Graphic Novel Review: ‘The Witches’

“The Witches: The Graphic Novel” by Roald Dahl and Pénélope Bagieu

Source: Library

Genre: Children’s Fiction, Fantasy

Summary:

Witches are real, and they are very, very dangerous. They wear ordinary clothes and have ordinary jobs, living in ordinary towns all across the world — and there’s nothing they despise more than children. When an eight-year-old boy and his grandmother come face-to-face with the Grand High Witch herself, they may be the only ones who can stop the witches’ latest plot to stamp out every last child in the country!

This full-color graphic novel edition of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, adapted and illustrated by Eisner Award winner Pénélope Bagieu, is the first-ever Dahl story to appear in this format. Graphic novel readers and Roald Dahl fans alike will relish this dynamic new take on a uniquely funny tale.

I never read The Witches as a child nor did I see the movie. Therefore, I missed out on the terror felt by generations. I did however read the book as an adult and appreciated the spine-tingly nature of the story. The graphic novel captures that terror so well.

Many of the elements of the original story are here. Elements are just updated a bit. It’s not explicitly stated but the boy appears to be a POC. Grandma’s smoking is what prompts the trip. Grandma as gruff and rough around the ends but also incredibly loving and supportive. The other child turned into a mouse is now a girl. Nothing that changes the core elements of the story. It just breathes a bit of life into an older story.

Dahl’s work isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you’re a fan, the graphic novel is worth the read.

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