Comic Book Reviews (Week February 25, 2026): Wiccan: Witches’ Road Issue 3, Exquisite Corpses Issue 10, and More!

Welcome to my comic book review roundup for the week of February 25, 2026. I ended up reading Wiccan: Witches’ Road issue 3, Exquisite Corpses issue 10, Disney Villains: Maleficent Vol 2 Issue 5, and more.

I will begin my comic book review roundup by talking about Wiccan: Witches’ Road issue 3 by writer Wyatt Kennedy and artists Andy Pereira and Bryan Valenza. With Billy having met Kid Demiurge in the previous chapter, the latest installment of the 5-issue miniseries decided to open with a flashback with Kid Billy Kaplan.

Turns out, Billy grew up bullied and had no friends to play with. However, he managed to strike a friendship with another child who offered little Billy the support he needed back then. With how the current storyline’s spell required the heart of Billy’s first love, I think it was obvious that Billy’s childhood friend was going to be said ingredient. As Billy told Teddy during their current conversation, there wasn’t anything romantic about the love he felt toward his friend, but due to how magic systems worked, that was the “love” Baba Yaga needed to help Billy regain his magical powers.

Also, I do think that kid from Billy’s past is going to be revealed to be the Demiurge manifesting himself in human form to look out for our young protagonist. Their encounter was also likely a test to determine if the future Demiurge host had vengeful tendencies or not. That’s why it’s going to be interesting to see how the offering of the “heart” part in Baba Yaga’s spell will play a role down the line.

Jumping to the present, Billy’s attempt to emotionally reach out to the Kid Demiurge didn’t work at all. The feelings between the two were just too intense, with Kid Demiurge blaming Billy for abandoning Earth to support King Hulkling in space and Billy countering with how Teddy needed his husband by his side and that the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men were still around to protect the planet.

I can see where Billy’s coming from. However, considering he’s the Demiurge, he shared a connection with Earth and Earth-linked magic that’s comparable to only a handful of other superheroes. Also, let’s be honest, Billy hasn’t been focusing much on his Demiurge duties in the comic book stories he’s appeared in over the years. His continuation to ignore the Demiurge part of his being was inevitably going to catch up to him. Such narratives are common when telling tales of characters who are supposed to fulfill a particular magical or cosmic duty. Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch have gone through similar troubles. So, I’m glad to see Wiccan being developed as a character in such a manner, too.

A major twist in Wiccan: Witches’ Road issue 3 was about the true identity of the Nameless Fox. Turns out, the fox was actually Morgan le Fay. Baba Yaga had transformed her into a fox and taken away her magical powers. Apparently, it was all part of some punishment because Morgan le Fay had failed to prove herself as a suitable host to the Demiurge.

Morgan le Fay and Billy couldn’t be more different as potential hosts for the Demiurge. Where Billy respected life, Morgan le Fay had no such qualms. She was okay with killing (more often than not, without any ounce of mercy) because, according to her, the energy associated with living beings returned to Earth after death, allowing witches tap into such energy. Morgan le Fay appeared to be a big believer in the Circle of Life, specifically in hastening the death part of said circle. From what I could gather, having watched Morgan le Fay’s dynamic with Wiccan, as possible hosts to the Demiurge, everything on Earth belonged to them. So, Morgan le Fay wanted Billy to get with the program already.

With Morgan le Fay returning to Baba Yaga with Kid Demiurge by the end of the chapter, I’m looking forward to seeing Wiccan figure out a way to escape the Witches’ Road before Morgan le Fay becomes the new host. Also, Storm and Wanda showed up in the third issue, after Wanda detected magical energy signatures around the destruction of Roxxon factories. I’m very excited about Wanda and Ororo interacting with Billy, Baba Yaga, and Morgan le Fay soon.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up.

Disney Villains: Maleficent Vol 2 Issue 5

Written by Paulina Ganucheau with art by Theo Stultz, the final issue of Disney Villains: Maleficent Volume 2 had the Dark Sorceress being betrayed and falling into a trap. It was a short chapter to go through, but still very enjoyable as it continued to cement the iconic villainous as an OP threat. Even though the twin ghosts (whom I had been side-eyeing since the beginning) ensnared Maleficent in their magical threads and proceeded to regain their original form as a maiden fairy, you could tell Maleficent was nothing but mildly intrigued by the trap. She could have escaped whenever she chose to. She’s such a diva.

The entire quest was a way to get Maleficent to return to a realm her soldiers had laid waste to. The surviving inhabitants wanted their revenge, hoping to entomb the witch in the same dungeon she found the dragon. However, they had underestimated Maleficent’s power. Another snag in the plan was that the way to gain more power was actually true, and Maleficent being Maleficent, had managed to collect all of the items required to accomplish such a goal.

While victorious against the survivors, the narrative circled back to how Maleficent’s hubris would be her downfall. And sure enough, when Maleficent returned to her kingdom, sixteen years had passed in the human world, thus linking the conclusion of the miniseries to the finale of the animated Sleeping Beauty.

I was not expecting the miniseries to end in such a manner. It was a pleasant surprise. From my understanding, gaining more power in the fairy realm is what allowed Maleficent the ability to transform into a giant dragon. And we all know she was defeated while in that form in the movie. So, yeah, in a way, going on an adventure to gain more power had indeed led to her downfall.

Kudos to Ganucheau for delivering such an enjoyable tale about Maleficent. I really enjoyed how the story allowed her to remain evil instead of trying to shoehorn an unnecessary redemption arc.

