The Daughters of Salem is a grim, gory and dark tale (to be continued; I was under the impression that this is a standalone) that would fall into the Noire genre.

I wasn't sure who the target audience for this novel was supposed to be. Due to the graphic content I wouldn't recommend it for younger readers, although we follow a young teenager called Abigail and how she enters into womanhood and the changes that she experiences.
Her environment suddenly turns almost hostile towards her. Some things confused me a bit or weren't clear enough. Abigail's father was super shallow and the whole group of women who "initiated" Abigail in the little hut needed a bit more story and background around them. I really wanted a bit more from this graphic novel.

I would recommend it to people who liked Watersnakes, but this wasn't one of my favorites.

This comic was beautiful and peaceful and utterly terrifying.  Gilbert did a very good job at taking very real female fears and turning them into something visually horrifying.  Menstruation, fertility, wantonness, temptation, celibacy, so on and so forth are all present, not to mention stoning, murder, attempted sexual assault.  The illustrations appear both simple yet extremely detailed, which is perhaps why such horrifying images were so incredibly successful in creating a squeamish reaction.

Though not entirely accurate, this historical fiction graphic novel makes use of many notable and iconic pieces of history to create such a tale about the witch trials.  He includes Tituba, Puritanism, xenophobia (specifically in regards to Native Americans), and Salem itself.  

Overall, this graphic novel is something engaging, short and sweet, and perfect for the person who loves creepy tales and stories about witches and of times past.

This graphic novel doesn't seem to know whether it's aimed toward young adults or adults. On one hand, the writing is extremely simplistic. The reader follows 14 year old Abigail Hobbs as she tells her perspective of what happened in Salem. Abigail is a typical 14 year old narrator, and her dialogue, her thoughts, and her interactions are written that way. However, there are immensely violent, graphic images that made me think maybe this graphic novel isn't aimed for young(er) adults. This past year has acknowledged the blurry dichotomy between what is and isn't appropriate for kids to see. Why IS it that scenes showing brains being split open, Native Americans tortured, a dog's head bashed in, and a deer's guts spilled (these all happen in this short graphic novel) are ok for 14ish year olds to see but anything involving loving sexuality or desexualized nudity (shower, bathing, dressing scenes etc.) are off limits for that age group? Why is gore associated with violence acceptable but love and natural expression aren't? Anyway, that's a little soapbox I'm standing on, and I promise I'm done with it. Just something to think about in regards to who the audience for this book is.

Another thing that has me a bit confused on my feelings toward this comic is the creative justice that's being taken with it. Yes, I am a professional historian, but I don't need things to be 100% historically accurate in order to enjoy them. I LOVE The Crucible despite its inaccuracies. But this one...I'm not sure. Bridget Bishop is portrayed as a young girl instead of an adult woman, The "Devil" is very blatantly depicted as Native American (the "real" Devil figure during the times of the Salem Witch Trials was not reported by any of the accusers of having any kind of Native resemblance). There are just too many differences that I dislike like because the changes don't do anything to add to the narrative. If the story were being pushed along for a reason, I understand, but for the comic here, I get the feeling that they're being changed just to show that they can be because creative license.

I hate to be so negative in my review here, but I think there are too many changes/elaborations that don't have a purpose as well as some general lack of clarity about the audience. The other reviews on Goodreads are very positive, though, so I'm glad to know that this comic is hitting the right kind of readers!

This was my first graphic novel and I must say I very much enjoyed it. The simplistic yet creepy style of the artwork worked tremendously well with the darker tones of this piece. Whilst dark and creepy there were still some beautiful parts to be found, the fire, the girls dancing and the tiny Robin.

The relationship between the women in this tale shine through and in such a short piece all manner of women are brought to the foreground and sisterhood is very much apparent from the offset. This is something I greatly appreciate in any work of fiction and was delighted to see this spin on Salem.

Upon finishing I discovered that it wasn't originally in English and had been translated, I wonder if this is what has stopped it from being a 5 star review for me (I wish I could read French and could compare the two!) as it felt that a few of the pages didn't flow as well as the others.

I am very much looking forward to part two as well as rereading this during Halloween this year!

P.s I created a goodreads for this as there did not appear to be one, please feel free to update with all the relevant details.

This is a work of fiction based on real events of the Salem Witch Trials. I admit I don't know much about the Witch Trials but it does interest me.

The authors desire is "to show how a society in crisis often turns to scapegoats to explain its suffering, and how "normal" members of a community can be gradually driven to accept the unacceptable". I have to say that the book sets this up really well and I can already see how society is beginning to accept the unacceptable. This is a book that shows humanity at its worst while also showing that there is still a light there even in darkness.

The take follows Abigail Hobbs who is a young woman when the story begins. I say woman as she has had her first bleed. Which is really when bad things begin in the town. Abigail fears men as they look at her in lust. She also meets the man in black who is in fact an Indian but to the people of the town he is the devil. The book is in Abigail's point of view and I really enjoyed how we see the town and its people through her. Salem is a town where it's hard to keep secrets. The church is at the centre and there's also a tavern.

Abigail has a best friend named Elisabeth who is the reverends daughter. She and Abigail go off on adventures and Abigail introduces her to the mani in black. They dance and have fun together and the reverend doesn't know. They tell Tituba who is the reverends Indian slave and she goes with them to translate. The reverend has the power and influence in Salem. The reverend and his sermons seem comical to me as a reader today but I can also see why it scared people.

The horrible actions that have and will happen isn't because of witchcraft but of normal things that happen. We learn that the reverend has money problems, Indians attack, there is a famine, mistrust of outsiders and wolves attack. Mistrust takes hold of Salem and the circumstances make it so "normal" people want a scapegoat. I really enjoyed how the story built up and I cannot wait to see the next part.

I really liked the graphics in this. They were simple and yet managed to be creepy. It was a great effect and they helped show how the story unfolded.

This was not a “pretty” story. It was dark and sometimes disgusting. The art, especially the images focusing on nature, was beautiful. I’m looking forward to reading Part Two...

"The Daughters of Salem" is a retelling of the witch hunts at Salem and I liked that the author focused on the community of women which lived in the village at the time. Unfortunately, none of the characters feel all that well developed and the plot was somewhat rushed. Of course that might be remedied in future installments.