A Lesson in Contrasts
Introduction:
Welcome aboard another adventure where we will explore Miriam Bonastre Tur’s Webtoon turned graphic novel series: Hooky.
Hooky is about two witch siblings, Dani and Dorian, missing the bus to the magic school. Instead of going back home and asking for help from their parents so they can still attend the secret magic school they decide to strike out on their own. In other words, Dani and Dorian are “Playing Hooky”. They choose to seek out a master to help them become the most powerful witches they can be. As powerful as a Wytte witch can be. Thus the stage is set.
Its a simple yet compelling intro. If you didn’t notice there are several things that add tension to these 12 (Ahem, almost 13) year old’s adventure. First piece of evidence being that the magic school is secret. Dorian even mentions that if people find out they are witches they could be burned. Which is horrifying already. The second piece of evidence is that they chose not to go to their parents for help. A small hint that things might not be as joyful as the art style makes it seem. A truly great hook for Hooky’s beginning. Already a good class on how to write an opening. What’s the best part? That this is just the beginning.
What’s Inspirational About ‘Hooky’?:
What is so inspiring about Hooky is how it uses contrast to make the emotional beats of the story hit hard. It is hard to feel like anything is wrong if you have nothing to compare it to. Us humans are very good at adapting to bizarre circumstances and making them the new norm. So if you don’t have anything to compare something to you will think that it is normal. That is why contrast in a story is so important.
Hooky pulls this off with a sniper's precision. While all of the things I mention in the intro do add tension to the first couple of pages of the graphic novel they are the mere undercurrent to the comic’s bright colors, cute designs, and charm. Dani and Dorian are only 12 (Ahem, almost 13) so the early adventures of the comic mainly have lighthearted adventures that are fun to watch and be around. More serious things do end up happening. Like Dani & Dorian stealing a dragon’s egg and being outcast from witch society for it. But even when the consequences of these actions are quite grim the characters tend to bounce back into their fun, wholesome selves. That is, until they don’t.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT GO READ IT YOURSELF. I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.
The best way to demonstrate how things get worse is through witch burning. Stay with me. As mentioned before, Dorian tells Dani within the first couple of pages that they have to be careful about not using magic in public because they might be burned. Despite this obviously horrific possibility the comic stays light hearted and chipper. Until we get to see a village almost burn Dani alive for trying to help with her magic.
This marks a huge turning point in Dani’s character because she decides never to use magic again after this. She says that it is because her magic only brings harm instead of good. Despite this we continue with the wholesome adventures and friendships. Just with Dani doing her best not to use her magic.
We then later learn that Mr. and Mrs. Wytte, Dani and Dorian’s parents, are victims of witch hunts and witch burning. They have since declared revenge on non-magic folk and are, in fact, major antagonists in this story. Despite this, Dani and Dorian continue believing that they can make their parents ‘see reason’ when they introduce them to their non-magic friends. The good hearted adventures continue.
Dani and Dorian are then kicked down when they head to a royal ball. Dorian is forced to protect his non-magical friends from his parents' radical witch group while Dani… Well while Dani gets to see her witch friends killed by a raging non-magical mob.
This, for me, marks the true cross into true darkness in the series, simply because Dani does not fully return to her old joyful self after this. She is more serious and dower after this. For good reason, no one should watch their friend die in front of them, especially not a 13 year old kid.
Despite this… The wholesome adventures continue. With a much more somber mood.
Oh, did you think this was the worst thing to happen to our plucky children protagonists? Really?
Well you might’ve guessed that they were stuck in a haunted house for a moment that showed everyone their greatest fears. But, would you have guessed that Dani would have to watch her Brother get burned alive for simply being a witch?
Yeah….. This is a wholesome slice of life story, I swear. This is a book for kids and stays kid friendly… I promise.
But Damn if it doesn't hit you right in your feels when Dani collapses to her knees after seeing her brother be immolated in fire right in front of her. I’m about to cry just thinking about it…
The story, in fact, does not actively bounce back from this. The next chapter literally started with Dani having a dream of what her teenage years would look like if everything had been alright if everyone were happy only for it to be shattered and torn away from her as she wakes up in a cold dark room with almost no one left.
Her life is shattered by the choices of hate that the adults in her life made. The rulers of the countries she’s visited embrace witches as an easy scape goat, her adult family members choosing revenge over reform, and her chosen master, Pendragon, choosing fear of the future instead of hope. Adults that were supposed to protect her and make her life a better place failed her at every turn and now she’s a closed off teenager as she approaches adulthood.
