Charmed #10 – Three Little Wiccans

Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Writer(s): Paul Ruditis
Artist: Reno Maniquis
Release Date: June 2011

With the Power of Three torn asunder, Phoebe and Paige work to bring their family back together. But a tragically ill-advised plan pulls The Charmed Ones further apart and could leave one of the sisters lost forever.

Charmed #10 picks up pretty much where #9 left off. There has been a short passing of time between the issues where Paige, Phoebe and Leo have came up with the plan of sending Paige and Leo ‘Up There’ glamoured as demons in an effort to find Piper and discover what Neena is up to. It would have been nice to see them coming up with this plan because it does come out of nowhere and one of the things I have felt the comics have been lacking is those moments where the sisters are in the attic discussing their various options for getting themselves out of whatever mess they are in. However, I did like the fact that glamouring was used since it was relied on quite heavily in the last season or two and it’s always good to have throwbacks to the series because if anything the Charmed comics have in most instances stayed true to the show.

Story wise I felt that this issue, like many others in the series didn’t move as fast as it could have and lacked action and instead there was a lot of talking rather than anything significant actually happening. I was left disappointed by the Cole and Piper scenes, especially after such a big shock at the end of #9 where Cole reappeared I was hoping for lots of explanations and we didn’t get any. Still, those scenes stayed true to the characters and reminded me a lot of how Piper used to interact with Cole on the show, especially during their time in The Seven Year Witch in the seventh season. I really liked Phoebe’s role in the issue, she was doing what Phoebe always did best in the series – using magic in a resourceful way. Although her efforts ultimately didn’t work, it was nice to see her thinking outside of the box.

Finally, Neena, still very powerful and still very mysterious gets the juiciest storyline of the issue in that she’s involved in a lot of action as well as being very savvy in her efforts to capture two glowing balls (until we know what they are that's the best way to describe them), one blue, one red which she needs in order to be reunited with her beloved. She successfully separates the sisters and by the end we are left with one of the best cliff-hangers so far in that the sisters have been torn apart and Neena appears to have been successful in her plan. Of course I fully expect to see the sisters’ thwart her at the last minute (that is what they do best after all) but considering how far she has come to defeating them and achieving her goals, Neena has without a doubt proved to be the sisters’ fiercest enemy since Zankou.

The artwork for this issue was done by Reno Maniquis, who out of all of the artists thus far (possibly with the exception of Tess Fowler) does a great job with the art both in terms of likenesses and depicting the actual action and scene. I particularly liked how he drew Neena, who has been somewhat inconsistently drawn by previous artists. The second page of the issue (right) features a full page image of Neena at the front of her demon army and this is one of my favourite pages out of the entire comic series. The colouring also is much better than it ever has been thanks to Jorge Maese, I hope they keep him on board for more issues.

Overall, while Charmed #10 isn’t the most spectacular issue in terms of story, it does a good job of setting things up for (presumably) Neena’s defeat and the artwork was for the most part spectacular. My only real complaint is that the story is moving too slow and often feels like it is setting the scene, which at this point in an arc shouldn't still be the case.

Rating: 3/5

Charmed #9 Review (SPOILER ALERT!)

Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment

Writer(s): Paul Ruditis
Artist(s): Dean Kotz
Release Date: May 2011

A family member lost. The Elders under siege. An unstoppable force about to wreak havoc on the world! Leo must reveal an ancient secret to The Charmed Ones about the very source of their craft and the true origins of the magic they possess if they have any chance of defeating their latest threat.

After a frustratingly long wait, Zenescope has finally released issue nine of Charmed which picks up immediately after the events of Issue #8. Overall this was a good issue, which had a good mixture of story and action. The sisters (sans Piper who was sent to an unknown location by villain Neena at the end of the previous issue) are receiving a (much overdue) history lesson from Leo about the origins of their magic. The origins of the sisters' magic has always been thought to have started with Melinda Warren in the 1600's, however we find out in this issue that ALL magic comes originated with the first witch, who was revealed at the end of last issue, as Neena. I think that this was not only a very brave thing to do as it delves much deeper into the origins of magic than the TV show ever did, but also creatively is quite cleaver as we get a play on the Adam and Eve story. I don't know if it will be explored further in the next issue(s) but I liked how Paul Ruditis put a spin on Adam and Eve in a similar vein to that of how Charmed often put their own stamp on popular stories and fairy tales.

The cliffhanger we are left on is quite possibly the best of the entire series so far. It is revealed that the Adam to Neena's Eve is none other than Cole Turner, who appears to Piper in the final panel of the issue. This was one of the biggest surprises so far and I am happy that it wasn't spoiled for me before I read the issue because it wouldn't have been the same. What this means for the sisters, I don't know, although considering that in Cole's last appearance on the TV series he was unable to be seen by Phoebe and Paige, I am not expecting him to return to the real world. I am wondering how he will factor into Neena's eventual destruction by the sisters, if of course they do destroy her. There is still so much we do not know about her so at this point so it will be interesting to find out how Cole reacts to everything which has been happening with her.


Artwork wise, the art was much better than Issue #8's art which was horrendous in most places. Dean Kotz's work wasn't the best art the Charmed series has seen but it was an improvement on the last artist and by the end of the issue I felt like he did a good job, particularly on the scenes involving Piper in The All which were also coloured beautifully. There were some really nicely drawn scenes, The All was impressive as was a scene in the manor where Leo looked out of the window. Character likenesses were okay, I think Piper was the sister who looked the most like her TV counterpart (although the artists generally do a good job with Paige as well). I wasn't overly keen on character poses, especially when someone was pointing and there's a really awkward image of Paige standing in the first panel of the comic. But the art definitely improved as the issue went on, and as I understand this artist is returning to do another issue, so hopefully when he does come back the art will be more like his good work than his bad.

