There are a lot of comics out there, but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. At Marvel Comics, The House of Ideas has been introducing fascinating new stories to Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch in her latest comic book series. Recently Wanda opened her Emporium magic shop and hired Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran Darcy Lewis. Today we are going to explain why you can’t miss a chapter of Marvel’s latest “Scarlet Witch” comic book series.
Who’s this by?
Author Steve Orlando’s first work at Marvel is credited as “Avengers: Curse Of The Man-Thing” #1 in 2021 featuring art from Francesco Mobili. Orlando has always chosen or been assigned fascinating projects at The House of Ideas. Following this story, Orlando worked on a Symbiote tie-in for Marvel’s “King in Black” comic book. “King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes” #3 was also written by Rodney Barnes with art from Danilo S. Beyruth and Gerardo Sandoval. Orlando continued to work on the odd projects from Marvel with everything from “Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird” #1 with writer Nyla Rose and artist David Cutler to “Extreme Carnage: Toxin” #1 with artist Gerardo Sandoval. Interestingly enough it appears that the “The Darkhold Alpha” #1 with art from Cian Tormey was a prelude to Orlando’s “Scarlet Witch” comic book.
Artist Sara Pichelli has work at Marvel for a while now. Pichelli’s first work for The House of Ideas is credited as “NYX: No Way Home” #3 written by Marjorie Liu with art from Sara Pichelli and Kalman Andrasofszky all the way back in 2008! Pichelli toured the Marvel Universe with “X-Men: Manifest Destiny” #5 written by Kieron Gillen, Frank Tieri and Mike Carey. “X-Men: Manifest Destiny” #5 features art from Michael Ryan, Ben Oliver and of course, Sara Pichelli! Pichelli worked on so many interesting comic book series from “Runaways” by James Asmus and Christopher Yost to “Ultimate Comics Spider-Man” #15 from writer Brian Michael Bendis.
What’s it all about?
Marvel’s latest “Scarlet Witch” series shows Wanda Maximoff operating The Emporium magic shop with her employee Darcy Lewis. Wanda continues to encounter supernatural forces thanks to The Last Door located inside her shop. People in need of Wanda’s help open The Last Door inside The Emporium.
What makes it so great?
The aspect that makes Steve Orlando and Sara Pichelli’s “Scarlet Witch” ongoing so strong is the personal touch that Orlando lends to the character interactions in Wanda’s life. Readers picked up on the debut issue of “Scarlet Witch” with a fascinating backdrop as Wanda recently absorbed the “Darkhold” in Orlando’s previous comic books. Orlando also wisely used the debut issue to introduce Quicksilver back into Wanda’s life. Wanda’s reunion with Polaris in issue #3 also crafted unique exchanges between Darcy and Wanda in the series. Orlando has crafted unique plotting in “Scarlet Witch” and has utilized several long subplots. Joseph’s introduction in issue #5 took on a dark, complicated subplot that added so much beautiful intrigue towards the page. The threat of Hexfinder and her relationship to Joseph at Marvel is another thrilling implementation of a long plot thread.
The best thing about Sara Pichelli’s art is her incredibly nimble, visceral line that captures the minor details in the most subtle pages. There’s a beautiful page where the trail behind Wanda’s hair propels her across The Pacific Ocean in the debut chapter that is just stunning visually. Pichelli uses a great sense of perspective and strong page layouts to keep readers engaged in the entire “Scarlet Witch” narrative. Readers have been treated to great artists on the “Scarlet Witch” comic in addition to Pichelli. Dauterman’s unconventional layouts and strong eye for action made issue #5 a really special brawl for Wanda. Artist Lorenzo Tammetta has been working alongside Pichelli in later chapters of the series. The expressions for Hexfinder in the ninth issue earn a lot of fascinating intrigue from the narrative. Tammetta and Pichelli craft a beautiful and irreverent line for Joseph that makes his morality even more ambiguous. Overtime it almost appears that Tammetta and Pichelli’s line seemingly gets more animated. Wanda’s hair is curvy and character expressions are even more detailed then they used to be in earlier issues. Pichelli and Tammetta’s art is so detailed, yet both artists seemingly know when to lessen the details on faces for a more dramatic effect. Joseph’s muted eyes on a panel in issue #9 was perfectly framed.
Continued belowAnother element of “Scarlet Witch” that has made the series incredibly subversive are some of the fascinating, magic-based characters that follow Wanda. In issue #6, readers are introduced to Ganymede, Last Survivor of the Archsisterhood. In the fifth chapter Wanda goes up against Scythia of the Bacchae. “Scarlet Witch” is a great way to get to know Wanda through all the different relationships she has from The Last Door or in her personal life. The new villains and characters Orlando crafted for “Scarlet Witch” is seemingly opening the door towards new possibilities with Wanda.
How can you read it?
“Scarlet Witch” is an ongoing series published monthly by Marvel Comics. The first collected volume of the series is on-sale now called “Scarlet Witch By Steve Orlando Vol. 1: The Last Door.” Whatever you do, don’t miss the tense character interactions with Wanda’s friends and family in the “Scarlet Witch” ongoing comic book. While Wanda’s main title ended this week in “Scarlet Witch” #10, Wanda will be back in no time in “Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver” #1 set to go on-sale 2/14 from Steve Orlando, Lorenzo Tammetta and Russell Dauterman!
