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I want to tell you about a comic.

I attended the first day of the 2008 Stumptown Comics Fest today, and spent a lot of time wandering the floor. Geared toward indy creators, Stumptown stuffed their convention space with as many tables as possible, and I've never seen so many independent comics artists and creators in one space. I'll talk more about the Fest itself in my regular column this upcoming Tuesday (04/29/08), but I after reading some of the comics I picked up today, I wanted to take a moment to spotlight it here.

The 16-page comic that's grabbed my attention? Witch Doctor, written by Brandon Seifert and drawn by Lukas Ketner. The interior is black-and-white, and the cover is in striking color, featuring our lead character, Dr. Vincent Morrow. Dr. Morrow is grinning knowingly at the reader of the comic, standing in a pool of blood with a massive tome spread open before him. Behind him is his medical bag . . . with a sword sticking out of it . . .

Titled "First Incision," this promo comic introduces us to Dr. Morrow, his not-quite-human assistant Penny Dreadful, and Eric Gast, an EMT. At his home and laboratory, Dr. Morrow has a nasty supernatural creature strapped to a table, and with a subdued sense manic excitement, he demonstrates what he's learned from inspecting his "live" specimen and when the specimen finally has had enough of being poked and prodded by the good doctor, it tries to strike back, but Dr. Morror and company deftly dispatch the being.

I've talked about this before: I love mixing magic and horror with superhero stories. Witch Doctor doesn't have the traditional superhero trappings, but there's still a sense of Dr. Morrow being a sort of "hero." Dr. Morrow is "Earth's Witch Doctor", but any comparisons to Doctor Strange don't make it past the first pages of First Incision. Dr. Morrow is less than concerned with using flamboyant magic and casting fancy spells and more concerned with using medical knowledge and arcane research to combat the supernatural "infections" of vampires and the like.

Of course, if that doesn't work, he's got that sword.

Writer Brandon Seifert gives us four rich characterizations in this comic. Dr. Morrow's snarkiness and confidence isn't off-putting, but fascinating. Penny Dreadful and Eric Gast both obviously believe in the doctor, and while these characters are given enough weight in just these sixteen pages to really make them feel like "real" characters, I'm left wanting to know more about them and why they're devoted to Dr. Morrow. And Dr. Morrow's captive patient?

Lukas Ketner's artwork steals the show in regards to his/her/its portrayal. It's an interesting take on a standard horror monster, and it looks messy and nasty. Ketner doesn't just shine with the monster art, though. His portrayal of Dr. Morrow perfectly matches Seifert's dialogue, as does his depiction of Penny and Eric.

I unapologetically loved this comic book. It's past midnight on a Saturday night/Sunday morning as I type this, and I've got to get up early tomorrow morning to get out to the second day of Stumptown, but Witch Doctor deserves immediate attention.

I sincerely hope to read more soon.

You can read Witch Doctor here. The entire promo comic is available online, but if you have an opportunity to actually buy the comic, I would highly recommend you do so.