Feature: Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens #3 Reviews 

Mignolaversity: “Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens” #3

By and | May 26th, 2021
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

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“Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens” #3 goes into new territory for a Mike Mignola book, with romance playing a major (and necessary) part of the unfolding story. Warning, this review contains major spoilers.

Cover by Abigail Larson
Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Illustrated by Bridgit Connell
Colored by Michelle Madsen
Lettered by Clem Robins

Firelight witches attack Sofia’s plane and cause a devastating crash. Now Sofia and Imogen must race to meet up with the rest of the survivors before the Hexenkorps witches kill any survivors that may remain.

Join the original Baltimore writing team of Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden as they continue the horror legacy alongside the stunning art of Bridgit Connell!

Mark Tweedale: Before we launch into the review, Kate, how familiar are you with the Outerverse? Is “Lady Baltimore” the first title you’ve read or were you following “Baltimore” and “Joe Golem: Occult Detective” as well?

“Joe Golem: Occult Detective—
The Conjurors” #2
Cover by Dave Palumbo
Kate Kosturski: I read the “Joe Golem: Occult Detective” series last year, and that was my first exposure to the larger Outerverse. However, I did see some art from “Baltimore” a few years ago at a Mignola exhibit at New York City’s Society for Illustrators, so I had a passing—very passing—familiarity with the Outerverse.

That said, there’s enough exposition in this story that I haven’t felt lost as a new reader. In your look at the debut issue, you make mention of a lot of catching up for characters, which served well to provide a decent foundation for me as a new reader. But there’s also a fair bit of context missing that would take my appreciation of these issues to a deeper level, so I do have some Outerverse homework to do.

Mark: It’s good that you’re still getting the essentials though. Given your familiarity with “Joe Golem,” I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on the connections in this issue then.

I’ve wanted to talk about this comic for a while now, ever since I first saw Abigail Larson’s cover with Sofia and Imogen falling through the sky. For me, this is the cover that expresses what this series is. Yeah, there’s magic and there’s adventure, but in the middle of all that, Imogen has an arm protectively wrapped around Sofia. I like that this cover celebrates the sapphic romance between these two. Sexuality is rarely a part of Mike Mignola’s stories, but this is a core part of who Sofia is and such a natural extension of what came before.

Kate: While Sofia fights the very literal demons in their presence, she’s also fighting her own inner demon: accepting that she has the capability to love, and to love outside of conventional social expectations. That this story doesn’t shy away from it sends a powerful message.

Mark: Considering the dark places she’s been, where all that mattered was her mission with no hope for any kind of future for herself, it’s such a joy to see Sofia come to life again. She smiles, she has hopes, and for the first time that I can remember, she wants more than just to survive, but to live.

Kate: There’s no better metaphor for that than on page fifteen, as Sofia and Imogen have a heart-to-heart moment as the sun rises behind them. It’s a dawning of a new day for Sofia.

Mark: And Imogen makes a great addition to the cast. Back in “Baltimore,” there was an ensemble cast of men and Sofia, and while Sofia had friends among them, they all shared a similar mood, dressed in greys and browns, and were very reserved in the way they expressed anything other than anger. Imogen is such a stark contrast; she’s so open with her feelings and I love that she’s fighting in a floral dress. She brings a different and very welcome energy to the Outerverse.

Kate: That was something I noticed and loved—her wardrobe. Her femininity provides a nice contrast to Sofia and her more masculine look, helping her (Sofia) to connect with her feminine side, her heart over her head. It’s sexy without being overly sexualizing.

Continued below

And that description also applies to the various witches. They all have their own unique looks throughout, and show their power in effective ways, all while remaining feminine. It’s such an impactful statement on being a woman—strength without sacrificing womanhood. There’s what appears to be hundreds of witches in this scene, and Bridgit Connel and Michelle Madsen infuse each one with their own personalities, without sacrificing the characterization of our main characters. That’s exceptional talent.

Mark: That’s something that writer Christopher Golden has spoken about in interviews, how he’d written the witches and then Bridgit Connell came back with all these suggestions that he ended up incorporating and it really expanded the world building of the witches.

I was watching an interview with a woman recently that had been working on a project (not a comic) where she mentioned how she felt like her role had been diminished to just being “the female vessel for a male’s project,” which is exactly as depressing as it sounds. But listening to the team on this book discussing their work, everyone seems to be operating in “yes and” mode, constantly plussing each other’s work, and I think it shows in the final issue. As far as the witch’s covens, they feel like there’s more to them than what’s literally on the page, which gives this story so much life. And this isn’t just affecting “Lady Baltimore” either. When I reviewed “Cojacaru the Skinner” #2 last week, I could see how this approach to the witches is bleeding into all corners of the Outerverse.

