Legacy of Mandrake the Magician #1
Stonebot/King Features/Red5 Comics 2020
Written by Erica Schultz
Illustrated by Diego Giribaldi
Coloured by Ramon Bunge
Backgrounds by J.P. Massa
Lettered by Martin Casanova
Mandy Paz is by all appearances an ordinary teenager just trying to make her way through high school. If she seems like she’s going out of her way to avoid attention, that’s because she’s hiding a big secret—she has powerful magical talents. So, when strange and sinister things start happening in her small town, Mandy decides to take action. And on her quest to chase down the root of the town’s trouble she just might discover the truth about her own legacy.
I missed the zero issue so I am a little sad about that. But I have been waiting for this as I am a fan of the original King Features characters. I get the reasoning behind Mandy taking over as a legacy but one of these days I would like to see a boy be the legacy and have him be gay. The gender reversal is almost overdone, this is my opinion no one else’s and this doesn’t lessen how good this story is. Erica is an amazing writer and she continues that streak with this book.
I love 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 beautifully. I like that while there was a zero issue that doesn’t mean you had to read it to enjoy this. We get a great sense of what’s going on in Mandy’s life and the way this is presented makes it easy to enjoy what is happening. The character development is amazing and you get the sense that one is definitely not a friend at all and I cannot wait to see how that plays out. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the characters, this world and the story it’s easy to see just how well everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
Also the way that this is structured and how we see the layers within the story coming to life showcases just how well Erica’s mind works and how talented she is. Also there are moments where the light hearted nature of a teenage girl shines through and balances out the whole idea of having such power at her disposal.
The interiors here are absolutely delightful! The linework we see is sensational and there’s a nice strength and confidence that comes with how they are laid down. Also a great nod to Pizazz in here as well. I am somewhat surprised that there is a person whose sole job is to do the backgrounds but since it’s me I love that about this. I mean the wallpaper alone is sensational. Still I do like how everything we see works so well together and that we get some great depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong and talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is fantastic! I love how we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. The effects of the magic and everything we see is so well rendered.
This is a bright shining star right now. This is the kind of storytelling we need what with politics being crazy and the whole shut-in quarantine that’s gripped the world. This is fun, engaging, relatable to and it just finds a way to lift your spirits perfectly. The power of storytelling can do so many things and I’m so thankful for these creators for bringing this to us.
Stonebot/King Features/Red5 Comics 2020
Written by Erica Schultz
Illustrated by Diego Giribaldi
Coloured by Ramon Bunge
Backgrounds by J.P. Massa
Lettered by Martin Casanova
Mandy Paz is by all appearances an ordinary teenager just trying to make her way through high school. If she seems like she’s going out of her way to avoid attention, that’s because she’s hiding a big secret—she has powerful magical talents. So, when strange and sinister things start happening in her small town, Mandy decides to take action. And on her quest to chase down the root of the town’s trouble she just might discover the truth about her own legacy.
I missed the zero issue so I am a little sad about that. But I have been waiting for this as I am a fan of the original King Features characters. I get the reasoning behind Mandy taking over as a legacy but one of these days I would like to see a boy be the legacy and have him be gay. The gender reversal is almost overdone, this is my opinion no one else’s and this doesn’t lessen how good this story is. Erica is an amazing writer and she continues that streak with this book.
I love 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 beautifully. I like that while there was a zero issue that doesn’t mean you had to read it to enjoy this. We get a great sense of what’s going on in Mandy’s life and the way this is presented makes it easy to enjoy what is happening. The character development is amazing and you get the sense that one is definitely not a friend at all and I cannot wait to see how that plays out. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the characters, this world and the story it’s easy to see just how well everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow.
Also the way that this is structured and how we see the layers within the story coming to life showcases just how well Erica’s mind works and how talented she is. Also there are moments where the light hearted nature of a teenage girl shines through and balances out the whole idea of having such power at her disposal.
The interiors here are absolutely delightful! The linework we see is sensational and there’s a nice strength and confidence that comes with how they are laid down. Also a great nod to Pizazz in here as well. I am somewhat surprised that there is a person whose sole job is to do the backgrounds but since it’s me I love that about this. I mean the wallpaper alone is sensational. Still I do like how everything we see works so well together and that we get some great depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong and talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is fantastic! I love how we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. The effects of the magic and everything we see is so well rendered.
This is a bright shining star right now. This is the kind of storytelling we need what with politics being crazy and the whole shut-in quarantine that’s gripped the world. This is fun, engaging, relatable to and it just finds a way to lift your spirits perfectly. The power of storytelling can do so many things and I’m so thankful for these creators for bringing this to us.
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