WitchCraft: La Terreur (1998)

WitchCraft: La Terreur (1998)

Author: James Robinson  |  Illustrator: Michael Zulli  |  Page Count: 72 (24 x 3)

"[N]othing is for nothing."

'La Terreur' translates to 'The Terror', referencing a period in France's past (also known as The Reign of Terror) in which a bloody revolution took place as a percentage of the populace tried to turn the political climate from a Monarchy into a Republic. Wikipedia has more details if you want to brush up on the cultural and political happenings around which the story is set.

It's a sequel to WitchCraft (1994), but you don't need to have read the previous book because the only returning characters are The Hecate, three witches previously seen in the Sandman universe, and it doesn't continue the same story. It's a new adventure with them taking less of an active role. Instead, they're more of a catalyst. It's also a lot less enjoyable than the previous outing.

The main protagonist is Isadore Hibbert, aged seventeen. Circumstances leave Isadore with a problem and a limited time in which to deal with it. If she isn't able to increase her intellectual, spiritual and magical growth before it's too late, then there'll be additional blood spilled on the cobbles.

She's a likable lass, but her story lacks flourish or any identifiable uniqueness; it feels rushed and, like the previous book, any depth that might've been is a casualty of the short page count.

Mike Zulli's sketchy lines suit the mood, though, and he gets creative with panel borders once or twice. Elsewhere, the finery of the nobles gives him an opportunity to add some colour.

NOTE: The picture below is an amalgamation of Michael Kaluta's cover art of all three issues. I'll maybe add the individual issues at a later date. Time has boned me, on this occasion.