Kate: When you have a writing and art team with that shared vision, synergy, and respect for each other’s work, it shows.

Another thing that impressed me about the artwork: the paneling. There are a lot of scenes in this book that would serve well as full page spreads, like on page twelve as the witches join their powers. But you get that same cinematic feel in a smaller panel. This art team doesn’t waste their space.

Mark: That’s something that makes the comic feels a bit more European to me, since many European comics tend toward pages with higher panel density than American comics, often opting for four-tiered pages rather than three tiers. A lot of that has to do with page size, though. Here, I think it stems from the needs of the pacing. The emphasis isn’t so much on action, but on moments of tension or atmosphere, so the panels that are building up to the action tend to be bigger than the panels when all hell breaks loose.

Kate: I noticed that in several English translations of series I read recently from Titan Comics: the density of pages and panels, and I certainly saw that influence here. It can be overwhelming, but everyone here has that synergy to keep the action and tension going without sacrificing the character development.

I want to go back to a point you brought up early on, how this series is showing sexuality in a way you don’t normally see in the Mignolaverse. Did Mignola and company get it right? Is this something you want to see more of in future stories?

Mark: In general, it’s not something that’s a part of his stories, but when it is it’s about a toxic relationship, something related to or even driving the horror of the story. We see plenty of strong and healthy platonic relationships, but healthy romantic ones are rare. In the case of Sofia and Imogen, the romance serves a greater purpose and I feel like the story would be lesser without it. Do I want to see more? If it’s done like this, absolutely yes.

I also wanted to mention Josef the Golem’s appearance in this story. It’s a great moment, but it’s one of those cases where the marketing got in the way of the story a bit. Unfortunately, before this issue came out, the cover for “Lady Baltimore: The Witch Queens” #5 and its solicitation was already out there. That and we already know “The Golem Walks Among Us!” begins in August. It’s not like this is a huge spoiler, but the way Josef’s appearance in this issue is written and drawn, I wish I could’ve gone into it blind.

Continued below

Kate: Indeed, knowing all of this from reading the solicits made this appearance feel rather anticlimactic, especially when Rigo and Sofia began strategizing how to include him in their plans, since you now have an eye to how those plans will work out.

Mark: Did you know any of the ghostly characters in the final panel on the last page? The guy is Adolf Hitler, who was eaten alive by vampire nuns in October 1916, the naked witch covered in blood is Madame Helena Blavatsky, who died in April 1925 when she was torn in half by a dark god, and the white Ur-witch. . . I can’t place her, I’m afraid. I need to dig through the books a bit, I think.

It sucks that Hitler is back, but I guess we already know from “Joe Golem: Occult Detective” that World War II still happened in this alternate history, so I shouldn’t be surprised to see him.

Kate: As I learned from many years of watching Doctor Who, certain events are a fixed point in time, and cannot be changed, no matter how much we want them to be. And keeping World War II in this alternative history, combined with the supernatural—elements, allows for exploration of deeper metaphor into the conflict and the overall horrors of war.

Overall, I would give this issue a 7.5. I love that we got to know Imogen and Sofia a bit better, without having to skimp on the action. I remain impressed with the level of detail that the art team puts in each panel without making everything overwhelming. And while I’m enjoying the story as a standalone tale, with plenty of context for a new reader (itself developed organically throughout), reviewing this with you gives me some Outerverse homework to do. I have a few things to read (and re-read) and then I want to give this series a second look.

Mark: I’m going for an 8. I was considering a 7.5, just because having the stuff with Josef the Golem being spoiled did take away from the issue a bit, but when I think back on the issue as a whole, I’m totally swept up in the Imogen and Sofia relationship, and I’m getting further pulled into the worldbuilding. I have a pile of notes that we didn’t even get to (saving for the next review) because it was an issue that stayed on my mind after I finished it.

Final Verdict: 7.75 – The characterization and worldbuilding continue to excel, showing strong synergy between scripting and art. Although we’ve been slightly spoiled about the series’s big reveal, we’re certainly excited for more of Sofia and Imogen.


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Kate Kosturski

Kate Kosturski is your Multiversity social media manager, a librarian by day and a comics geek...well, by day too (and by night). Kate's writing has also been featured at PanelxPanel, Women Write About Comics, and Geeks OUT. She spends her free time spending too much money on Funko POP figures and LEGO, playing with yarn, and rooting for the hapless New York Mets. Follow her on Twitter at @librarian_kate.

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Mark Tweedale

Mark writes Haunted Trails, The Harrow County Observer, The Damned Speakeasy, and a bunch of stuff for Mignolaversity. An animator and an eternal Tintin fan, he spends his free time reading comics, listening to film scores, watching far too many video essays, and consuming the finest dark chocolates. You can find him on BlueSky.

EMAIL | ARTICLES


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