Crossgen's disappearance left a bit of a void in the comics market for fans who were enjoying their genre diversity. While they certainly weren't the only folks doing fantasy, espionage and science-fiction, they were some of the only ones doing it in a big crowd-pleaser manner. It's taken a little while, but the creators seem to be slowly filling that void, and Season of the Witch is a book that I think will find a lot of favor with those who enjoyed Crossgen books like Meridian and Sojourn. It has a strong female protagonist, beautiful artwork and a fantasy premise that is classic and yet just tweaked enough to be new and interesting. This zero issue is a black and white preview of the full-color series to come, and the short space means that it's essentially an action piece that doesn't fully explore the premise, but it does give an idea what to expect in terms of execution, and the storytelling is top notch.
I have to admit, purely as a first issue, that Season of the Witch #0 doesn't entirely do its job in terms of explaining the concept of the series. I know more about the series from remembering the solicitation than from anything given away in this preview, and I think that Nitz would have done himself a big favor with at least a text page running down the basic concept of Season of the Witch. Fortunately, while the specifics of the premise aren't clear, the strengths of the writing and the art are very clear indeed.
I've read a few of the tales written by Xeric winner Jai Nitz, and I've always wanted to like his stories more than I actually have. Season of the Witch is easily his best work yet, with a strong narrative voice and a take on fantasy adventure that will ring true to fantasy fans. This issue is basically a fight between his lead heroine and a band of orcs, and you don't get much more classic fantasy than that. However, the actual fight takes place while spinning the heroine's thoughts to her home and hunting trips with her grandfather, and so we get a multi-layered approach of classic fantasy action with a nontraditional fantasy heroine. Nitz also serves up a surprisingly ruthless edge to his heroine, indicating that her transformation into a powerful warrior-witch has not been without its price in innocence.
Nitz has paired up with former Crossgen creators Sharpe and Leisten, and the results are impressive. There's some lovely detail on Jessica's armor and sword, and the action storytelling is top notch. Sharpe keeps a lot of the gore and blood off page, but he teases enough of it so that readers realize that Jessica is engaged in a bloody business. The orcs are maybe a little generic bruiser looking (save the first one, whose mane and broken chain are nice touches), but they serve as dangerous looking adversaries, and there's a terrific sense of motion in Sharpe's action sequences. The book looks good in the graytones of Thompson Knox, but I admit that I'm looking forward to seeing what it will look like in color.
Season of the Witch #0 barely scratches the surface of the book it represents, but it does its job in terms of convincing me that the first issue will be worth taking a look at. I know from solicitation information that Season of the Witch is not just a straight fantasy concept, but it looks like fans of traditional fantasy will be well-served by the style of the book anyway. If you're a fan of fantasy, especially of the hybrid fantasy that Crossgen turned out a few years back, give Season of the Witch a chance and I think it will impress you.