Plot Twist, Dani’s brother Dorian was not in fact sacrificed in that prodigious pire. He lived and then mysteriously disappeared. That is where Volume 3 of Hooky begins in the darkest place we’ve seen so far. A dark place that our protagonists will have to work hard to fight their way out of. A dark place only made so resonate and deep because of all of the wholesome, colorful, lightfilled, and charming adventures that came before. Without the contrast of the light moments earlier there wouldn’t be this dark pit of despair we experience here.
What an amazing journey that Miriam Bonastre Tur was able to take us on with the simple yet effective tool of contrast. By making the colors bright, the character designs cute, and the aesthetic cozy she was able to deliver emotional blows that hit harder than if she’d done the whole series with that kind of serious tone. As mentioned above, what a fantastic lesson in contrast.
What it looks like to REALLY change the world:
Welcome to a second essay about why Hooky is so inspiring!
What I think makes Hooky really special to me is the fact that it tackles something head on that few other children's stories do. In adventure kid shows like Gravity Falls, Amphibia, Owl House, Star Wars, or other fantasy or superhero media; you don’t get the kids being truly homeless or without a safe adult to shelter with. Even a very similar Graphic Novel series LumberJanes doesn't tackle its adventures without a responsible adult around.
In Hooky, our protagonists become homeless because Dani and Dorian’s parents are wreaking havoc and Monica’s parents, the king and queen, are fighting them so violently. If they choose an adult to side with they choose which characters are going to die on the spot.
There are no safe unbigoted adults for them to trust. Even their master Pendragon turns against our plucky protagonists. The adults ruined the world, and now the choices for these children is fix a broken political system, reform the world into a better place so they can live with their friends in peace or watch as they let their parents put their best friends to death.
In Gravity Falls the world was at stake but really Bill Chipher couldn’t leave the valley so it was really only about saving The Falls. In Amphibia it was about saving the world but really only Amphibia itself because the adults on earth had things covered mostly. Same goes for the Owl House; earth, Luz’s home, was safe; it was the boiling isles that were in danger. In Star Wars the children are never on their own, Adults help them fight the empire and help provide a stable home base. In super hero media they are constantly saving the world but never challenging the status quo. The same thing is done in Lumber Janes. Hooky, on the other hand, does upset the status quo.
In Hooky our protagonists aren’t just saving the world. They are changing it at its most fundamental level. They don’t have one big bad or evil organization to beat, they have a society to change. And not just the society on the other end of a portal but the one that they will grow up in. The only one that they have. There are no safe spaces for our protagonists, or responsible adults. They have to create their own space.
There is no comfort in the back of a reader’s head of a normal world to return to. If our protagonists fail, life will not continue on in a peaceful manner. Witch Burnings will continue and Witches will still kill Non-Magical folk. This is a world where worrying about being burnt at the stake or being cursed by a witch is a daily worry. And our 13 year old protagonists have to change it. A task… that as an adult that lives with entrenched systems feels impossible.
That is why I think that it was a genius move for Miriam Bonastre Tur to put in a time skip to make our protagonists older, some adults now, so that we could finally breathe as they actually work towards fixing their broken society & world. Truly a bold story decision that I haven’t seen in any other story made for kids. Just utter gut punching genius.
If you avoided the spoiler warning and are here, I respect you, thank you for staying aboard! Now I won’t be spoiling how Dani and Dorian manage to change and reform their society and world so scram and go read this amazing series!
Final thoughts:
What is covered here is really just the main plot of the series. There are so many more characters, plot lines, and amazing emotional beats that you will have to go and discover on your own. If you’ve already read the series, FANTASTIC!! I need someone to discuss Monica and her romantic decisions with! Also please let me know what your favorite moment or character is from the series! I’d love to hear it!
Hooky is a series like none other that tackles very dark, mature, and complex topics without ever going over the edge and making it unapproachable for children. Which is a feat of storytelling that needs to be praised! Hooky has easily skyrocketed into one of my favorite Graphic Novels ever!
Thank you for coming along on this journey into Hooky!
I hope to see you again next week!
P.S. If you like the premise and execution of Hooky I highly recommend that you check out another fantastic series called: Which Hat Atelier.
Goodness I need to make a ticket to Witch Hat Atelier sometime don’t I?
Looking for more Inspiration? Continue Here:
All Aboard to explore Miriam Bonastre Tur’s Webtoon turned graphic novel series: Hooky. Where we will explore how contrast can make a story all the more impactful and emotionally resonate.