Review by Karl Verhoven

For much of her long career Wanda Maximoff was a superhero, but what interests James Robinson is a brief period in which Scarlet Witch investigated magic under the tutorship of Agatha Harkness. As this precedes the WandaVision TV show, Agatha is an elderly woman, somewhat hampered by being a ghost. From the beginning Robinson ties Scarlet Witch’s powers not to the lottery of mutant abilities, but to ancient pagan powers linked to the planet and to womanhood. Yes, it’s vague, but so were her powers in her previous point and effect version.

The background is there being something fundamentally wrong with magic in the world, and Scarlet Witch follows where the clues to that lead over sixteen individual chapters, with only Vanessa Del Ray (sample spread left) drawing more than one outing. The quality varies, and it’s unfortunate that most of the less impressive art is toward the end. Before then, though, there are constantly shifting visions of beauty, with Joëlle Jones, Tula Lotay (sample spread right) Mike Perkins, Javier Pulido, Marguerite Sauvage, and Kei Zama standing out.

While the purpose is maintained and the bigger picture addressed toward the end, Robinson pulls us into the smaller stories, which tour Scarlet Witch across the world, her presence explained by summonings. She’s drawn to troubled areas, many of which feature Marvel obscurities such as the Peregrine, a depressed French superhero. Not that Robinson just pulls from the well. He supplies wonderful new character the Wu, combining the skills of the Hong Kong action movie star with a mystical heritage. Even her grandmother is great, a fount of salient wisdom such as “when someone tries too hard in one area, look for the places they’re not trying at all, and therein lies the truth”. Robinson has plenty of such bon mots is passing, and provides a gloriously arrogant version of Quicksilver as well as interesting therapy sessions with a remarkable payoff and a worthwhile limitation on Wanda’s magical capabilities.

Everything progresses masterfully until the final few chapters, not only plagued by variable art, but Robinson seemingly not as interested in the widescreen finale as the smaller encounters. Consistent throughout Scarlet Witch’s career has been the muddled issue of her parentage, constantly tinkered with over the decades. Robinson’s revision is as logical as any other at the time, but will surely be messed with once again.

Thankfully for the final chapter and Del Ray’s return, intimacy is again key, enabling Robinson to sign off in style. The few slightly below average chapters aren’t enough to undermine so much that’s right, and if you’re going to invest in the idea, completion is surely worthwhile so this is the format. Alternatively, used copies of Witches’ Road, World of Witchcraft and The Final Hex can still be found.