Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Wytches: Bad Egg #1
Image Comics
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Jock
Colors by Matt Hollingsworth
Letters by Clem Robins
Sebastian Clay, like most kids his age, laments about how ordinary his life is. Constantly moving from place to place with his single mom is getting to him, but kids are resilient and he seems to find a way to roll with most things. On the morning he has to present his science project, he decides to take a shortcut through a backlot, against his mother’s wishes. When a neighbor and father of one of his classmates offers him a ride, the ravenous creature lurking in the back of the man’s van prepares to feed on Sebastian until his mother intervenes and kills the creature.
Sebastian’s life is never the same after that, for good or ill. After learning about his mother’s place in the Irons, he becomes part of a new world and a new mission. Two things that come into conflict when he makes friends with the son of a target. Seb gets too close his neighbor Jackson, knowing that the boy’s parents are cultivating and caring for a Wytch out in the woods. It gets worse as Sebastian sees what Jackson’s parents are doing to him to prepare him to be fed to the creature when its time. Seb must decide between his duty and his friendship. A choice no boy that age should have to make.
This was a hauntingly dense and dramatic story. There was so much emotion in the story that you found yourself feeling the weight of Seb’s life and the agony of his decisions as you read it. Snyder crafts a story full of heart, humanity, empathy and fear. There are moments of great tension as well as real emotion. The friendship between Seb and Jackson felt natural, like interactions between real boys that age and the conflict inside Sebastian made his story so nuanced and relatable. You can feel yourself agonizing with Sebastian as he tries to navigate forces that are above his head and it makes the tragedy of the ending more personal.
Jock sets a brilliant mood with the art in this book. Every page is alive with both the art and the use of color by Hollingsworth. I really enjoyed how they balanced some of the panels to denote something ominous was coming. There are some great visual cues in this book. Great haunting, tragic story that creates an interesting character worth following.
wytches bad egg #1
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