A little bonding gets underway.
Creative Staff:
Story: Steve Orlando
Art: Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
What They Say:
ENTER POLARIS! When Polaris’ visit to her sister’s new magic shop is interrupted by a microscopic warrior desperate for aid, Polaris and the Scarlet Witch put their own mystery on hold to help on a fantastic journey through Sub-Atomica! Meanwhile, the dark past of Wanda’s enigmatic shop clerk, Darcy Lewis, comes back…with a vengeance.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a lengthy history of reading the character going back to the early 1980s, it was enjoyable to get back into the character and her world with this new series. Especially since most of my experience for a long time has just been the film and TV side of it. The series continues to come from a solid creative team as Steve Orlando does a lot of what I like in running a book. Here, we don’t feel like we’re tethered to other recent events and need to catch up on things, instead just launching right into the premise here. Sara Pichelli’s handling of the artwork and their projects over the years has been fantastic, making this a really solid fit with its mix of magic and obscure. There’s a great visual take on Wanda here that works well while the magic side and the shop itself have a distinctive look to them.
This installment is definitely an interesting one and again, in a weird way, feels like it’s a book about tying up loose ends from other storylines. Wanda’s in such a good place in dealing with things and knowing herself at this point that it works well. She and Darcy returning to the shop to discover Polaris there, who apparently has become Wanda’s adoptive half-sister since the last time I read these characters in the 90s, is there to help figure out the stone that she found previously. They’re not able to figure out much other than that it’s definitely not normal before they get interrupted by a new arrival through the Lost Door. It’s an easy gimmick in a way but it’s effective in introducing new things that can be dealt with and that can, in its own weird way, be timely for the bigger picture as well.
This one has a visitor from Sub-Atomica, so Wanda and Polaris “get small” and help out as they discover that this woman named Mardj has lost her village to invaders known as Nillans. She’s intending to find the legendary sword to fight back against them and rally her people so it’s a quest. It’s done well in that the majority of it is essentially storybook with narration and full-page visuals as opposed to more traditional superhero sequential art. This lets Pichelli really shine in playing with layouts and movement of the narrative and with Wilson’s color design, it blends beautifully throughout. I’ll admit reading the story of Sub Atomica from a distance in a way because it’s a one-off thing for now at least but it’s engaging and fun and we see that it was a way for Wanda to spend time with Polaris and bond with her more. It’s not deep and it’s more said at the end than shown in story, but the story shows all three working together so well that it’s a good way to blend all of this before they return to their own homes. Well, things for Wanda take a last-minute twist with Darcy being kidnapped and the shop being blown up. But that’s how stingers work.
In Summary:
Scarlet Witch continues to be an absolute delight and that has me wary about when the bottom might fall out from under it. Steve Orland is one of those folks that I trust to write a book like this but the crossover nature of Marvel is what keeps me away from so many of their mainstream books overall, as well as the way some come to such a quick and problematic end. I’m thoroughly enjoying this more languid approach to the character and their story and the small moments aspects that allow us to really connect with the characters. It’s charming, engaging, and gives you the opportunity to enjoy it all the more. This issue also goes for a really good approach to presenting the Sub Atomica storyline so that it’s not quips and action but rather something that has a fairy tale approach with great artwork and color design. The next piece with Darcy is going to be where we truly see what Orlando is playing with.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: March 8th, 2023
MSRP: $3.99
