Empowering Girls in the Transnational W.I.T.C.H. Magazine and Comic Series

Abstract The Italian-made comics series W.I.T.C.H. and the homonymous magazine enjoyed global success. The series tells the story of five girls who discover they have magical powers and are called on to save the universe from evil forces. I investigate this transnational and transmedia series and explore how girls’ empowerment is pursued through the trope of the teenage witch in the comics’ storyline, revealing the hybridization of manga, European, and Disney graphic styles and themes, and in the magazine itself where the editors use techniques of engagement with readers (surveys and quizzes, problem pages and letters from readers, DIY pieces, and diary-like pages). This analysis involves scholarship on Girlhood and Cultural Studies and serves as a springboard for further investigation.