3 out of 5

This is approaching put up or shut up territory.  While I appreciate that Bunn has decided to play the long game with Harrow, after establishing his lead witch, the plot diverted to build up _another_ character – Kammi – which was a bit of a roadbump but acceptable as a means of leading back to the main thread, and then we paused moreso for an admittedly thrilling off-kilter one-shot.  But instead of moving forward, issues 10 and 11 back-pedal into what feel like fill-in territory, which is odd given that we’re dealing with the original creative team.  If anything, that latter point is what keeps the issues enjoyable, even if their addition to the storyline is almost insultingly shorted (as far as we can see, anyway): Bunn has been able to limit himself to a smooth and minimal narration style for HC, which wonderfully complements Tyler Crook’s ghostly, dark artwork.  This brief aside concerns Emmy’s friend, Bernice, and her introduction to her own little corner of the witchy world via snakes and mason jars and old women in haunted cabins.  Explained as such, and compared to the secondary arc, this might eventually make sense as a marshaling of resources for some Harrow County witch civil war. But the intended effect isn’t that clear for now; the issues are written with a build-up, portending a conclusion which never arrives.  In other words, Kammi’s tale was clearly an origin; Bernice’s is written like it’s going to be something else and then it just ends.  That we’re sidelined into this story via Emmy popping up for a page to say, essentially, “Hi, enjoy your own storyline for a couple of issues!  Bye!” rubs in the feeling that we’re delaying things.

Again, the quality of the presentation makes it enjoyable.  However, we’re definitely approach the breaking point for how long we can wait for something to actually happen.