Does it have obvious queer representation? No.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Disney Villains: Ursula Issue 1

Having enjoyed Maleficent’s story in the Disney Villains line of comic books, I decided to read Disney Villains: Ursula issue 1 by writer Sherri L. Smith and artist Gabriele Bagnoli. Set decades before the events of the animated The Little Mermaid movie, the first issue laid an intriguing groundwork of expanding Ursula’s backstory, and I’m so here for it.

It’s revealed that Ursual was one of seven sisters, all of them witches who oversaw a particular sea. The chapter opened with Scylla of the Southern Sea being angry about the merfolk failing to sacrifice the required number of souls to ensure prosperous waters. Turns out, the number of pirates and sailors venturing to the Southern Sea had diminished, leading to Scylla not being fed the souls she hungered for. The lack of sacrifices had weakened her power.

With Syclla getting ready to unleash her fury on the merfolk, she got attacked by a trident (you know who such a weapon belonged to!), with her final words asking Ursula for help.

As for Ursula, we got to learn how she ruled over Atlantica. Similar to Scylla, Ursula also required sacrifices, promising happy times for the community in return. Seeing a bunch of merfolk willingly giving their souls away so their families could prosper was quite sad. But as Urusual put it, they should think of it as a noble action for the greater good.

The animated movie showed numerous worm-like creatures lining the entrance to Ursula’s lair. That version of Ursula had explained to Ariel how those worm-like creatures were merfolk who had failed to keep up their part of the agreements they signed with Ursula to fulfill their wishes. While that still stands, I liked how the prequel kept the worm-like beings, but had them exist as a result of their souls being offered to Ursula in return for their families being looked after.

Talking about the seven sea witch sisters, along with Scylla and Ursula, there’s the eldest sister and the first ever sea witch named Charybdis (who ruled the Marianas), Capricia, Melusine, Tiame, and Vodyana.

After receiving Scylla’s final message and venturing to her realm to realize her sister was dead, Ursula decided to go see Charybdis to figure out what to do next. I liked how Charybdis told Ursula to handle a problem of her making. Apparently, Ursula should have realized a young Triton, a resident of her sea, was going on a hunt for the sea witches!

We all know that Triton will succeed in the end, but it’s still going to be interesting to see Ursula and her sisters trying to stop him. Also, defeating all of the sea witches would help explain Triton’s rise to power and eventual King of the Seven Seas.

The Little Mermaid 2 did introduce Ursula’s younger sister Morgana. So, let’s see if she shows up in some capacity or not. She might just be a baby or haven’t even been born yet in the comic book story. I meant, I don’t know how aquatic mythological creatures age.

Does it have obvious queer representation? No (Ursula being a queer icon is a whole other conversation.)

Recommendation: Pick it up!

Exquisite Corpses Issue 10

From writers Jordie Bellaire and James Tynion IV and artists Marianne Ignazzi and Michael Walsh, things continued to ramp up in Exquisite Corpses issue 10 as the story neared the finale. Still juggling between a bunch of storylines, one of the biggest developments occurred in Laura’s journey to the town square and aiming her weapon at the Groundskeeper. She’s ready to do whatever’s possible to ensure she and the civilians survive the night.

Though I’m glad that Laura finally got to talk to the Groundskeeper about the game, their conversation didn’t really bring anything new to the table. A lot of the information felt like a rehash of what’s already been shared or easily deduced by the reader. However, talking about the major development, the Groundskeeper stuck a code. The show had to go on whether he was part of it or not. The scene where the Groundskeeper gave the order to be shot because he had been compromised really took me by surprise. I like it when villainous characters go down without showing an ounce of remorse. Not everyone needs to be redeemed.

With the Groundskeeper gone, it fell on the Gamesmaster to serve both positions. That dude’s been talking quite high-and-mighty from the safety of the surveillance room. It will be interesting to see how he operates in the field. Even if he survived the night, his fate would still be up in the air if the game fell into chaos. Characters like the Gamesmaster and the Groundskeeper just showed how almost everyone was a pawn when it came to the machinations of the influential families running the world.

As for Xavi, Jason, and Mike, we got to see them being stalked by Randy Rascal. I was expecting Mike to die, and that did happen in issue 10. It was kind of a heroic way for Mike to go, by using himself as a distraction to save Xavi and Jason.

Jason’s mom continued to search for him, having survived being caught in Recluse’s trap. The moment when she thought Jason had died after seeing the dead body of the child under Craig’s dead body didn’t hold an emotional punch for me because I knew Jason was still alive and with Xavi. However, the associated trauma is likely going to do a number on Jason’s mom. So, let’s see what she finds herself being pushed to do next against the killers.

Another major development was Lady Carolina’s decision not to represent the family who sponsored by the Lone Gunman by taking his weapon from Laura and instead going for The Congregation’s cache. It was a powerplay from Lady Carolina to be the one to have another family be indebted to her and not the other way around. However, I have to mention that the Lone Gunman’s sponsor knew about Lady Caroline being in contact with her sister. Such communication was against the rules. So, that kind of rule-breaking might come back to bite Lady Carolina later down the line.

Currently, we only have 4 sponsored players in the game, with the non-sponsored Laura unknowingly representing a family by having the Lone Gunman’s weapon. The climactic battle is supposed to be between Lady Caroline and the Fox Mask Killer. But with such a narrative being filled with twists and turns, who knows what might happen.

Does it have obvious queer representation? Yes.

Recommendation: Pick it up!

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Did you read Wiccan: Witches’ Road issue 3? What did you think of Exquisite Corpses issue 10?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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