BOOM! Studios has a book coming out in November called Salem: Queen of Thorns, which is about witches in colonial America. I’m trying to remember the analogy that Ross Richie used when he talked about the book in San Diego this past summer. Something like, “It’s going to do for witches what” something did for something. Buffy did for vampires? Walking Dead did for zombies? Hell, I can’t remember, and maybe it isn’t important anyway …
Anyway … the book isn’t even out yet, and already they’re getting complaints from witches. In fact, they have a letter up on their website from an angry pagan:
I am an avid comic reader and I am also a pagan. I have been on this path for many years and my family and I have fought off hate, bigotry and verbal abuse due to the large quantity of misinformation about the craft. To think I would be safe from this sort of thing in my own genre of pop culture. I guess I was wrong because apparently you are publishing a comic named Salem Queens of Thorns which demonizes witchs and adds further justification for their torturing and death. Did you know that in the dark ages 9 million people (mostly women and some children) were accused, tortured and killed because of lies and misinformation spread by the church? These women were midwives, healers and herbalogists.
On that same page you’ll also find a response from the book’s creators, Kevin Walsh and Chris Morgan:
We agree that a comic book that asserts Pagans are evil and destructive might well be considered insensitive, offensive and even slanderous. However, SALEM: QUEEN OF THORNS is not that book. We appreciate your criticisms, but feel they are based on a mistaken understanding of the true content of our story.
In SALEM, the religious authorities are an evil force that persecutes innocents in the witch trials. They aren’t celebrated in any way and are, in fact, major villains.
Our protagonist, Elias Hooke, is a reformed member of the Church who carries a heavy burden of guilt for the evil he performed for them in ignorance. And his quest to redeem himself is one of his main motivations.
More importantly, one of our chief characters, Hannah Foster, is a healer accused of witchcraft. She is in no way the “demonized” villain of the piece. Rather, she is one of the key heroes on a noble journey to combat evil and save the world.
Let’s all chime in together now: “Don’t judge a comic until you’ve actually read it.” Or at least know something about the story. I mean, heck, the pagans are good guys here, and it’s the religious authority types who are the villains. Which I’m sure won’t piss off anybody.
September 21st, 2007 at 7:26 am
Just goes to show that any religion can be pissed about something.
Still, LMAOtacular.
September 21st, 2007 at 8:56 am
Will the progressive civil rights mission of Bewitched have been in vain? So many people still believe that if you throw water on a witch, she’ll melt.
We shall overcome.
September 21st, 2007 at 11:14 am
To paraphrase from the movie Stripes:
“Lighten up, Witchy-Poo.”
September 21st, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Okay, the term “witch” has been used to describe evil beings and wicked sorceresses for thousands of years. Get over it. You can’t change the result of centuries of folk culture.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Just want to set some things staraight. First that 9 million tally is grossly exaggerated. Hell what was the tally of the Black death? Oh right that was 20 million deaths in Europe alone, which is between a third and two-thirds of Europe’s population. That would mean that a sizable portion of Europe were witches. Oh by the way Christianity didn’t conert by the sword until the New World so you can’t use that arguement (Hey in fact for the most part they were killed for not admitting they were witches not for admitting). Another thing, if the church was so good at killing witches how come they are a practicing faith? Oh yeah thats right, what modern witchcraft, wicca, really doesn’t go back that far, just about a hundred years or so.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:45 am
All this is just designed to divert attention away from the persecution of Muggles by Witches and Wizards. If you ask me, I think You Know Who is behind this.
Seriously, having actually read an advance copy of the comic, I can tell you that not only is it not in the least bit bigoted, but a great read which I heartily recommend.