doesn't carry over to all of the panels. Some felt like they were rough drafts or left partially unfinished, but those splash pages... man, they sure were pretty! It looked a lot like most Top Cow comics would look, which could be good or bad. Personally, I like the art in most Top Cow comics, but some people detest it.
So, anyhow, if you can find this series anywhere it would be a sound purchase and read. I managed to grab all three issues from a $0.50 box, so it was definitely worth my money!
The story starts with our main character, the Witchfinder, hunting down a witch. We also learn that he's a witchfinder because his brother was killed by witches and when they killed him, they also left the Witchfinder with mystical scars which play a role in the story later on.
As he's hunting down the witches for the head witchfinder of the town, he sees that what they are doing is wrong. They were killing innocents along with witches just to exercise their power. Not being able to continue letting innocents die, he saves one of the suspected witches and in the process his scars are revealed which, of course, leads to him being branded a witch himself.
As the story progresses we find that the Witchfinder has magical powers himself that he is afraid to use. The remainder of the story deals with his struggling to accept that witches might not all be evil and his quest to make right the wrongdoings of the head witchfinder of the town. It's at this point that the story becomes somewhat formulaic as the Witchfinder is simply on a revenge quest, but it is written quite competently.
The art in this series is very good as well. I was impressed by the detail in many of the splash pages, but unfortunately this detail doesn't carry over to all of the panels. Some felt like they were rough drafts or left partially unfinished, but those splash pages... man, they sure were pretty! It looked a lot like most Top Cow comics would look, which could be good or bad. Personally, I like the art in most Top Cow comics, but some people detest it.
So, anyhow, if you can find this series anywhere it would be a sound purchase and read. I managed to grab all three issues from a $0.50 box, so it was definitely worth my money!
Ratings
Art: 4
Story: 3.75
Overall: 3.75
Art: 4
Story: 3.75
Overall: 3.75
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