TKO Presents is thrilled to announce the historical espionage graphic novel The Witches of World War II by Paul Cornell (Saucer State, This Damned Band), Valeria Burzo, and Jordie Bellaire coming spring 2023. With the Luftwaffe terrorizing London and the threat of Hitler and his forces knocking at their doors, the British government calls upon a bevy of talented civilians to strike against the Führer. But what happens when those talented individuals are the real-life figures of modern-day occultism, mysticism, and Wicca?
In the darkest hours of World War II, Doreen Dominy (later Valiente), a junior intelligence officer, twenty years old and already a war widow, is approached by a British General. He tells her he knows she’s a witch… and that’s how she can best serve her country. Dominy, an expert on British folklore and the occult, is to use her connections in this peculiar community to recruit a group of British ‘magicians’ and use their “skills” to gain some advantage over the Nazi high command, who believe fervently “in all this occult rubbish.”
Together with Aleister Crowley, the self-proclaimed “Most Evil Man in the World,” Dominy recruits a hard-nosed white witch, Dion Fortune, the grizzled and gray-bearded founder of Wicca, Gerald Gardner, and exorcist and con man in a turban, Rollo Ahmed. Together this team of witches will travel deep into the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe and gamble their lives, their beliefs, and their powers on a mission to help capture Rudolf Hess, fervent occultist, and second-in-command to Adolf Hitler himself.
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It’s been one of the best creative experiences of my life to bring these five amazing people to a wider audience,” said Paul Cornell, writer of The Witches of World War II. “We consulted with those who maintain their legacies, and everyone involved, including the spectacular artist team of Valeria Burzo and Jordie Bellaire, has stepped up to the challenge of the material. I couldn’t be more proud of this book.”
Inspired by the incredible true story of the New Forest coven and Operation Cone of Power, and perfect for fans of Sara, The Night Witches, and Navajo Code Talkers: Top Secret Messengers of World War II, The Witches of World War II delves into the historical intersection of magic and the second World War, with a dash of espionage thrown in for good measure. Chuck Wendig calls it: “Vengefully imaginative occult rewrite of wartime history, full of sharp knife twists, proving yet again that Cornell is a storyteller to cherish.”
The Witches of World War II will be available where TKO Presents titles are sold, online and in stores, March 2023.
