Sometimes, product drifts into Fangoland that are just plain weird… well, weirder than usual. Such is the label I’m sticking on Dame Darcy’s HANDBOOK FOR HOT WITCHES, a quasi-new age tome with tongue deep in cheek, collecting fake spells, witchy wisdom, recipes, zodiac readings, crafts, fashion tips and other such odds and sods packed into its pink hardcover shell.

Normally, FANGORIA wouldn’t shine much of a light on something so proto-hippie goth, but Darcy’s book is rather fetching and quite a find. And this is almost exclusively due to the author’s persona. Darcy is a real multi-hyphenate; a passionate artist , illustrator, filmmaker, nature lover, animator and publisher of her own comic, MEAT CAKE. She’s also the lead singer in the dark pop band DEATH BY DOLL. In other words, she’s no slouch and has a completely realized universe all her own.

That world is pulsing through every one of these lovingly hand-drawn pages (we especially love Darcy’s bizarre mermaid comics) that feature light supernatural musings, coupled with a subtext of feminist empowerment. In her own quiet, elegant way, Darcy’s book is indeed something of an empowerment manifesto for young women who are attracted to the stranger side of life.

If you have one of these girls in your life—wife, lover, sister, daughter—Darcy’s beat will probably be very meaningful.

To learn more about the book and the incredibly diverse life of its maker, head over to Dame Darcy.

---

Reviews - Book Reviews