Last September, Disney and Marvel’s Agatha All Along series exceeded expectations, making a name for itself as a surprise hit with stunning visuals, strong performances from its cast and a story entrenched in Marvel magic that still managed to engage with even the most jaded Marvel fans. Despite show creator Jac Schaeffer’s insistence that there will not be a second season of the show, interest in the character of Agatha Harkness has jumped since its release, with fans turning to the comics for more. While it may be some time before we see Kathryn Hahn’s now beloved rendition of Agatha Harkness return to screens, her comic narrative continues in a brand-new story, told via The Grimoire of Agatha Harkness: A Magical History and Spellbook.
Returning to the Marvel universe to help tell this story, alongside Marvel Comics writer Danny Lore, is author of the Agatha All Along Tarot Deck & Guidebook Andrea Hannah. Originally tapped by Insight Editions to apply her knowledge of modern witchcraft and astrology to the tarot’s guidebook, Hannah brings those same insights to The Grimoire of Agatha Harkness, but on a grander scale. Its narrative, Hannah says, is told from the perspective of Agatha through the pages of her personal grimoire, which has fallen into the hands of Dr. Strange. As the magician, alongside the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, explores its pages, Agatha’s descent from arcane teacher to power hungry chaos witch unfolds.
“In the first part of the grimoire, Agatha shows a deep reverence and respect for the basics.” Hannah shares. “It starts with her sharing what she might say to her students to explain basic elemental magic, like different types of spells for working with lunar phases, scrying, crystals and basic witchcraft practices. And she’s not only giving you actual magic, but she’s also adding her own context.” Indeed, the phrase “actual magic” is meant literally. Hannah explains, “These are legit magic spells. There is very real foundational magic in part one, and I did the majority of the work in that regard.”
As the narrative continues, however, Agatha slowly leans into the darker aspects of witchcraft. “We begin to merge the very specific Marvel-realm magic with a basis in the theory of ‘practical’ magic.” Hannah explains, “So, where there are things like telepathy, telekinesis, flying – all of that stuff that shows up in Marvel's work – I based it in how an actual witch might do a spell for flying or which elements they might work with for it, like air, fire, earth, water.” She adds, “In parts two, three and four, Agatha gets more corrupt and is trying out some different spells, like the binding spell she cast on Jen in Agatha All Along.” While binding is a legit practice in modern witchcraft, Hannah notes the importance of showing how the practice is manipulated by Agatha into something dark and best to be avoided.
The trickiest part of weaving modern practices into Marvel’s more fantastical realm, she says, was determining their real-world foundation. In this, coauthor Danny Lore was indispensable. “We talked through a lot of ideas at the very beginning, to get the story arc…we really just riffed off each other.” The magical aspects, however, saw Hannah and Lore brainstorming on how best to define and convey the magical roots of Marvel’s depictions of things like fusionism, animism and flying. “That part was hard for me, personally, because I take my practices so seriously, and I want to have them accurately represented in some way, shape or form, but you have to make compromises.”
Of the experience, she says, “I just seem to be lucky with collaborators because Danny was wonderful. We never had any conflict. They’re a Marvel lore expert and did such great work.” She recalls, “I would put notes about the magic being a little bit darker, and ask: what would Agatha say here? Then, Danny gets it going and pieces it together, so that by the time you get to the very end there's actually a plot twist, which is very fun.”
All the more so for the grimoire’s format, she notes. “There’s so much that you can do with a graphic novel that you can’t necessarily do with just straight prose.” Indeed, for this particular story, the format might just be crucial. “I don’t want to give too much away, because there’s a twist but, basically, Dr. Strange gets ahold of this grimoire, and he and Wanda are using it to piece together some events to figure out what’s going on with the Darkhold.”
This detective work is depicted as a series of sticky notes throughout the grimoire added by Strange and Wanda as they go back and forth about what it all means. “So, as they go along, they’re asking each other, ‘What do you think about this,’ or ‘it seems she isn’t telling the truth here,’ or ‘something seems to be missing.’ It’s interactive and so the reader is piecing it together alongside Strange and Wanda.” Excitedly, she adds, “Then, in part four, you get the twist!”
While the story is not necessarily connected with that of the Agatha All Along series, Hannah says readers will recognize her all the same. “It synthesizes who she is. If you like that character, it gives her a voice on the page.” She adds, “It also uses the actual artwork through different comics and projects over the years to display Agatha. I think it’s the perfect primer into comic book land…It’s like a bridge between all of those things.”
In short, The Grimoire of Agatha Harkness: A Magical History and Spellbook possesses multitudes, and its purpose depends on the reader. “It is for anybody who loves the MCU,” says Hannah. “It's for anybody that loved the show, even, because it tells you more about that character. And it's for, honestly, anybody that just wants to learn more about spell work and witchcraft through a storytelling format.” She explains, “The stuff that's in there around planetary work, calling in a familiar, protection and shielding – all of that – is legit, basic witchcraft stuff.” Above all else, Hannah says, “It's a lot of fun.”
To learn more about Andrea Hannah and her upcoming projects, including her latest novel, I Killed the King, coauthored with New York Times bestseller Rebecca Mix, follow @andeehannah on Instagram or visit her website at www.andreahannah.com.