I am not familiar with the author or illustrator of this graphic novel but was familiar with Legendary Comics YA the publisher with the reading of Championess by Kelly Zekas making this my second CBR15Passport author unknown.
The Witches of Silverlake Volume One is a 3.5 rating but rounded up to a four as there is potential and it is not really a 3. However, there are a few bumps where things do not flow smoothly and/or jump to “the next scene”
without warning, or not as obvious as could be. This is a teen horror graphic novel and is not for weak stomach as there is lots of “horror stuff” happening such as blood, body parts (lots of both) and several trigger moments (a 
fiery car crash, before the story starts a suicide and attempted suicide, kidnappings, a cult sacrifice, demons, Elliot’s dreams are disturbing). The idea of magic is real is not new, but there are a few fresh characters (all but one main character seems to be queer, but she could be a lesbian, they have not explored that yet) and everything about them is modern. The mother of Elliot lets him go off with his friends and seemly does not worry. There are peeks into the other kids lives (and it seems that they are all misfits even within their home life). I am curious about book two, but not completely sure I will read it. Simon Curtis has a concept I want to read, but at the same time it has fallen into a few tropes that make me not want to continue. This is neither good nor bad, just the way the story is.
The art is neat and moves the story forward. This is how we know that there is blood (lots of blood) and body parts (lots of body parts, just not always the whole body) and how some characters are stereotypes such as “the pretty boy” or the “flamboyant gay” character. 
Stephanie Son does a great job of showing you the pretty people and the ugly monsters. There are colors, details, and shadows. Things are glossy and feel polished. It is a contemporary look for a contemporary story. Of course, I have a funny feeling some of the pretty people are internally not so pretty. The cover gives you the tone of things to come.
The story itself follows Elliot and his new friends (a coven of five until he shows) at their prestigious Catholic private school. The kids learn that magic is real and of course, they cast spells without knowing what the heck they are doing (come on people, even I saw that movie. It didn’t end well). But they come out of it because of friendship. There are the bullies, the not popular girl becoming popular (surprise, magic) and dead people. The ending is a cliff hanger (we have Elliot in a compromising position) and a party where some betrayals may have happened. Something tells me “Soap opera teen angst thriller horror mystery people will love. For at least 14 and up unless you know the younger reader, but I didn’t say that!
