Note: Pages and Panels is an Amazon Business Associate, meaning we may receive a small portion of sales through our Amazon Links. However, we have no affiliation with Briarwick candles and are simply highlighting their product because I like them.
There are few things I adore more this time of year then curling up with a comic while a chilly rain falls outside. The leaves turning colors, the rain spattering on my window, turning the pages of a good spooky story while a candle or two flickers softly is pretty much my idea of perfection.
When it comes to candle choices, my mother always says that I pick scents that smell like really nice boy cologne. Leather, embers, smoke, suede, whiskey- all key phrases when it comes to my selection process. But what I didn’t know was that I’m not the only one who chooses their candles according to what their fictional boyfriend smells like. Apparently, that’s not nearly as oddball as I thought it was.
In fact, candle companies like Briarwick have designed their product lines around the smells of fictitious people, places, and intangible ideas. Most of their product line falls under a more traditional fiction aspect, with scents for various tropes, classic literate, and Young Adult Novel characters. But there are a few that speak to a comic book fan!
First up are several scents inspired by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens. While not technically a graphic novel, Gaiman and Pratchett just carry that overlap between fanbases. With multiple scents being offered, I’m most interested in Demon, described as smelling of “a blend of terrified house plants and deep red wine.” If you’re a fan of the opposite affiliation, the Angel candle offers “a blend of old books, parchment, antique wood and earl grey tea.” Honestly, either smells like exactly what I’d like to have during while reading Good Omens– or may I also suggest The Wicked and the Divine for a different take on modern-day mythology?
Mythology offers one of the best characters for the Halloween season with Hades, and his kingdom of the Underworld. Hades is also the star of the most popular Webtoon series on the internet, as Lore Olympus retells the story of his relationship with Persephone. The Lore Olympus series features almost all of the most well-known gods, who also have candles of their own.
But if you’re more into King of the Dreaming than King of the Underworld, Briarwick also is offering an exclusive fall seasonal scent based on Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. The Dream scent features lavender and incense for calming, plus the scent of sand for… well, obvious reasons.
Another limited fall scent called Dark Academia has the scents of burnt sugar, old books, and secrets- making it the perfect scent to accompany a spooky-season reading of The Sandman spin-off series Dead Boy Detectives.
First appearing in The Sandman #25, Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine are ghosts of young boys who have decided to solve supernatural crimes instead of moving on. While the characters made their first appearance on Doom Patrol in season three this year, HBO Max is also producing an eight-episode series this spring.
Briarwick offers so many scents for all kinds of different reading situations, and it changes for the season. Wax melts start at $3.35 for clearance and candles go up to $18.00 for an 8 oz glass jar, meaning there are lots of very affordable price points. Plus the candles are soy vegan, meaning they’re a great deal for holiday gifts as well!
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