Image Comics 2018
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Olivier Coipel
Coloured by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Peter Doherty
We live in a world where we've never seen a monster, and The Magic Order is the reason we sleep safely in our beds. Magic meets the mob in THE MAGIC ORDER, as five families of magicians—sworn to protect our world for generations—must battle an enemy who's picking them off one by one. By day, they live among us as our neighbors, friends, and co-workers, but by night, they are the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect us from the forces of darkness…unless the darkness gets them first.
The opening here is one that makes me want to know more. It is dark and mysterious and it captures the readers attention immediately which is exactly what it is supposed to do. God that was one hell of a creepy way to start things off too and while the imagery may be disturbing we understand that this was a hit, that someone wanted him dead and this was just the opening salvo.
Then we get to meet Cordelia Moonstone and she’s something. I can’t’ decide if she’s just an angry young woman or a total train-wreck. Her introduction is brief and yet telling and the way that Mark has structured the book and is introducing us to the Moonstone family has one of the best feels to it that I have ever seen. When Mark throws himself into something new and fresh and is something he is passionate about there is are few who can match his skill in writing. It isn’t just the Moonstone clan that we meet as we also get a glimpse of the others in the order as well and someone who at this time for reasons only known to herself is the epitome of evil.
Madame Albany and her motley crew arrive at the funeral of the man from the opening. Now while I am not sure why she needs to wear that leather S&M headpiece she nonetheless knows how to make an entrance. Personally I am waiting for the day that a villainess arrives and is as sweet looking as Doris Day because that would scare much more than something so cliché. Kudos however to the shape-shifter for aping the dead guy uncut penis and all as that was a surprise and pretty damn sacrilege if you ask me but then again it’s great for giving readers that sense of how these people don’t give one iota of a damn about anyone other than themselves.
Olivier and Dave do some absolutely stunning and hauntingly gorgeous work on the interiors here. I love the way Olivier is able to manipulate the varying weights of the linework to create such beautiful work. From the subtle to the bold what we see is simply fantastic and the attention to detail that we see just makes this stand out. The way that page layouts are utilised and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels showcases what an incredible eye for storytelling he has. Just as is the linework so are Dave’s colours here and he really understands the shading and use of light sources and the consistency needed not to mention the muted form of astral projection.
From Harry Potter to the Magicians our love of magic never seems to wane and when something like this can come along and stand alone because of not only the way it’s presented but the nature of what we see is something that makes Mark’s mind, creativity and imagination something we constantly gravitate towards. This has a very good strong premise is written perfectly and has the exact right interior artwork to complete the mood, tone and feeling. Prepare yourself because magic never looks so good and deadly