Magic! Potions! Witches! Oh my!

Witches are so cool, I've always wanted to be a witch. I never understood why they were depicted as ugly and disgusting, because I grew up on movies like The Wizard of Oz and Howl's Moving Castle where witches came in all shapes and sizes; beautiful and gross.

The conversation we had in class about witches was the nail on the head for me. I definitely think the fear of witches comes from the fear of female power. Whether it's sexual power, physical power, or governmental power, it stems from a patriarchal fear that women can do things just as well as men can. I think it's a stupid fear, but it's a real prejudice that still exists today.

I loved reading the first five issues of Redlands. My favorite aspect was how each of the three witches represent archetypes of witches from different cultures, and they're literally from the time periods they reflect. It adds a global feeling to the story, even if it's directly centered in Florida.

Another great part was how none of the characters start out as like-able. Okay, well, they start out as really like-able by murdering a whole clan of white supremacists. But when we actually see the characters of the three witches, they're very sinister. We see them trick an innocent high schooler into a human sacrifice, but we also see the witches caring for each other and for the townspeople somewhat.

The witches in Redlands are very dimensional. I'd go as far as to say they're four dimensional characters, because they have their own wants, flaws, and agendas, but the three of them have a commonality. They're tied together by rituals and magic, which feels like an extra dimensional trait to their already fleshed out characters.

This fourth side of the main trio makes them feel otherworldly and mysterious. Are we supposed to trust them? And if so, to what degree? They're human characters who feel very separate from the human experience, yet feel human things. This is a really cool writing thing that I haven't seen done before, where the people in power feel like other beings yet retain humanity. It makes me want to read more of the comic, and I think I will.

Some examples of other fun witchy things to read/watch are:

• Little Witch Academia, an anime series funded via kickstarter consisting of two movies and a TV show. Basically Harry Potter but with all girls, super cute and funny and there are some really cool animation sequences. 
• The novel HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Gritty and of the time, it chronicles a witch who haunts a town that uses an phone app to track her movement. 
• And finally The Witch directed by Robert Eggers. While not the scariest horror flick, it's definitely an atmospheric one that tells an interesting tale.