Comics are often called magical by fans of the medium, but this is the first time it’s literally true. Merging his passion for comics with his passion for magic, Costa attempts to do something new and inventive. He succeeds.
Written by Mike Costa
Illustrated by Ryan Browne
Illusions by Jon ArmstrongStage magician Terry Ward is thrust into a world where magic – not technology – rules, and is forced to use trickery and illusions to survive! But will that prove to be enough when the dangers of the world start compounding and how can a sleight-of-hand artist compete with users of practical spells?
128 pages / $19.99
World building is a tricky task, and it sometimes it can get in the way of telling a story. Costa avoids the common pitfalls by starting the series off with a presentation reminiscent of Steve Jobs debuting a new Apple product. It allows for heavy exposition without seeming forced or awkward, and gets you up to speed quickly. Once you’re familiar with this strange new world, “Smoke and Mirrors” introduces its main protagonist, Terry Ward. Ward is the straight man in this magical realm, a man from our world who is as confused by his surroundings and acts as our surrogate to allow for later exposition. Ward befriends a young boy, Ethan, who has a strong interest in Ward’s slight-of-hand and other tricks. Through Ethan, Ward meets the villain of the story, and I won’t spoil further details.
As a volume, the five chapters fit together fairly well. The breaks are obvious, but the hiccups in the narrative are limited to the art, not the dialogue. The only exception is the third chapter, which is a flashback to Ward’s first days in this other world. It’s the only chapter to be narrated, which gives it a different feel from the rest of the book. Its placement in the middle of the story slows the pace of the action. I think it may have worked better as chapter one, five, or even as a separate one-shot from the main series. What struck me as most odd in the writing was the swearing. In the first two chapters, the curse words are stricken or otherwise obscured. By chapter four, that practice is abandoned, and they’re written normally. The book had two letterers, Robbie Robbins and Neil Uyetake, but the credits don’t indicate if they worked together or if one replaced the other. It’s minor, but it puzzled me.
The art is typical IDW – brilliant colors on glossy pages with a very distinctive smell. Browne’s pencils are crystal clear without being photo-realistic. At no point will you be confused about who is in the panel, or what they’re doing. The various magic tricks contained in the volume are clearly illustrated and work well. Browne’s colors help to highlight various spells and magics which would be harder to decipher by inks alone. The naming spells in the later chapters are especially effective, giving the panels a very different feel from the rest of the book. The first panel it occurs in just looks loud, and it seems completely natural for Ward to be covering his ears in the next panel.
“Smoke and Mirrors” contains a variety of extras. The first is an introduction by Joshua Hale Fialkov of “Echoes” and “I, Vampire” fame. Without giving away plot details, Fialkov gives readers the background behind the story and does a good job of building excitement. At the end of the volume, real-life magician and adviser to Costa gives annotations to various scenes and tricks shown in the chapters. This is an excellent bonus, and isn’t something which could be done in most comics. The five books collected were originally sold for $4 each, which makes this $20 volume a fair deal.
The end of the final chapter is open ended, and the language in the extras indicates there may be more “Smoke and Mirrors” on the way. Here’s hoping.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy
