Scarlet Witch Annual #1 // Review
The Darkhold is one of the most totally evil things in the Marvel Universe. It’s a dark magical tome written billions of years ago on indestructible parchments of flesh. Theoretically, there could be quite a few ways of dealing with it. Wanda Maximoff was badass enough to decide that the only truly safe place for such a tome...was inside her own soul. An old instructor of hers looks to have a few words with her about this in Scarlet Witch Annual #1. The special lead-in to the summer Contest of Chaos crossover is written by Steve Orlando with art by Carlos Nieto. Color enchants page and panel under the authority of Dublin-based colorist Tríona Farrell.
It’s not just the Darkhold. It’s also Chthon. She’s got an Elder God trapped inside her. The earth’s first master of black magic. Agatha Harkness decides that it's really important to tell her former student that this sort of thing is very dangerous. However, someone of the Scarlet Witch’s level of power is already well aware of this. And Agatha knows she knows this. So why the visit? Agatha has other goals in mind, and they might just set off an epic clash between two of Marvel’s greatest wielders of magic.
Orlando opens the issue very socially. There is a genuine sense of warmth about the opening. Yes, Wanda has to head off to Dallas for a panel or two to deal with the Living Dynamo, but when she returns, Agatha has shown up in a perfectly presentable form. She’s there to discuss a few small matters, including the incomprehensible evil currently residing in Wanda’s soul. Nothing too intense...but then things get rather confrontational. Orlando modulates the mood extremely well. The fantastic rests right along with the totally mundane, and in a way that does sort of run the risk of making it all seem kind of dull, but Orlando’s crisp wit keeps the issue moving from cover to cover.
Nieto does a solid job of rendering Agatha as actress Kathryn Hahn. This would've been a decision mandated by the fact that she's got a series coming up on Disney+, but it’s a nice touch that brings page and panel just a bit closer to CGI and screen. Nieto has a deft sense of action in framing shots from interesting perspectives. The actual movement and motion of the action can seem a little stiff and static in places. However, the more subtle end of everything feels incredibly natural in a way that amplifies the fusion between the mundane and the fantastic that Orlando is working with.
So often, summer crossovers are forced to awkwardly lurch onto the racks of comic book shops. Orlando and Nieto do a good job of bringing some sense of grace to the page in a way that will hopefully make this particular crossover feel a little bit more fluid than they so often do. Once again--Scarlet Witch’s current corner of the Marvel Universe is a fun place to hang out.
Grade: A
