The Witching Hour (Vertigo)

(Vertigo, 1999-2000, 2003)
™ and © 2000 Jeph Loeb & Chris Bachalo

White. Red. Blue. Gray. All colors, but also, apparently, all witches, who have been playing games with each other and with the world for hundreds of years. Controlling—or merely presenting?—it all is Miss White, who deals the cards of chance, or opportunity, and what people do with them is up to them. Each person she encounters has their life changed, and only they can say if it’s for better or worse. A young woman who wants her father back. A drugged-out prostitute who must choose between the life she wants and one more hit. A lovelorn bartender. A gambler who is trying to save his life. Each runs into a mysterious figure, who just might have what they’re looking for, even if they don’t realize what it is.

This Vertigo mini-series from Jeph Loeb and Chris Bachalo is written like a puzzle, presenting many levels of characters and stories, most set in the present time—as the witching hour approaches—but also stretching back 600 years in the past, where we see how Miss White’s unusual life began. Beautifully drawn and alternately tragic and lighthearted.

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