A day of reckoning is at hand, and sometimes it’s best to bury your enemies rather than imprisoning them.
Creative Staff
Series created by Elisabetta Gnone
Art Direction: Alessandro Barbucci, Barbara Canepa
Translation/Adaptation: Linda Ghio & Stephanie Dagg at Editing Zone
(Each chapter was originally published as a standalone comic book, and like most series, each book has a rotating creator list consisting of artists, colorists, letterers, etc. The book credits everyone involved, but for brevity and my own sanity I’m only noting the leads.)
What They Say
W.I.T.C.H. Part IV: Trial of the Oracle Vol. #01
The Oracle Accused!
A shadow moves over Kandrakar, and the Oracle can feel it stirring. When a member of the Congregation questions his recent decisions and his involvement in human affairs, Kandrakar’s leader suddenly finds himself on trial! The girls are called to testify, but given their recent treatment by the Oracle, will they stand with him or against him…?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s about time that the Oracle faces some repercussions for the way he was treating the girls. Unfortunately, that comeuppance is an obvious play by less than scrupulous forces.
The trouble begins when one of the council members named Endarno begins to question the decisions of the Oracle. He demands the immediate trial and possible removal of the Oracle but smartly moves slowly enough to not trigger immediate alarm bells in everyone. The trusted member of the council calls forth the guardians to testify and the girls admit there mistrust and dislike of the Oracle’s orders. Not to mention the withholding of valuable information and complete lack of trust.
The council then votes to remove the Oracle, and we learn that he had been in his position so long he no longer remembered his previous life as a mortal. Or perhaps the process of becoming an Oracle strips memories from the person. He is returned to his original homeworld, the same as Orube’s, and Endarno is placed as a temporary Oracle. He basically has a timed trial and isn’t gifted with the full powers of one, having won out over Hay Lin’s grandmother for the position.
The girls, meanwhile, are suffering complications from not only losing their convenient astral drops but from giving up their ‘gifts’ to Maqi in the previous volume. They no longer have their extra energy reserves to draw on, and it turns out that superhuman vigor didn’t just give them a small boost, but made it possible for them to easily transform without fatigue. Will spends a majority of the volume in a mood about Matt that drags on and on, placing the focus on the other girls. Cornelia is once again a focus as the plot moves in a direction that has her contemplating her relationship with Caleb and their break-up.
The actual dark force behind Endarno’s actions turns out to be an old enemy who has plotted from the inside to exact revenge. The plan is actually well thought out, although as the story moves forward the impatience is likely going to result in the bad guy’s eventual downfall. The sneak attacks may be ingenious, but certain members of the council already suspect that there’s something dreadfully wrong going on.
By the conclusion of this volume, it appears that Will and Matt have finally reached an important milestone in their relationship. He knows Will has magic powers and they share a genuine kiss. I hope this is the end of the mistrust and jealousy for a while, but I doubt it. The teen angst must flow.
The artwork in some of these chapters is starting to show more of each artist’s individual style. It doesn’t vary extremely wildly, but it is noticeable. Panel flow has improved overall, with a total lack of confusion and no need for reading flow arrows in this volume, which is a plus. This is the first volume where I found a few instances of completely untranslated Italian, which took me by surprise. Both were worked into the artwork in a way that probably would have taken too much time to retouch, but I found it amusing.
The extras in this volume are a look into Taranee’s and Cornelia’s wardrobes.
In Summary
The Oracle finally has to answer for his less than forthcoming behavior toward the guardians. The victory is extremely short-lived as the new boss proves to be worse than the old. Worse, he’s a straight up villain who is sly enough to pull a fast one on the council. That puts a damper on watching the Oracle stripped of his power and returned to his home world. It’s nice to see some intelligent crime being carried out in this series. Back on Earth the girls continue their teenage struggles and are still dealing with the fallout from the chaos their magic doubles created. Not to mention new attacks threatening to erase them from their loved one’s memories and Will’s ongoing rocky relationship with Matt and Orube.
Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: B +
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: JY (Yen Press), Disney Comics
Release Date: September 25, 2018
MSRP: $11.00 US / $14.50 CN
