Magic #7

Magic #7

BOOM! Studios 2021

Written by Jed MacKay

Illustrated by IG Guara

Coloured by Arianna Consonni

Lettered by Ed Dukeshire

The Guilds of Ravnica, now aligned against a foe that threatens the entire Multiverse, must defend Ravnica united! Fortunately, the warriors of the Guilds have the legendary Planeswalker, Jaya Ballard, by their side to repel the mutant horrors of her ancient enemy. Will Jaya and our cabal of Planeswalkers be able to reach Jace Beleren before the herald of 'REDACTED' does?

With each issue I'm more and more impressed by what Jed does with this series. That we are seven issues into the run and we’re still following the same arc is for me utterly amazing. It is playing itself out in what feels like a natural progression as the story dictates it be told instead of being forced into what we would think of as trade arcs. So in my humble opinion this is the way the story should be being told. Also the bond that these three have been forging since the get go has been increasing exponentially with each new issue and this is another aspect to the story that I really like seeing.

Needless to say I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter keeps their ever changing & evolving personalities at the forefront. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is exceptionally well achieved.

I greatly appreciate how we see this being structured as well as how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The way that these layers open up new avenues to be explored, while exploring those that have already been opened all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. That we finally get to see Jace again and that he may, may mind you, become more involved makes me a happy camper. How we see everything working together to create the story's ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

Guara’s people are really rather beautifully rendered, yes i’d like to see our resident medusa more frightening in nature but the faces and facial expressions we do see further the characterisation extremely well. The linework is clean, crisp and sharp and with their varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work that we see is amazing. The one thing I would like to see more of are backgrounds. Though how we see the composition within the panels bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows an excellent understanding of how colour works.

​

I know that this is based off the card game but in all reality the way that Jed tells this holds many similarities to any superhero book on stands right now. A group of individuals who possess great power come together to thwart a villain. In this case said villain just happens to be some godlike being who has been banished and yet is gathering enough power to once again return to claim what she feels is rightfully hers. It doesn’t get more classic a superhero story than this folks so we need to get out of the mindset that these types of books aren’t for you. I mean this is impeccably written with excellent characterisation and some dynamic interiors that can’t be tamed.