More Weight: A Salem Story

“The most insightful, beautifully crafted, and impressively researched dramatization of America’s founding frenzy that exists in any medium, and a perfect illustration of why bloody-minded Northampton men should never set foot in the New World. An appalling masterpiece.” — Alan Moore

“Blending one century into another, Ben Wickey’s gorgeous and stylized More Weight explores the Salem Witchcraft trials of 1692 and their subsequent meaning and message. This powerful graphic novel both intrigues the eye and strikes the heart, revealing the full horrors of what only seem to be familiar stories.” — Marilynne K. Roach, author of Six Women of Salem and The Salem Witch Trials

possible blurbs incoming from Iain Sinclair, and further experts on the Salem Witch Trians (including Margo Burnes and Emerson W. Baker)

• “The most insightful, beautifully crafted, and impressively researched dramatization of America’s founding frenzy that exists in any medium, and a perfect illustration of why bloody-minded Northampton men should never set foot in the New World. An appalling masterpiece.” — Alan Moore
• “Blending one century into another, Ben Wickey’s gorgeous and stylized More Weight explores the Salem Witchcraft trials of 1692 and their subsequent meaning and message. This powerful graphic novel both intrigues the eye and strikes the heart, revealing the full horrors of what only seem to be familiar stories.” — Marilynne K. Roach, author of Six Women of Salem and The Salem Witch Trials
• "masterwork of a graphic novel, and that effort is evident in Wickey’s riveting blend of hand-drawn visuals and storytelling." - New York Times
• "a sprawling story about religion, politics, family, and art, full of sympathy for the accused and anger at a community that took far too long to acknowledge the injustice it committed." - The AV Club
• Starred review: "Shot through with tragedy and dark humor, this ambitious volume makes readers feel the weight of history." MORE WEIGHT makes the front of the Independent Reviews section of this week's Publishers Weekly, which also included the review..." - Publishers Weekly
• "Wickey’s dense, haunting graphic novel about the 1692 Salem massacre of 20 innocents is an illuminating reminder of the theocratic terror that casts a shadow, centuries later." - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
• “Wickey's virtuosic cartooning and depth of research creates possibly the most nuanced and moving analysis of the Salem witch trials and their impact on Salem to this day.” - PW Annual Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• "An empathetic look at people who have caused harm, both great and small. And an engagement with what inspires us to create art." - The Beat Best Comics of 2025
• "The art style shifts for each time period, tapping into the visual traditions of the respective eras to showcase Wickey’s versatility as well as his commitment to historical detail. He drew this over the course of 10 years, and all of that work shines through in the final product: strong graphic composition, characterization that leaps off the page, immersive environments enhanced by evocative coloring and grayscale work, and expressive lettering that brings the voices to vivid life." - The AV Club
• "Impressive and thoughtfully conceived, this dense volume considers how the complex, bloody history of Salem, Massachusetts, haunts its past and present. Moody, appropriately gothic artwork folds in fascinating events." - Booklist
• “Epic” is the only word that truly encapsulates this graphic novel. Revealing the oft-forgotten human tragedies behind the sensationalized Salem Witch trials, More Weight explores the full horror of the trials themselves and the many ways that American society still struggles to deal with the consequences." - BookRiot
• 4 Stars- "Ben Wickey’s dramatisation delves far deeper than the common knowledge to produce a story rife with the social feuds, religious constrictions and the era’s political tightropes." "what makes More Weight stand out among innumerable other books on events in Salem is Wickey’s art. His cast drip personality, haggard people bearing the weight of their deprived circumstances in Salem as witchcraft is presumed to lurk in every dark corner." "Diligent, dense and fascinating, More Weight lives up to its title in a thorough recounting of bleak history." - Slings & Arrows
• "More Weight is a triumph." It earns its place as one of the best studies of the Salem Witch Trials in recent times, notably for its ability to bring the past right to our very doorsteps." - The Comics Beat
• "As much as More Weight is about the witch trials themselves, it is also about the way Salem, and by extension America, has dealt with the memory of one of the formative moments of America’s pre-revolution history. For a generation, the wounds remained raw before Salem tried to forget its darkest episode, and then ultimately, out of economic desperation, sanitized and commodified it." - Weird City Media

• "Insane the level of detail this goes into...the art is crazy!" "It's Gorgeous. It's haunting. It's educational. Thorough - it is everything you'd ever want to know about the Salem Witch Trials. A place to start your research and maybe even end your research on that stain on American history. Everything you would ever want in a graphic novel." - Graphic Policy
• "A monumental graphic storytelling achievement, More Weight exposes the dark truths behind the Salem witch trials." - Foreword Reviews
• "[More Weight] deserves to be spoken in the same breath as Alan Moore’s From Hell, both in terms of scope and narrative complexity." - The Comics Beat
• "What little I know of Ben Wickey’s work — largely gleaned from his Instagram — tells me that he’s perfectly suited to tell a weird-ol’ Salem witch story. There’s a bit of gloomy charicature to his style, and I can’t wait to delight in some real-world Puritanical dread. ‘Tis the season." - AiPT
• "More Weight has earned the right to be included in any talk of a new comics cannon. It’s not often the medium gets a fresh classic of this magnitude, one that immediately becomes a fundamental read. Ben Wickey has succeeded in producing just that with this commanding book." - The Comics Beat

The Lists:

• 10 Amazing Books That ‘Best Graphic Novels Of 2025’ Lists May Have Missed - Forbes
• Best Comics of 2025 - The AV Club
• Publishers Weekly annual Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• The Beat's Best Comics of 2025
• Comixology Best of 2025
• Favorite Hidden Gem Books of 2025 - New York Times
• These Graphic Novels are Must-Reads - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
• Booklist Editors’ Choice: Graphic Novels, 2025 - Booklist American Library Association
• The Best Comic Books and Graphic Novels of 2025 - BookRiot

Awards:

• Eisner Nominee: Best Graphic Novel
• Eisner Nominee: Best Lettering
• Harvey Award Nominee: Book of the Year
• Ringo Award Nominee: Best Cartoonist
• Ringo Award Nominee: Best Letterer
• Ignatz Award Nominee: Outstanding Graphic Novel