January 7th, 2026
8 Jan 2026 · page 1274 of 1306
Walking into a coronation and causing trouble, the dream.
FYI I have jury service this month, so updates at the back end of January may be spotty, it really depends on what happens..!
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Heinrich Wolfe, Jack O'Malley
Comments (24)
Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
Ya know - the scepter was originally a mace for crushing the skulls of your enemies.
Panel three looks as if Her Maj is contemplating a traditional usage.
Her expression there kinda suggests she will be quick on the uptake and knows her mind.
I predict Interesting Times (in the Chinese curse sense) ahead for Parliament.
In the last panel - is that, perhaps, someone we know being forceful in the background?
Wolfe and Ben have different methods of herding people out of the way.
(And then there’s Eliza in the background of the last panel chasing off the audience!)
I totally missed that! Thanks! Eliza is the best.
So, OceanWitch now has all the power of Island and Mountain. And only City remains. But, maybe a witch’s potential strength is affected by the number of people in the vicinity of their anchor, and not many people live in Aotearoa, Tibet, or under the ocean… Mal may turn out to be the strongest of them all once he’s confident enough to draw on the strength
I think you may have it. Magic comes from spirits, who come from thoughts and emotions. As Mal told the twins earlier, Widdershins is untidy and messy, and they're proud of it. Maybe the comic is called Widdershins not because it's the main location, but the hidden hero of the story? Or maybe I need to go to bed.
Oh man, I’m here for all of it. Ben’s face and gesturing had me gasping for air.
Then add her maj with the snappy sceptre smack, the fluttering pennants (were they held in place solely by the archbishop’s pomp?), the peanut gallery, “mr witch I presume” yeah that’s Mal to you YRH, Jack O’Malley if you’re nasty.
And of course every word out of Mal’s mouth. Bad Business Witch coming through.
A good reminder for us all that sceptres are just the fancy descendants of MACES. 😁
After this is all over, Mal will either be informed that he is never to come within one mile of the Palace ever again, or he will be over to have tea every week with Vicky (and eventually her new bloke Al).
To be fair, Mal isn’t really (and to my knowledge never has been) anywhere near the palace. The coronation is happening at the Anchor. It’s never been indicated or implied that the doors can move, and we know Mal’s is at the ground floor of the Anchor just floating there (unlike Nyree’s, that is built into a tree for example).
I feel like attempting to keep a Witch from their Anchor and Door would be a bit like telling a fire not to burn the wood you just put next to it. Magic, and Witches, are not a thing you can simply force into compliance.
Thea thought she knew how to move one.
uh ohhh things may get pretty watery
Mal’s confidence and Ben’s and Wolfe’s unhesitating support are a wonderful sight to see. 💖
Let’s hope your jury service isn’t a complicated fraud case that lasts two years.
If there is power behind the ritual of coronation - for instance activating the magical Crown - then it might have been wise to let the ceremony continue to get the back up.
And rather than barging in and swearing, Mal might have warned them of an imminent attack by a malicious witch, just so everyone knows what’s coming. If nothing else, there are plenty of guards with muskets and bayonets to summon who could act as ablative point men.
And you’d think that being Queen would at least get your name in the tags.
Ummm. That would imply that Mal was that organized, or for that matter, cared. For that matter we know from only a few panels back (https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-17th-2025) that he’s running this by the seat of his intuition. We know from an earlier (much earlier) strip (https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-17th-2013) that Her Highness is adaptable.
I’m not sure - is it just coincidence that all this is happening at coronation time? If not, stopping the ceremony might be crucial - what if it gave Thea control of the crown?
i mean, did they HAVE to set up RIGHT there??
Vickie’s got spunk, I like that in a monarch. :)
Don’t worry. The history books will clean it all up.
It’s like saying ‘I object’ at a wedding, only better.
Bit concerned by those pennants... Buggerup help, or something else?
Why do I imagine Jack having Constantine’s voice from the DC universe?
I don’t think he has the same accent, but he definitely has something of John’s vibe here. Especially the third panel.