POP GODDESS
Witches and Pagans and Comics, Oh My!
by Seanan McGuire
Welcome back to Pop Goddess, your forum for discussing popular culture and today's pagan lifestyle - two great tastes that really do go great together! This issue we're talking about something you may not spend much time thinking about: paganism and comic books. No, seriously. There are many, many comics out there that touch on Paganism and Pagan issues, from the positive to the negative. We're going to be looking at examples of each, both new and old, to see how the view of Pagans has advanced on the printed page. Ask your average Pagan what Witchcraft in the comics means to them, and you're likely to get one of two answers: Sabrina the Teenage Witch, or worse, Wendy, the Good Little Witch. That's all we had when I was growing up - cartoon caricatures that served no greater purpose than to ride around on brooms slinging spells and looking cute or pretty. (Sabrina has changed a bit since then, but that's still what most people remember.)

We've come a long way, baby
In the seventies, Paganism in comics was pretty much the purview of the horror genre, running from the old EC comics to the smaller, cheaper DC lines. Creepy, Eerie, House of Secrets and The Witching Hour all made extensive use of witches and witchcraft ... in the most uncomplimentary ways possible. If you believed those "funny books," witches weren't just evil; they were actively coming for your soul.

Things got a little better in the eighties, as the comic book heroes and heroines who hold a place in many pagan hearts finally began coming into their own. Most of them came from Marvel Comics in the 1980's. Starting with the Scarlet Witch (whose powers weren't really magical in nature, but more tied to the manipulation of luck - her "hex bolts" weren't spells; rather, they were concentrated shots of bad luck) and moving on to the Native American shamanism practiced by Shaman, Dani Moonstar and Snowbird. The Marvel treatment of shamanism was fairly faithful, despite being jazzed-up for the comics: Marvel shamans might be possessed by the living spirit of Canada, or have their parents eaten by a demon bear, but at least they didn't suffer the fate of most comic book witches - which is to say, a short role as a villain, quickly followed by a messy death.

For example, let's look at Illyana Rasputin, known alternately in her superhero identity as "Magik" or "Darkchild." Despite being an essentially good person, her magical powers inevitably corrupted her and drove her towards the demonic. Illyana was the first true witch of the Marvel stable, and even so, her magic was a lot closer to the Christian idea of glorified Satanism than anything Pagan. Of course, that was the 1980s. Comics have gotten a more balanced and less spandex-clad view of Paganism in recent years ... although it's hard not to miss the simple silliness of cigar-smoking demons and goddesses who showed up for banana splits after the ritual. So what sort of Pagan representation are we looking at in the world of modern comics?

In the wonderful land of DC
(not the District of Columbia.)
DC Comics led the reinvention of Witchcraft in the four-color world with the full-scale launch of their Vertigo line in the early 1990s. With titles that ranged from The Sandman, which presented a lush, multi-layered view of magic, madness and the Pagan world, to Books of Magic, a series that started off by presenting multiple modes of Pagan thought (and just improved from there), the titles published under the Vertigo banner present a balanced and entertaining view of Paganism - past, present and future. It's not always a positive view, but that makes it stronger, in the long run; they aren't showing you perfect Pagan stereotypes: they're showing you people.

How you choose to interpret it is up to you
We've seen fewer Pagans in the land of Marvel over the past few years; while the Scarlet Witch continues to put in an occasional appearance, along with such notables as Doctor Strange and the ever-stoic Shaman, they're minor characters, just a small part of a predominantly super-heroic world. For the really diverse Pagan archetypes, we need to step into the world of independent comics.

Independence Day
The independent comic scene has really been booming over the last few years, spawning a tide of black and white goodness that always winds up centered a little bit off the mainstream. You get some good characterization of Pagans and Pagan issues, providing you're willing to dig through the masses.

That's where I come in. I'm good at digging. Actually, I'm good at cheating: the owner of my local comic book store has been dealing with me since I was seven years old, and has long since grown accustomed to my bizarre last-minute requests. When I came in saying "I need to find examples of Witchcraft and Paganism in independent comics," he was more than happy to give me a list. A few things I learned. One: there aren't many actual Pagans in today's comic books, but there are a lot of pagan themes. Two: most of these series are more than worthwhile, and deserve your attention.

If Finder isn't quite your speed, there's always Elizabeth Watasin's delightful Charm School. Charm School is the story of Magical Witch Girl Bunny, the spiritual successor of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, with a lot of wry humor and cynical spunkiness thrown in. Her girlfriend - I mentioned she was a lesbian, right? - is a cross-dressing vampire dragster named Dean. It gets strange from there.

Written with a light hand, Charm School is more fun than should be legal; not that much Paganism, but lots of Witchcraft, and some distinctly Pagan themes. This is a good one for girls in their late teens to early twenties. If you're looking for something a bit more film noir, there's always the Halloween chic and spooky sensibilities of Serena Valentino's Gloomcookie, where witchcraft and mystery frequently loom above the stark and gothic modern landscape. Not so much about Paganism per se, Gloomcookie nonetheless touches on magic, morality and the concept of living in a mysterious world - this one's a big hit with Pagan and gothic youth. If this title turns out to ring your bells, you should also look into Little Gloomy, Lenore and Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things. (Courtney Crumrin, by the way, focuses on a young girl, her creepy uncle ... and his collection of spell books. Everything in her world has consequences and costs, and I highly recommend this series to both adult and teenage Pagans looking for a new comic book obsession.)

If you're looking for something a little more serious (if not necessarily more realistic), you might take a look at Joseph Linser's Dawn. The story of the Goddess of death and rebirth, his artwork is amazing, and his stories are filled with Pagan imagery - even down to a full explanation of Wiccan philosophy in his most recent collection, Return of the Goddess. Dan Brereton's Nocturnals is very much in the same vein: Pagan themes, supernatural execution. This one is lighter on the Paganism than the other examples in today's column, but I snuck it in because it's really, really pretty. So there's a nice reading list to get you started. Every one of the comics listed above provides a balanced look at our Pagan lives, or at the very least, a glimpse into Pagan sensibilities without prejudices.

Plus, hey, most of them are really pretty - and at an average of three bucks for a single issue or thirteen for a trade paperback collection, they're not the most expensive of all habits. So pick your poison, from the delicate mythology of Finder to the haphazard physical comedy of Charm School: hit your local comic book store today. Tell them Seanan sent you - and tell the Scarlet Witch I said hello. Y

Resources for finding comics described above:
www.lightspeedpress.com (Finder)
www.nocturnals.com (Nocturnals)
www.serenavalentino.com (Gloomcookie)
www.slavelabor.com (Charm School, Little Gloomy and an amazing number of other independent comics).

(Editor's note: our very own Holly Golightly - the deft hand behind the lovely columnist caricatures - is a major part of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch production team, and has her own independently published Pagan comic entitled Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose. We plan to review Tarot - and hopefully, interview Holly - in an upcoming issue of newWitch.)