Sandman Presents Thessaly: Witch For Hire #1
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com
An archive of all my reviews is online at Evertime Realms.
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: My Girl (or) Far Too Much About Snakes
Fetch the Ghost returns… with a new proposition for Thessaly.
Writer: Bill Willingham
Art: Shawn McManus
Colors: Pamela Rambo
Letters: Nick Napolitano
Editor: Mariah Huehner
Cover Art: Tara McPherson
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
Review: Back in those bygone days before Fables, Bill Willingham wrote a four-issue miniseries called Sandman Presents the Thessaliad, a story starring a minor character from Neil Gaiman’s epic. He made her a star, though, and for the first time showed up on my radar. It was that miniseries that made me give Fables a shot when it premiered a few months later, and I haven’t regretted it.
This miniseries takes up some two years after the first one, with the witch Thessaly traveling the world, plagued by a series of demons and monsters she has to combat. It makes for a good comedy/action story, with a tinge of a romantic comedy when Fetch, the ghost who loves her, arrives. Readers don’t need to be familiar with the previous miniseries, or even the epic Sandman series, to enjoy this book.
Thessaly is a great character, one I’ve enjoyed even more under Willingham’s guidance than Gaiman’s. She’s one strong woman, unafraid of anything, and even if she’s not technically human she’s a great change from weak females that exist to go after men or show cleavage in comic books.
McManus does a wonderful job with the artwork in this comic, The monsters are gross and the battle scenes are choreographed wonderfully, not to mention that Thessaly herself is simply beautiful. (Of course, I have a thing for women in glasses, so your opinion may vary).
There seems to be a movement in Vertigo these days to get darker and grimier with each new title. This book goes in the opposite direction, taking a very light approach both with the artwork and the story. There’s definitely a danger here, but not one that you ever feel is beyond Thessaly’s ability to handle (no matter how mad she gets at Fetch in the process).
People who have been a little disappointed in Willingham’s work on Robin so far can read this book and see for certain that he’s still got it. It’s as pleasant and enjoyable as any issue of Fables, and that makes it ahead of 99 percent of the comic books published.
Rating: 8/10