Magic #9

Magic #9

BOOM! Studios 2021

Written by Jed MacKay

Illustrated by IG Guara

Coloured by Arianna Consonni

Lettered by Ed Dukeshire

Kaya, Vraska, Ral, and Jace assemble the most powerful Planeswalkers from across the multiverse as war breaks out. But the terrible and ancient enemy they face is a force too powerful to face head on…

With 'REDACTED' headed their way, the only way to save the multiverse is to make a dangerous alliance with death! Will their veritable array of powers hold off the teeming dead and lead the true threat into their trap?

I have to say pages two and three let me have it! Oh it takes you to church that’s for sure as our foursome call upon Planeswalkers to come and help them out and let me tell you it’s nice to see the universe being explored more fully and letting the reader know that there are plenty of other Planeswalkers out there. Also on a personal note it is nice to see Chandra and Ajani again even if they aren’t the main characters here, but it did make me think of her mini-series and that’s awesome. With the coming of Marit Lage looming on the horizon, can our team come up with a viable plan to trap her and then find a way to defeat her once and for all? Guess we’ll be finding out real soon.

I am very much enjoying 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 are extremely well rendered. 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 does a magnificent job in spotlighting these ever changing and evolving personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more eager we are to see the climax.

I’m really rather impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that we see these layers open up new avenues to be explored. The Gatewatch for instance I’d love to learn about that. What these all do is add some nice depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably handled.

The interiors here really are gorgeous. The linework is clean, crisp and strong while still looking soft and ethereal. How we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work that we see is rather extraordinary to see. The way we see backgrounds enhance and expand the moments is nice, though we could definitely do with more of them in use, and how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellous to see. 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 a brilliant eye for how colour works.

​

Not once has the excitement level of this series dipped and the closer and closer we see them getting to the climax, and yes this includes discovering the cult and rescuing Jace, the stronger and more exciting the book has become. The writing is superb and the characterisation is so on point while the interiors really manage to bring this to life beautifully. Fans of superheroes should be reading this and you’ll see the parallels and you’ll enjoy this in a whole new light.