Overall, Charmed #9 offered up some amazing revelations, answered some questions but also offered up more. I loved the pacing of this one, it was very explanatory heavy but the issue seemed to move fast without skimming on any important details. The artwork was better than I had expected from looking at the previews Zenescope released last week but there were still several issues I hope will be overcome the next time we see this artist. If you haven't been following the Charmed comics then now would be a good place to start as after quite a slow build up, the comics are finally starting to come into their own and I hope this is a sign of things to come.

Rating: 4/5

Charmed: Volume 1 Review

Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Writer(s): Paul Ruditis, Raven Gregory
Artist(s): Dave Hoover, Marcio Abreu, Novo Malgapo
Release Date: 15 February 2011

Debuting in 1998 on the now defunct WB Network, Charmed went on to become one of the most popular and long-running fantasy television shows of recent times. The story focused on a simple premise; three sisters who were also witches whose destiny was to protect the innocent and combat the forces of evil as The Charmed Ones. Charmed eventually came to an end after eight years in 2006, but now after quite some time in the pipeline, Charmed is back in comic form thanks to Zenescope Entertainment.

Charmed seems to fit with Zenescope’s brand of beautiful women and fantasy with ease and the only surprising thing about this release is that nobody thought of it earlier. As this book shows, although on screen Charmed appeared to have run its course, in comic book form the series has been given a new lease of life and the adventures of the Halliwell sisters looks to be far from over yet.

This volume contains the following issues:

Issue #1 - Charmed Lives
The sisters are enjoying their lives away from fighting demons, however magic still remains a part of their lives with Piper and Phoebe's daughters coming into their powers and Paige teaching at Magic School. Meanwhile, two mysterious enemies Neena and Hogan begin their plot to resurrect The Source.

Issue #2 - No Rest For The Wicca
Phoebe and Piper attend the funeral of their first innocent, Brittany, who has mysteriously died and reverted back to the old age she was after being attacked by the demon Javna the sisters rescued her from. Phoebe has a premonition which shows her that all of The Charmed Ones' past innocents are all in danger.

Issue #3 - Innocents Lost
The sisters attempt to figure out who is after their past innocents which leads them to Tyler Michaels, a firestarter they once helped. As the realise that they must return to fighting demons, Neena and Hogan successfully resurrect The Source.

Issue #4 - Mortal Enemies
The sisters' innocents turn against them after The Source casts a spell, sending the sisters to Magic School in order to devise a plan to stop him. Meanwhile, Piper searches for the place to open her restaurant.

Issue #5 - Unnatural Resources
The sisters go up against The Source after devising a clever plan to vanquish him forever. However, as Neena's plan comes together it appears that this is only the beginning of The Charmed Ones' return to fighting evil.

Also included is Issue #0 a recap issue which came out before Issue #1 which quickly explains the characters and all major events and storylines throughout the series. A special extra story is also included "To The Warren Born" which is a prequel story set during Charlotte Warren's pregnancy with Melinda. It appears that this may have some larger ties to the overall story than simply being an extra, but we'll have to wait and see if it is indeed part of a larger story.


Written by author Paul Ruditis, who has close connections with Charmed after writing two official guides and a handful of novels based on the series, his knowledge of the universe has to be commended. He has a firm grasp of the characters as well as the intricate history of the show something even the writers of the show often had trouble remembering. This volume has the job of reintroducing us to the sisters after the events of the series finale, Forever Charmed, which did an impressive job at wrapping up any loose ends and even giving us a glimpse into the sisters’ futures. The way Ruditis does this is by bringing back one of the sisters’ most troublesome foes, The Source, who for many seasons was one of the main Big Bads of the show. By reintroducing The Source not only does this give Ruditis the opportunity to introduce the Charmedverse to newcomers, he also manages to set up the bigger story that continues (at least) into the next arc/volume.

Although initially the story starts of fairly slow with very little happening in the first issue, once things heat up the story actually becomes very fast paced and ultimately when The Source is destroyed, impressive as the eventual execution was, seemed rather abrupt happening over the course of a single issue. That was perhaps my only gripe with this volume, in terms of story, that after a slow build up, the ending seemed to be over just as it was beginning. Luckily the return of The Source was somewhat of a foil for the even bigger Big Bad of the series who appears to be unlike anyone (or anything) the Charmed Ones have ever faced.

Artwork wise, this volume offers a mixed bag of artwork. The first three issues are done by Dave Hoover whose art when good was pretty good but when bad (which was quite often) just did not work for this comic. However, after issue three the artwork is handled by Marcio Abreu whose slightly more pencil-y style really works in the context of the story and his likeness of the actors is usually very good for a comic book adaptation of a television series. The colouring however is much more inconsistent, changing almost every issue. At first the colours were very bright and cartoonish, and then they get slightly darker before going quite soft and light again before going back to darker shades. This was something that annoyed me, especially when the colour of the characters’ hair would change colour in some cases from page to page. Hopefully this is something that will become more consistent in future issues.


Overall, Charmed: Volume 1 serves as a very good introduction (or reintroduction to fans such as myself) to the world of The Charmed Ones. Although the artwork is often mixed, the story really goes from strength to strength as the issues progress and I think Charmed could potentially be a very successful on-going series.

Rating: 3.5/5