Rosehip

Creation

Rosehip was created by writer and artist Peter Gross in The Books of Magic, issue 64, in 1999.

Major Story Arcs

Rosehip is one of several beings, including Joh, Tim Hunter in his guise as Mary, Brother Hugh, Henry Lywood, and Rosehip’s friend Julie, who came together in the outskirts of the lands of the dead after a magic storm swept through the faerie realms, creating chaos.

Rosehip is a flitling, and is a companion to Julie the Dancing Bear, who danced in faerie, under duress, for a very long time. Julie used to take care of Rosehip, but now that they ran away during the storm, Rosehip wants to take care of Julie.

With the help of Henry, who dies in the process, they manage to get out of the lands of the dead and continue traveling.

They soon find the Day family, who are all ghosts. They are being kept there by the matriarch of the family because she thinks they didn’t love her enough.

Brother Hugh attempts to use the pure faith of the youngest ghost child to ascend to heaven, but the Rosehip intervenes. She flies in the girl’s mouth, giving her new power to go anywhere she wants, whether it’s heaven or somewhere else. Appreciative, the girl disappears. Then Julie the Dancing Bear rips Hugh open, revealing that he was just a skin bag holding together a giant mass of maggots.

Rosehip and Julie feel bad for Mother Day, however, who no longer has her ghost children, and they decide to stay with her until her time there is over.

When she dies, Julie and Rosehip bury her, but they don’t know how to mark her name on the grave. The Lord of the Hunt, who has now lost his leadership, walks by, and writes Mother Day’s name on the cross in Latin.

Then, however, Rosehip reveals that The Lord of the Hunt once worshipped Julie, who was the bear god of his religion when he was a normal human. She was abused and forced to dance for so long, because she was the last of her kind, and he wouldn’t hunt her. Now, she hunts him. He runs off, and the result is not seen.