Comics

W.I.T.C.H.
Promotional poster featuring the five members
Publication information
Publisher	Disney Italia
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ended
Genre	Contemporary fantasy, Magical girl, Friendship, Romance
Publication date	April 2001-October 2012
Main characters	Will Vandom, Irma Lair, Taranee Cook. Cornelia Hale, Hay Lin and Caleb
Creative team
Writer(s)	Elisabetta Gnone, Francesco Artibani, Bruno Enna, Teresa Radice, Paola Mulazzi, Alessandro Ferrari, Augusto Macchetto
Penciller(s)	Alessandro Barbucci, Donald Soffritti, etc.[1]
Creator(s)	Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, Barbara Canepa

This is W.I.T.C.H.ipedia's article on the W.I.T.C.H. Comic Series. For other uses, see W.I.T.C.H. (disambiguation).

W.I.T.C.H. is an Italian fantasy/superhero comic series created by Elisabetta Gnone. It tells the story of five teenage girls who are chosen to be the new Guardians of Kandrakar, protectors of the center of the universe from people and creatures who wish to cause harm to it. For this purpose, they have been given powers over the five elements. The new guardians are Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin, whose initials form the title acronym W.I.T.C.H.

The comic was never published in Japan, and instead a manga based on the comic, with art by Iida Haruko, was published by Kadokawa Shoten in their monthly magazine Gekkan Asuka and later collected in two Tankoban volumes, upon which the comic was canceled. The paperback volumes contained covers by Ehara Daisuke.

The only American releases until 2005 were written books adapted from the comic. In 2005, graphic novels containing two issues each were released. The graphic novels are released about every two months, and at the beginning and end of every story there is a pin-up or miniature poster.

Lene Kaaberbøl has written nine books taking place in the W.I.T.C.H. universe, published 2002-2003.

The final issue was released in October 2012, ending the 139 issue run.

Welcome

Welcome is a side magazine of W.I.T.C.H. In total, there are eleven issues of the magazine. It is only published in some parts of Europe, once sold in the UK and Australia. Its mascot is We, a creature from Basilíade.

Welcome was included with the Italian W.I.T.C.H. magazine, starting with issue #64. The Swedish W.I.T.C.H. magazine started publishing WElcome stories much earlier, instead of publishing a separate magazine.

read issues herel

Issues, Titles and Storylines

Main article: List of W.I.T.C.H. Issues

Comics

W.I.T.C.H. (from left to right): Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin

The W.I.T.C.H. comic book releases one issue per month and is generally written with each story arc lasting 12 issues, or one year, with some exceptions.

Part One: The Twelve Portals

Five teenage girls – Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin – are chosen to become the new Guardians of Kandrakar, a group of special magical warriors who keep peace in the universe and do the Oracle's bidding. They find that balancing this honorable position along with keeping up with their lives on Earth is a difficult task. Their first mission is to defeat the evil Prince Phobos who rules over Meridian, the capital of Metamoor. He plans to suck Metamoor dry of its magic and then move on to the next world and repeat this process until he is ruler of the universe and able to defeat the Oracle.

Part Two: Nerissa's Revenge

The girls face off against a new foe – the previous keeper of the Heart of Candracar and possessor of the fifth element, Quintessence . Nerissa betrayed her fellow Guardians after the power of the Heart corrupted her mind and she killed one of her Guardians, Cassidy, (who was given the Heart after Nerissa's defect) thus Nerissa was sentenced to sleep for eternity in the distant Mount Thanos on Earth. She was awakened from her sleep when Luba disobeyed an order from the Oracle and merged the five powers of the Guardians together in an attempt to prove that the girls were inept at their job, which broke the seal on Nerissa's tomb. Nerissa then conjured up four powerful knights using a portion of her own power and fueled them with her hate and power to challenge the new Guardians and destroy Kandrakar. While battling this new foe, the Guardians learn about the history of Kandrakar and about the hardships the previous Guardians had to face when one of their own became corrupt with power.

