Klarion the Witch-Boy #5

In this double-sized issue continuing years after his limited series left off, Klarion returns to Limbo Town from his misadventures in the future, and encounters his cousin, another young witch-boy, Hezikiah Ananias Dare. Klarion is intrigued by Hezikiah's strange familiar, which appears in the form of a large unearthly spider. Hezikiah tells the story of how came to have such a bizarre familiar.

It is explained that the familiar is a physical manifestation of the witch’s soul and represents the nature of the witch. The familiar changes into the form of different creatures while the witch is young. At a point in the witch’s life when their personality reaches a certain developmental stage, and the nature of the witch is decided, the form of the familiar becomes permanent.

When Limbo Town was invaded by Melmoth, some of the witchboys were kidnapped and taken to work the mines on Mars. While Hezikiah was working, he watched a group of large martian spiders trick and subdue the guard overseeing the mining children. At that moment he was so impressed and inspired by the ingenious way in which these spiders caught their prey, that his own spider familiar permanently took on the form of these spiders. He then seized this opportunity to wander from the mining camp and explore other areas nearby.

Wandering the Martian landscape, Hezikiah came across a wall with glyphs and depictions of an alien race (referred to in Frankenstein as shape shifting toad emperors that were the sorcerer kings of aboriginal Mars). Curious, he ran his hand across the glyphs. The inherent magic within the witchboy activated the glyphs and imbued him with the power to manipulate the vibrations of matter and energy. Hezikiah was eventually found by guards and returned to work, but not for long: Frankenstein freed him with the other children and helped him return to Limbo Town.

Klarion is impressed with this story, and proposes that Hezikiah accompany him to the surface world. Hezikiah agrees, and on the way the two concoct a plan to terrorize the Demon Etrigan, in an attempt to steal some of the magic secrets of Jason Blood. Hezikiah devises the plan that tricks The Demon, while Klarion successfully ransacks Blood’s home. They escape easily, and gleefully celebrate their achievement.