The Witch's Egg
A mother and her daughters stave off the end of the world in Donya Todd’s fantastical graphic novel The Witch’s Egg.
Urfi, a cat witch, summons an angel in the hope of finding love and starting a family. The relationship doesn’t last, but Urfi is left with an egg containing her unborn children. As she seeks safety, Urfi gives birth to three girls, Isobel, Batzel, and Mazel. Each of the girls has a power of some kind. When their brother, the worm-child, threatens the world’s survival, they help their mother defeat him.
Mythological in scale, this immersive, timeless epic features occasional rhymes, as in a dream predicting the apocalyptic arrival of a worm-king: “The sorrowed song he sings / Brings an end to all things.” Intentional misspellings (“nyght,” “effigie,” and “pidgeon”) and off-kilter, handwritten lettering draw the eye, requiring more time to absorb. The illustrations have a singular, psychedelic style and feature a wide range of stunning colors. Extraordinary creatures with unusual appearances—the stuff of dreams and nightmares—also appear.
An angel’s violent rages and a mother’s fierce struggle to protect her children are evocative in the allegorical graphic novel The Witch’s Egg.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