Part Three: Ari of Arkhanta

Crisis after crisis threaten to break up the girls once and for all. Along with stopping Ari, the powerful lord of Arkhanta, from rising up and destroying the Oracle, the girls have a whole bunch of new problems on Earth that needs their attention. The government discovers the secret of the W.I.T.C.H. girls and wants to capture them and use their powers for their own mysterious intentions. As if that wasn't enough, the girls' Astral Drops decide to rebel after months of being taken advantage of by the Guardians and start causing numerous problems between their families, teachers, and boyfriends. Also, Will's father returns into her life after a decade of absence, and his intentions are anything but fatherly, loving and trustful...

Part Four: Trials of the Oracle

The members of the Congregation are questioning the Oracle's recent actions, and he shocks everyone by putting himself under trial. The Guardians are called in to recall his deeds. Back home in Heatherfield, Will confronts Orube and Matt, while Principal Knickerbocker goes to drastic measures to raise the girls' grades at Sheffield. In Kandrakar, the Council has to choose between Endarno and Yan Lin for the position as Oracle. After Endarno has been chosen he makes the life of the girls uneasy. Moreover, he is someone else than he appears to be...

Part Five: The Book of Elements

The five elements themselves have something in store for the girls. Their abilities are growing stronger and stronger. Even the triumvirate in Kandrakar doesn't have full understanding about it. At the same time, Cedric is disposed of his magic power and gets a second chance from the Oracle. He returns to "Ye Olde Book Shop" to live a decent life, under supervision of the Guardians. Nevertheless, he searches for a useful resource to get back his powers. He finds his hope in the mighty Book of Elements, written by Jonathan Ludmoore. Thanks to Mr. Collins the girls get to know about the book too. As the book captures Matt inside of it, the girls must cooperate with Cedric to open it again. This is the only story arc which has lasted for more than one whole year.

Part Six: Ragorlang

When Hay Lin sleeps over at the Lyndons' home she meets Karl and Tecla Ibsen. Karl tells her about the Ragorlang, a monster which absorbs the thoughts, the voice and the sounds of its victims. The same evening she gets attacked by a Ragorlang and got saved just in time by the other Guardians. Soon they discover who's behind the new threat: Tecla Ibsen. They manage to defeat her. Once, but not for all, because Tecla returns. And at school there's a new strange doctor, Folkner. What has he to do with the Ibsens?

Part Seven: New Power

A new evil forces the Oracle to cut off Kandrakar from all other worlds, including the Guardians, relieving them of their powers, but soon the girls regain their powers in the most pure form, as well as new haircuts and costumes. However, to gain complete control over their powers, they must discover the root of their powers. They must use their new powers to defeat their arch nemesis Dark Mother and save the universe from a terrible crisis.

Part Eight: Teach 2 W.I.T.C.H.

In this new series, the Guardians must find the magical children of Heatherfield and teach them to control their powers. To help them in this new mission, Oracle Yan Lin gives them the key to the Witch Van, a magical on-the-road school that houses five magical laboratories, places that are expression of the powers of the five elements-Water, Fire, Earth, Air and Energy. But there is an enemy with terrifying ambitions to destroy all different types of magic.

Part Nine: 100% Witch

Starting from issue #97 of the previous saga, each issue has its own story. The Guardians now faces their daily problems from families, friends, and school.

Part Ten: Ladies VS. W.I.T.C.H.

Later on, the comic series introduces several new villains including Lady Giga, Lady Crash, and Lady Kimikal. The Guardians must find a way to stop their new malicious opponents without endangering the people around them.

Part Eleven: Magical Sovereign

The final story arc that concludes the series. This is the only arc to have no major villains or antagonist.

Graphic Novels

The titles of the American graphic novels and the issues they contain the following: 

1. The Power of Friendship (The Power of Five and The Disappearance)

2. Meridian Magic (Finding Meridian and The Fire of Friendship)

3. The Revealing (The Last Tear and Illusions and Lies)

4. Between Light and Dark (The Light of Meridian and Out of the Dark)

5. Legends Revealed (The Four Dragons and A Bridge Between Worlds)

6. Forces of Change (The Crown of Light and The Return of a Queen)

7. Under Pressure (A Different Path and Worlds Apart)

8. An Unexpected Return (The Courage to Choose and Path of Revenge)

Special Issues

Every year, the W.I.T.C.H. comic book releases a special issue that tells a unique story about the girls, such as a what if story, or a deeper look into their own lives. So far the following special issues have been released:

• The Year Before
• Elyon: Return of the Queen
• Cornelia and Caleb: A Love Not Meant to Be
• Core of Kandrakar
• Planet Boys
• Orube Special (W.I.T.C.H. special issue)
• Two hearts for a ball (World Cup Special)
• Christmas Special 2004
• Christmas Special 2005
• Christmas Special 2006
• W.I.T.C.H. Look Book
• Caleb and Elyon - Two Destinies
• Halloween Special 2007
• Olympic Games 2008 Special
• W.I.T.C.H. on Stage!

