There are lots of things I wouldn’t want to stand in my way if I were looking for a missing pet. A hoard of chimpanzees for instance. Or that troll under the bridge who really has it in for the Billy Goats Gruff. But least of all, I must say, would have to be a witch made of faeces. The Shit Witch is a digital 28-pager by Lis Xu exclusively available at this year’s ShortBox Comics Fair. As a brother and sister hunt for their missing dog, Hotdog, they regale each other with tales of the infamous Shit Witch, a creature whose sole aim is to steal away animals. Will the duo ever see Hotdog again?
There isn’t a huge amount of plot detail I can go into without entering spoiler territory, but I will say this: Xu captures the dynamics of young siblings wonderfully, depicting how they can be at each other’s throats and squabbling one minute and be best friends and comrades the next. Whilst the boy-girl duo is mostly fighting about how best to find Hotdog during the comic, their sibling bond and loyalty to each other is evident.
You should never judge someone on name alone, because my initial feelings of disgust about the Shit Witch were completely debunked. The lore surrounding this creature is actually pretty hilarious. Like a sewer-dunked version of a fairy godmother, she rescues lost animals by gobbling them up, and pooping them back out, all big and strong and ready to take on the world! Frogs as big as mountains, an owl in charge of the mail and a spider butler who makes a very fancy afternoon tea make up just some of the Witch’s beneficiaries. These are all drawn in Xu’s soft, pencil crayon watercolours, each with so much personality and humour.
At just £4, you’re in for a bargain if you happen to pick up The Shit Witch this year. Filled with warmth, nostalgia and lots of poop-humour, this short comic has everything you need for a good belly laugh. Oh, and if you don’t believe in the Shit Witch… “you’re just jealous that I know more about stuff than you do!”
Lis Xu, ShortBox Digital Comics Fair, £4.00.
Buy online here
Review by Lydia Turner
