Recently I attended a signing in New Hampshire where I met both Jon Price and Rebekah Isaacs. While chatting with them, I learned that the previously favorably reviewed mini-series Magus had actually completed it’s first volume, and I was none the wiser. Apparently something odd happened with the release of the last issue, or something to that end, and I unfortunately missed out on getting it (which is my subtle note to you readers that, if you had been getting the single issues, you might’ve missed it too). Regardless, I bought myself the final issue and went home to read it.
Let’s talk about why it’s your turn to do so after the cut.
Magus takes place in a world where magic no longer exists. It’s not that it doesn’t exist; magic is as real as anything else. However, things have been put in place and sealed away to not allow the average common folk to become aware that magic is as real as MTV and hopscotch. However, as these things go in long-form epic sci-fi/fantasy dramas, it just so happens that there is someone — a chosen prohpesied someone — who is going to change all that. But it’s not as simple as that. No, it never is.
The first five-issues of Magus have turned out to be the beginning of a long-form saga of fantasy adventure, and honestly I couldn’t be happier about it. Magus comes from a small publisher (12-Gauge Comics) and a writing duo whose work I was unfamiliar with (Jon Price and David Norton), with the only initial drawing power being the always fantastic work of Rebekah Isaacs (DV8: Gods and Monsters, that one Dark Reign issue of Ms. Marvel that was awesome). But what initially drew me in with artistic quality kept me with solid writing, snappy dialogue and a familiar/affable premise that is more than ready to be eaten up by fans everywhere. That might be putting too much of a hyperbolic stance on it, but Magus is just one of those titles that becomes instantly more entertaining the deeper you get into it.
The reason Magus is so successful is that the creative team work rather perfectly in sync with one another. Price and Norton bounce between writing duties in a way that you could barely notice due to how uniform their voice is. The script of the title is written like a Whedon book, with a diverse cast of non-chalant heroes throwing Star Wars references about despite the chaos surrounding them, while the femme fatales reign supreme. It’s a script that reads well with a tight ear for dialogue, and given that this is only part one of a larger story it’s interesting to see just how much the world is already mapped out. Price and Norton certainly know more than they let on, and the first volume of the book is very much an exercise in universe building (and quite a succesful one, mind you). With the final revelation that Magus would be a multi-part story as opposed to one mini-series, it becomes slightly more clear how deep down the rabbit hole Price and Norton plan to take us, and after the first five issues are done it’s hard to not want to see where else they plan to go. (Although, as a note: you can read Magus #1-5 and still get a complete story. Given the aforementioned Star Wars referencing, it helps to think of it in parts like that.)
Over time in Multiversity, we’ve often gushed about how much we enjoy the artwork of Rebekah Isaacs (which should have been obvious during her feature in our Artist August series), and Magus is certainly no different. Isaacs’ art pops off the page in gorgeous visuals full of depth, detail and emotion, especially when paired with Charlie Kirchoff on colors, whose color work really helps to brings the magic off the page. Part of the idea of Magus is that your magic reflects who you are as a person (the main character has a firey personality, so her magic is sharp and flame-ish), and Isaacs and Kirchoff bring that to life in gorgeous detail, as seen in the above splash. In all of Isaac’s collected work, it’s often quite nice to see her realistic take on the human form in the world of comics that doesn’t over-exaggerate any elements. Given that Magus takes place in “our” world, Isaacs gives the world of Magus as realistic of a look as she can, and it shows. This only seeks to make the more magical scenes and elements that much more special, and Isaacs’ rendition of the super-elements is on par with the best of the bunch in your average Big Two superhero storyline (which, as a note, Isaacs has also done in Ms. Marvel, a Falcon one-shot and Iron Age: Alpha and Omega).
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As it stands, Magus v1 #5 ends with quite the cliffhanger. A lot of the questions that had been posed during the first five issues were to the tune of “Who is doing this? And why?”, and while the why of it all is not fully discussed (only very slightly, unless I misunderstood something), the end result is still a rather chilling cliffhanger that is sure to surprise. The reason this is entirely notable is rather simple: often times, a cliffhanger like the one Magus used is reserved for “later” in stories, if only because it gives a reader more time to acclimate to characters so that the shock is that much more powerful. With five-issues, we’re only briefly familiarized with these characters lives, enough to make us care about their adventures but not enough to know what makes them tick or who they all really were before the story began. Yet, despite all that, the final scene of Magus still ends with a clever Empire Strikes Back ending which only makes the wait for the second volume of the series (which, really, is probably not that soon given Isaac’s schedule) that much more painful. This is a series that is ready to grow out in all directions, and I’m rather inclined to see how it does.
Suffice it to say, despite it’s smallish release and some kind of shipping issues, Magus is a title assuredly worth tracking down if you are able to do so. The book is available on graphic.ly as well, so if you happen to have an account you should assuredly check this out. It’s only a matter of time before the series is collected in trade, however, so keep your eyes peeled in stores for the collected version. Your comic collection will only be better off for it.
