Witch Doctor

    (Griot, 2002)
™ and © Griot Enterprises

This title is a prime example of why fans, and not just creators, should be thankful for the Xeric Foundation. For those who don’t know, this organization awards cash grants to a select number of small-press creators each year. When writer and artist Kenjji became one of the latest recipients of this highly coveted award, he made the most of it and produced an exquisitely illustrated and well-researched story with a topic rarely explored in modern comics.

Dr. Jovan Carrington is a psychiatrist who struggles with his own form of madness, even as he helps his patients conquer theirs. He is plagued with horrific voodoo visions: visions whose origins date back to his childhood, when he was first exposed to voodoo rituals while on a series of African expeditions with his father. To make things worse, Carrington’s father has now fallen gravely ill in Haiti and has to face his inner fears when he journeys there.

Few creators see the concept of voodoo as anything more than sticking pins in straw figures of their boss or ex-whatever, but Kenjji explores the entirety of the religion, avoiding all the stereotypes and giving readers an entertaining, and, yes, even educational storyline. And the art is evocative of Treasury of Victorian Murder creator Rick Geary: richly detailed where it needs to be, but not with the George Pérez-style of draftsman-like precision.

Kenjji is one of the most deserving creators ever to receive recognition from the Xeric Foundation. Fans who seek out this comic book will not be disappointed.

— Jim Johnson
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