REVIEW: An Unkindness of Ravens #4 – Tonally Sabrina, Artistically Archie

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An Unkindness of Ravens #4 Review

An Unkindness of Ravens is a supernatural mystery comic book, with similar tones to stories like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and art that gives off a very Archie-like vibe. It is written by Dan Panosian (Slots) with art by Marianna Ignazzi, colors by Fabiana Mascolo, and lettering by Mike Fiorentio.

Centuries after the Salem Witch Trials, the descendants of the witches that were not drowned or burned protect the ancient secrets handed down to them. These descendants are known as the Ravens. Wilma is new in town, but she bears an eerie resemblance to a girl in the town who went missing recently. As mysteries unfold around her, Wilma starts to discover her connection to the missing girl and this strange town.

An Unkindness of Ravens #4 is published by BOOM! Studios and is available on December 23, 2020.

An Unkindness of Ravens #4 Story

In this Unkindness of Ravens issue, the mysteries around Crab’s Eye and its inhabitants deepen, but we also learn more about the war going on in the town. Wilma is caught in the middle of a conflict she knows nothing about, between the elite “survivors” and the rebellious Ravens. For the first time in the story, Wilma seems fed up with the answers, or lack thereof, she has been given about why she needs to align herself with one faction or the other. She pushes against the vague instructions everyone around her is giving to her and finally gets some answers.

If you have been reading the comic, you might be able to guess some of the answers she discovers. The comic has done a great job of building up curiosity over the last three issues, and issue #4 begins to payoff on a lot of that setup. It also sets up brand new mysteries, like one around Scarlett Dansforth.

Scarlett’s mother disappeared a year or so ago and around the time she did, Scarlett returned to Crab’s Eye. Her story has an odd parallel to Wilma’s, which caused me to wonder what is going on with both of these young women. Is it some kind of reincarnation? It seems like both Wilma and Scarlett have lived lives outside of Crab’s eye, but returned when someone related to them went missing.

We also see Wilma begin to come into her own power in this issue. At one point, she tells the Ravens to sit down in a moment of frustration, and just like that, they all are forced into their seats. This definitely indicates a shift in the balance of power. Up to this point, we’ve only ever seen the Ravens use their magic on Wilma and not the reverse.

An Unkindness of Ravens continues to be a spellbinding story, especially for supernatural mystery fans. I kept trying to guess what would come next and what answers Wilma would find to her questions throughout my reading. This issue ends on a cliffhanger, where we know that something has likely been discovered about Waverly Good, so I am excited to see what we learn in the next issue as the mysteries around the Ravens, and the town of Crab’s Eye, continues to unfold.

REVIEW: An Unkindness of Ravens #4 - Tonally Sabrina, Artistically Archie 2

An Unkindness Of Ravens #4 Art

The cover for this Unkindness of Ravens issue is lovely, drawn by the writer of the comic, Dan Panosian. His style matches well with the interior artist, Marianna Ignazzi. Something that stuck out about the interior art was Ignazzi’s ability to convey both abrupt and continued movement throughout the comic. When Wilma demands the Ravens all take a seat, we see in the next panel all of them landing in the chairs they were suddenly forced into. It is drawn in a way that shows the movement in a way that is swift and decisive.

Fabiana Mascolo is the colorist for Unkindness of Ravens, and she does a fantastic job. Many of the colors are more muted, but they easily convey the tone of the story and when it shifts. The prologue has strong black and blue tones, but as we move into the rest of the story the palette consists more of orange, red, and purple tones. The shifting colors also seem to change with the characters involved in the scene. In the first scene with the Ravens, we see a lot of purple hues, which is consistent with the color of their magic.