My first introduction to Witchfinder was a good one. It’s always interesting to see how expansive the Mignolaverse is. Witchfinder is a welcomed element due to the fact that Sir Edward Grey is very different from the other characters in the Universe. Personally I’m still getting the feel for his character, but I enjoy his interactions with other characters. Polite, but rude is the best way to describe him. Point in case the story picks up with him reporting his attack to the same useless police officer, Lawless, that met him at the station in the previous issue. When asked to describe the attacker Grey says they were “Ruffians, of course” and adding “doubtless foreign” at the end to thoroughly throw Lawless’ own words back at him. He doesn’t say that he knows that they’re all full of shit and Lawless doesn’t say “well you got us, we’re full of shit”, but it’s all implied and that’s what makes it wonderful.
After that Grey heads to the Poole Elixir’s factory for the tour. He meet’s Sir Horace’s son and his wife and they go to all the same places that Neal did in the same order before his death. He also asks that they tell him anything that Neal asked which they stupidly do at times. They just can’t help but be polite and Grey exploits that fact. The story definitely heats up as Grey finds a source of information and we begin to draw back the curtain on the operation.
The story has a wonderful pacing that keeps everything moving forward. It’s also very entertaining as we see the game that both parties are playing. Writers Kim Newman and Maura McHugh continue to make Grey a great character to read. Grey’s scene with his source is so bizarre, but very different from what you’d expect. His source is asking for his help, but because he’s holding a harpoon he asks him to put it down before he does. It’s not that he’s scared; he just knows if something goes down he doesn’t want the harpoon in hand so he still has an advantage. But the way he says it is rude.
Tyler Crook is flexing his muscles on this story. His work here is different form his BPRD stuff. I think its Grey’s characterization that does it too. He’s kind of an eccentric character which means that Crook can play around with his expressions and mannerisms more. Crook also continues to deliver on the strange and creepy which is a staple of the Mignolaverse.
Yet another entertaining and great issue from the creative team. I’m definitely hooked on the series until the end of the storyline and look forward to seeing the mystery play out on the page. If you like the Mignolaverse then you’ll like this series, its right a home with the rest of the wonderful characters Mignola has created.
Score: 4/5
Writers: Kim Newman and Maura McHugh Artist: Tyler Crook Colorist: Dave Stewart Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 7/16/14 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital