REVIEW: ‘Magic,’ Issue #1

Magic #1 is published by BOOM! Studios, written by Jed Mackay with art by Ig Guara, colors by Arianna Consonni, and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Upon the plane of Ravnica, the great city of guilds is about to come under attack. But who would be interested in challenging, or brazen enough to draw the ire, of the Guildmasters that are the chosen targets? 

With last year’s comic series Magic: The Gathering: Chandra delivering a well-crafted story in the Magic Multiverse, I was thrilled to hear that they were returning to the medium with this new story. 

The first thing to note about Magic #1 is that it fully embraces its universe’s lore. If you are unfamiliar with the characters, places, and concepts that fill this magic-driven multiverse, be ready, as the story throws a lot at you. It does explain things, but these definitions are bare-bones, and there is a lot of them. It’s not an insurmountable hurdle if you like a unique fantasy setting, just something to be aware of going in.

Magic #1’s story takes place on the plane of Ravnica. The normal daily life processes come to a screeching halt as three of Ravnica’s Guildmasters, Vraska, Ral Zarek, and Kaya, find themselves the targets of assassination attempts. Needless to say, the would-be killers find themselves less than a match for their planeswalker targets. 

As the smoke clears for the three battles, one assailant remains alive and is swiftly taken to the Azorius Guild for investigation. However, to get to the bottom of this mystery, it may take a little outside help. Someone who can really get inside a person’s head.

Magic #1 follows its somewhat wordy opening with some great action and mystery. The attack on the three guild masters is entertaining as well as informative. Anyone unfamiliar with these particular characters gets a quick crash course in why they are not to be trifled with. 

The way the story weaves between the three attacks also does a great job of showcasing how different the three are. Each of the three Guildmasters displays their own styles, as well as a glimpse into their larger personalities within these fights. And while they are each different, one thing they all share is a hard-earned sense of confidence.

Further enhancing Magic #1’s action is an impressive artistic presentation. Guara’s art delivers each character’s unique style of fighting as well as their personalities magnificently. This variety keeps the action from becoming stale. This is particularly important here as the fight sequence is easily the star of the story. 

 While Guara’s art lays down a wonderful foundation for this story’s look, that foundation is further built upon by colorist Consonni’s vibrant colorwork. Every magical effect is given a color treatment that has it practically leaping off the page. 

Rounding out the book’s presentation is Dukeshire’s letters. Overall, the lettering does a good job of delivering the story without getting in the way of any of the book’s beautiful art. This, coupled with some great sound effects design during the initial attack, makes for a solid delivery where the letters are concerned. 

When all is said and done, Magic #1 delivers an exciting, characterful story once it gets going. I’m certainly intrigued to learn what could be on the horizon for the story’s main characters.

 Magic #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.