Witches who practice herbal magic and wear pointed black hats are often relegated to folklore, appearing once a year on Halloween. They then fly through the sky on broomsticks, play with black cat familiars, and set traps for unwary children. Of course, the witches in famous fairy tales are like this. hansel and gretel Appears in children’s literature, but in most cases this old-fashioned witch is considered out of step with the modern world.
So what would happen if one of these old-fashioned witches crossed paths with it? This seems to be the problem beech forest aria Preparing an answer. The story is set in Ireland and revolves around Arya, a young witch (she looks to be about thirteen or fourteen) living alone deep in the beech forest of the same name. Alia is not always alone. Until recently, her grandmother stayed with her. Gran is also a witch, and she teaches Alya her trade, which seems to be mainly herbal medicine and herbalism. aria explain She can use other magic like Gran, but nothing in the book really proves that.
This is almost certainly intentional. Aria makes ends meet (so to speak; she’s basically self-sufficient) by selling herbs and medicines to a “merchant” who comes about once a month. He is also Aria’s only contact with the outside world. Her grandmother set up a barrier spell to hide their treehouse, and the merchant was the only one who could get through it. So, through him, she hears about the humans in her town and the way the world exists outside of her little enclave.
Everything changes one winter night when a white wolf crosses the barrier. The opening image of the wolf strongly suggests that he’s some sort of werewolf, and it looks like he might be specifically looking for Arya, although we don’t know for sure. After a brief moment of panic, Alia happily welcomes him in, which speaks volumes about her loneliness and underlying naivety. She has remained true to her grandmother’s decree to stay behind a protective barrier, but this means that since her grandmother’s death she has only been able to see one person once a month. The poor girl clearly longed for company. Gwyn, the name she gave the wolf, said he would stay through the winter, and as spring approached, Arya’s panic led her to prove that – maybe – her magic wasn’t so bad after all.
However, this happens off-page. We never know if Aria can cast real magic, though there’s a real hint that maybe she can when she actually tries. Maybe she failed to reset the barrier around the forest because she didn’t want to be alone anymore. The merchant Theodore appears at the end of the volume and seems to be doing his best to isolate her, just like her grandmother did. But Gwen seems unsure that this is really in Aria’s best interest, and when the barrier is lifted, Aria’s home is found by two local kids, Alvin and his sister Colleen. When they emerge, Aria is giddy with fear and excitement, while Alvin is wary for some very good reasons that make for the book’s best reveals.
The Irish setting is unusual enough for a comic to help it stand out, although it doesn’t need that advantage when we see the main reveal. It’s obvious Evening fog time A study of traditional Irish culture or cuisine – if you’ve ever wanted a very simple colcannon recipe, this book has it. There isn’t much mention other than a mention of the Halloween witches from Irish folklore, which feels like a missed opportunity. To be fair, though, the concept of what we think of today as a “witch” was not necessarily part of traditional Irish mythology. However, there is an obvious translation issue when the text uses “cat-sith” to refer to a type of Celtic feline fairy; “sith” is the Scottish spelling and should be “sidhe” or “sidhe” in Irish si”.
beech forest ariaVolume One is largely a cozy fantasy. Alia’s life is simple, if lonely, and from the beginning of the book there doesn’t seem to be anything dire at stake. But that will change as more about the world is revealed, and why Arya should stay in her hidden grove may bring a darker side to the story. But even if it doesn’t, this is an engaging first volume, with a strong plot and warm, detailed art. It should be worth reading on to the second volume to see where the story goes.
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