The long-awaited network debut of Wytches, an Image Comics property from the minds of Scott Snyder and Jock, received some major news when it was revealed that Amazon Prime Video would be turning its streaming rights into an animated series. This came after it was previously reported the six-book series would be adapted into a feature film. While more times than not a live-action portrayal can serve as a better catalyst for storytelling, in the case of Wytches, the decision to produce it in the form of an animated series is the optimal choice. The horror story will join a growing collection of comic book adaptations on Amazon Prime, a list headlined by The Boys, and another animated series, Invincible.

There’s no timetable for when fans can expect to see Wytches on the small screen, but what is known is that the creators will serve as executive producers, which always is reassuring when it comes to properly taking what’s on the page onto the screen. They’ll team up with Plan B Entertainment and Project 51 Productions with the former being behind other Amazon properties like Paper Girls and Outer Range, as well as The OA on Netflix. Seeing the team that has been assembled to bring the story of Wyches to life is a breath of fresh air to the readers, and seeing this eerie tale play out in an animated series will allow it to reach its maximum potential.

What Is 'Wytches' About?

Wytches Bad Egg Halloween Special
Image via Image Comics 

For those who have never read Wytches, the book was released in 2014 and saw its issues spread out into the following year. This isn’t anything close to a comic book about a superhero, it’s a dark and twisted tale in the horror genre, produced by the same comic company as the uber-popular The Walking Dead. Wytches follows the story of Sailor Rooks, a 17-year-old girl who deals with the trouble of being bullied. Eventually, a wild twist unfolds in that unfortunate situation, and Sailor encounters this mystical, ancient creature lurking in the trees. From that point forward, the books see the Rooks family end up moving to a New England town in hopes of getting away from their past, only to see that these creatures are lurking everywhere. There’s a 180 done by Snyder and Jock by taking a known monster like a witch and giving it a whole new dynamic in this series which leads to some interesting backstory and an ending that new readers won’t see coming. With beautiful artwork depicting the craziness that resides in the Wytches' world, it makes perfect sense that the adaptation would take the next with an animated iteration as opposed to live-action or even taking it into an animated movie. Using a television series to push the story forward will allow for page-to-page recreations and the ability to fill in gaps and add more backstories to a world that is brimming with darkness.

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Amazon Will Give 'Wytches' More Room to Play

Wytches comic panel

There's a uniqueness to Wytches that really makes it stand out from the pack and gives Amazon something different from anything else out there. There are certain moments in the books that leave the readers suspended in disbelief and seeing these scenes play out in animation as opposed to a live-action retelling makes the most sense. For starters, the wytches themselves are the most important aspect of this tale.

There’s always a risk when adapting something grotesque and unnatural-looking from a comic into another medium, and the design of these creatures in Wytches is extraordinary. It would be a tough ask to make a convincing-looking live-action portrayal with CGI that doesn’t take away from the story. Likewise, the Burrow in which these monsters reside and where Sailor finds herself trapped is littered with intricate details that are best served in animation. There are only so many actual set pieces that could be concocted for a live-action to make the viewer feel immersed in this harrowing setting, and relying so heavily on CGI can result in a hollow environment that doesn’t feel natural. Throughout the six books, there’s a general overlay of darkness shrouded within the pages and while it’s possible to translate this feel with real actors, applying this level of moot color can take away from the expression acting that is necessary for a thriller like this. By making it into animation, it’ll be way easier to keep the dark setting while still allowing the characters and their expressions with each twist and turn to show through they reside in the forefront of the narrative. While Wytches suggests this is a book about some supernatural beings in the woods (and it is), the story is a beautiful journey of a father-daughter adventure, and being able to showcase this in animation lends itself to being the best possible medium.

Why a Series Would Work Better than a Film

scott-snyder-wytches-terror-comicbook-com
Image via ComicBook.com 

As for the making this into a series as opposed to a film, utilizing an episodic approach gives the writers more opportunities to intertwine what we already know in the book with content that wasn’t included in the original story. There’s plenty of more character development that can happen with Charlie, like his struggles with alcoholism that is briefly touched on and what helped him to straighten out. Giving characters like Annie, the bully who falls victim to the wytches first, and Office Petal more of a backstory would really add to later plot twists that these characters are involved in. There’s no word yet on how many episodes viewers can expect but whether it’s six, eight or 10, it’ll certainly allow for more exploration into this strange and twisted world than was possible in the six books.

Ultimately, Amazon has made it clear that it wants to carve out a corner for comic book adaptations on its platform. This likely comes from the overwhelming success of a series like The Boys and while it's unlikely Wytches will pull in numbers like that, it will serve as a perfect gateway into a likely push into more outside-the-box stories in the world of comics. There are way more engaging non-superhero books out there in the world of comics, and it seems like Amazon is going to turn over every stone to find them.

For example, last year they picked up the rights to Eight Billion Genies, which is another Image Comic that has a unique storyline exploring how the world changes in an instant when everyone gets exactly one wish courtesy of a genie. It's these types of new tales that make for great television and Amazon is wise to focus on this niche. It's also nice to see that this platform understands that not everything needs to throw into live-action or that every story is better served as a movie. Wytches will be better off in animation and as a series, allowing it the proper runway to translate this astonishing story and to recreate the book's titular characters in the best way possible.