Marian Heretic is one of those comics with an idea that both speaks to me, and makes me mad I didn’t think of it first. A nun who hunts witches on behalf of the church? That’s pretty badass. Creators Tini Howard and Joe Jaro decide to take things a step further, exploring what drives their title character’s hunt – and in the process, explore the great and terrible things people will do in the name of faith.
Sister Marian is a witch hunter, yes, but she’s also considered to be a sinner by the Church due to her belief that God can take the form of a female rather than the three-pronged aspect most Catholics believe He is. To protect her convent from death, she has offered herself as the Church’s weapon…but an encounter with a witch causes her to question her station in life.
Howard’s gift for writing layered, compelling female characters is on full display throughout Marian Heretic #1. She digs into the belief that keeps Marian going, even as witches curse her name and the Church she serves considers her to be little more than a means to an end. “Every night I say a prayer I do not believe,” Marian says in the opening pages. Her inner thoughts show how faith, rather than something that drives you, can be shackles confining you to a life you don’t want. And when it comes to the witches? Howard also shows how many faiths take root in similar ideas, despite trivial differences that cause decades of division.
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Marian Heretic #1 is also the kind of comic book you literally can’t peel your eyes away from, thanks to Jaro’s artwork. His design for Marian, in particular, is especially striking. In addition to her nun’s habit, Marian also has daggers strapped to her thigh and a golden staff powered by the Eucharist itself. In contrast, the witches she fights are completely nude, their skin graying while their faces are locked in a horrific grimace. The sole outlier is the witch Ravenna, clad in a long flowing robe with a shock of flowing white hair; flames surround her, dancing at her will.
Walter Baiamonte tops things off with a collection of muted colors, especially when Marian stands before the trinity of cardinals that dispatch her on missions. For a place of faith, it’s shrouded in shadows, throwing the cardinals’ disapproving faces into sharp relief. In contrast, Ravenna’s gathering of witches is surrounded by the golden glow of flame, as they lose themselves in rapturous worship. Again, the concept of faith is tackled here: is it better to bow before men who claim to be speaking for God, or embrace one’s faith even if it goes against everything you’ve been taught?
Marian Heretic #1 isn’t just a bloody, badass horror comic. It also offers meditations on faith, and how it can be weaponized against others or take different forms. Tini Howard and Joe Jaro have a hell of a concept here, if you’ll pardon the pun. Fans of Howard’s work on Excalibur and Catwoman, or action horror staples like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Underworld need to add this to their pull lists.
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