- “Hitchy-hoo! Thanks fer comin'! But now that ye're here... Don't think ye'll ever be escapin' the Gray Sorceress! Eee-hee-hee!!!”
- ―The Gray Sorceress catches the Seven Dwarfs in her net.[src]
The Gray Sorceress is a character created by Guido Martina and Romano Scarpa, appearing in the comic story "The Seven Dwarfs and the Throne of Diamonds" in 1957 (translated and collected by Fantagraphics in 2017). She is a minor adversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
When the Seven Dwarfs construct a throne made of diamonds for Snow White, Queen Grimhilde sends her soldiers to steal it, and leaves a note implicating the Gray Sorceress in the theft. The Dwarfs set off for the Gray Sorceress's domain, but find it filled with elephant-sized wasps, man-eating plants, and a giant who planned to eat them in his soup. They manage to escape, but are soon caught in the Gray Sorceress's net. She reveals the only way out of her home is through a pipe in the sky.
The Gray Sorceress tells the Dwarfs that they'll spend the rest of their lives listening to her stories. However, the Dwarfs soon tire of her long-winded tales and demand to know where she took their diamond throne. The Gray Sorceress denies stealing the throne, stating that she may be a witch, but she's not a thief. Soon, Prince Charming is also caught by the Sorceress's net, having traveled to her domain to save the Dwarfs. He learns that the Gray Sorceress is not responsible for the theft of the throne, and realizes it was a trap set up by the Evil Queen.
The Prince reveals to the Gray Sorceress that Grimhilde had besmirched her name by claiming she had stolen the diamond throne. Enraged, the Gray Sorceress teleports the group to Grimhilde's castle where she had captured Snow White and Jiminy Cricket. The Gray Sorceress uses a counterspell on Grimhilde's beauty-stealing magic and takes her prisoner, declaring that Grimhilde will be forced to listen to her stories. Jiminy Cricket, enamored with the Evil Queen, asks the Gray Sorceress not to be too hard on her. The Gray Sorceress says, "We'll see..." and teleports away with Queen Grimhilde.
