8 Witchy Graphic Novels To Spellbind You
I love graphic novels with the full depth of my soul. You get story and characters — the reason I read — and you also get art, graphics, and gorgeous visuals. It’s like someone found two amazing things and said, “And now we combine them for extra, to the max, amazingness!” Plus, graphic novels are these magical books that have never failed to get me out of a reading slump.
Then there’s brujas, witches, and magic: anything witchy is my thing, all year round. There’s so much room to play and invent in the world of magic. And when it comes to witches and brujas, you get the whole range. They can be sweet to downright vicious. They come in all ages: Children, teens, adults, and even the ancient thousand-year-old witch. Add humor, make it dark, have a coven, or a love story. The tropes are a plenty, and the possibilities for stories and characters are endless. What I’m saying is I don’t ever pass by a witchy graphic novel without pausing to check it out.
With that in mind here are eight witchy graphic novels if that’s your thing — hint: it should be, they’re fun! There are a bunch that are on the sweet side — maybe because the world is on fire and won’t stop — but there’s a bit of everything for different tastes. There’s romance, found family, generations of witches, and my always favorite trope, “You killed my father; prepare to die!” At least that’s what I call any book with a story about fighting back after a parent’s death. So grab your favorite brew and let these charming (mostly) witches put a reading spell on you.
Season of the Bruja Vol. 1 by Aaron Durán, Sara Soler, and Jaime Martinez
Athalia is a young bruja coming into her passed-down-from-generations power. While working at a paranormal museum and living with her abuela, she has a good life. But you know there has to be an antagonist! Enter a priest who makes Athalia realize the church is hellbent on eliminating brujas and she better figure out her power and strength sooner than later!
You can view some beautifully illustrated pages from inside the graphic novel at Silver Sprocket.
The Witches’ Marriage, Vol. 1 by studio HEADLINE, Eleanor Summers, and Bianca Pistillo
In this witchy manga world, a witch’s goal is to open the Door of Truth. They need a lot of power to do so, and one way many witches choose to gain this power is by combining power through a “witches’ marriage” contract. This is Melissa’s goal when she enters in this arrangement with Tanya. It should get her her intended goal, but what if she starts to fall in love with Tanya? Witchy love!
Tidesong by Wendy Xu
Sophie is a young witch who has not mastered her power at all. Being that her mom and grandmother are insistent she attend the best magic school, she’s sent to a great-aunt and cousin she doesn’t know to prepare her for the entrance exam into Royal Magic Academy. The problem is Sophie doesn’t think her relatives care at all to teach her, so she goes it alone. As you can imagine, things get really complicated quick: her spell does not turn out right and she gets her magic crossed with a water dragon’s magic!
View some lovely visual development pages on Wendy Xu’s website.
The Lunch Witch (Lunch Witch #1) by Deb Lucke
Grunhilda is not who you’d think to work in a school with young children, considering she delights in scaring them. But as the inheritor of her ancestors’ recipes and cauldron — in a world that doesn’t believe in magic anymore — she needs something to do with herself, her cauldron, and her brewing large batches skills. So lunch lady it is! But her belief in not helping people gets put to the test when a young child needs help…
You can check out the trailer for the short film inspired by the graphic novel!
Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione
The Great British Bake Off but with magic? Yes, please, with sugar on top! Add in a romance, a magical cooking boarding school’s new student, and someone keeping a secret and how can you not love this? Come for the GBBO with a magic premise, and stay for the adorable vibes!
Check out the great characters, school, and illustrations with some sample pages at Dark Horse.
5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love by Zeniko Sumiya and Avery Hutley
Here’s a fun short manga collection of three stories, two of which focus on a witch older than 500 years and her hunter. This manga romance is an enemies-to-lover story, and it starts with the witch turning her hunter into a cat and teasing she’ll only turn her back for a kiss…
You can check out the fun illustrations on the Amazon page by clicking “read sample.”
A Witch’s Love at the End of the World, Vol. 1 Kujira
In this world, witches were once persecuted and killed (sound familiar?) and the ones that survived aligned themselves secretly with great leaders. Now, they train new witches in an elite school. Alice, a top witch, gets paired with Mari, who appears to not have much power and talent. The girl’s pairing angers other students who ultimately summon a demon (jealous much?). To make the problem worse, witches aren’t allowed to fall in love, but maybe Alice has, threatening her to lose all her power…
You can check out the sweet illustrations on the Amazon page by clicking “read sample.“
Witchy, Volume 1 by Ariel Slamet Ries
The length of your hair is super important in the Hyalin kingdom. It determines your power’s strength as a witch! If it’s too long, you will be banished and annihilated (rude!). Enter Nyneve, a young witch who has to make a choice: join the Witch Guard which is responsible for her father’s death or fight! I love a good “You killed my father; prepare to die” trope!
You can get an idea for the great artwork by watching this trailer of the book.
Looking for even more witchy comics? Try 19 of the Best Comics About Witches for Halloween. For manga lovers, here are 10 of the Best Witch Manga.