Chapter Books

Main article: List of W.I.T.C.H. Books

The W.I.T.C.H. chapter book series consists of twenty-six books. The books contain comic inserts from the W.I.T.C.H. graphic novels. The series has ended at the twenty-sixth book adaptation of the comics.

Influences

The origin of the Heart of Kandrakar is based upon the story of the Four Dragons.

• Yellow Dragon – the Dragon of Earth.
• Black Dragon – the Dragon of Air.
• Pearl Dragon – the Dragon of Fire.
• Long Dragon – the Dragon of Water.
• Jade Emperor – a cruel and uncaring ruler who punished the dragons for bringing rain to the people. He had the dragons sealed away in four mountains.
• Xin Jing – an extraordinarily strong nymph; whose name means Heart of Crystal in Chinese. When the Emperor sealed away the dragons, a furious Xin Jing used all of her remaining strength and elemental abilities to gather those of the four dragons together and turn their physical bodies into the four rivers of China. All that was left of Xin Jing was an orbicular crystal pendant: the Heart of Candrakar itself, which contains the very essence of Xin Jing's own spirit/soul as well as the dragons.'

Notes

• Orube first appeared in issue 28 during the Arkhanta saga, and therefore, she is not part of the W.I.T.C.H. acronym.
• Unlike the five other Guardians, Taranee goes through a hair change from her ordinary self to her W.I.T.C.H. costume. Cornelia's and Hay Lin's hair grow a little longer when transforming, but these are not as obvious as Taranee's hair change.
• It is slightly ironic that Hay Lin is the Guardian of Air. While the group stays with the Classical Elements (Air, Water, Fire, and Earth), Hay Lin is of Chinese culture and in Chinese culture, Air is not one of the five elements - rather, they are Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood. This also counts for the ancient Chinese myth of the four dragons and the nymph Xin Jing.
• In Italy, most of Europe, and Asia, the realm of infinity is spelled "Candrakar;" in other Anglophone countries, it is spelled "Kandrakar;" and in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, it is spelled "Kondrakar."
• On the W.I.T.C.H. TV series, Anna is Irma's birth mother, not her stepmother, as she remembers when Irma was a baby.
• The name Phobos means "fear" in Greek. Phobos is the Greek God of fear and horror. He is the son of Ares and Aphrodite.
• The original Italian version of the comic speaks of a Wall instead of a Veil.
• In the cartoon, only Hay Lin can make herself invisible; in the comic, all of the girls have this power, including Orube.
• W.I.T.C.H. celebrated its 50th issue in May 2005.
• W.I.T.C.H. celebrated its 100th issue in July 2009.
• In the comics and books, only Hay Lin can fly; in the show, all the guardians can fly. From issue 76 all guardians can fly; their wingspan can expand up to 18 feet.
• In the comic the guardians have shown many times to be able to transform without the heart. In the series they have not.

Manga

The comic was never published in Japan, and instead a manga based on the comic, with art by Haruko Iida (Iida Haruko), was published by Kadokawa Publishing (Kadokawa Shoten) in their monthly magazine Asuka Monthly (Gekkan Asuka) and later collected in two Tankoban volumes, upon which the comic was canceled The paperback volumes contained covers by Daisuke Ehara (Ehara Daisuke). The two volumes were also published in Italy and Eastern Europe by the Italian Disney Manga

Video Game

Main article: Video Game

There is a W.I.T.C.H. game out for the Nintendo console the game boy advance, It is available in most English speaking countries, unknown if available in non-speaking English countries. A PC game, made by Creat Studios, is being published by Disney Interactive in Russia since 2008.