MASKED MAGICIAN
Written by Mike Maddox
Drawn by Pradeep Ingale
Published by Virgin Comics

Centuries ago, a statue fell to earth that allowed the bearer to control the four elements of the world, and it led the planet to ruin. Only the foresight of a select few allowed humanity and the Earth itself to survive, and they split the statue’s power amongst other objects and hid them around the globe. Then they banded together to create a society dedicated to not only making sure no one ever uses that power again, but that sees to it that magic stays solely in the realm of illusion. Unfortunately, a power-hungry member of that society has decided that he wants the statue’s gift for himself, and anyone in his way must die. Now, a special effects technician and his dead partner’s daughter must band together to stop the world’s climate from a magical armageddon.

This is quite an unusual way of bringing the character that did those TV specials a few years back into the spotlight again. That man’s purpose was to expose how tricks are done, and I personally avoided watching- I didn’t want to know. This book actually offers up a sort of “purpose” in doing such a thing, as it serves to keep illusionists from seeking genuine power. Hmm.

The script follows the classic hero’s journey; a man possessed of gifts he barely understands loses his mentor, discovers a conspiracy centuries old, and must dive into this world, discover his inner strength, and save the world. But this is not a bad thing: there’s a reason that the hero’s journey is one of the strongest and most reliable tropes in fiction: when it’s done well it works. And Maddox’s story and dialogue absolutely do. Tom, the protagonist, is very likeable, and possesses just enough of a skeptical sense about him that he doesn’t easily buy in to what he’s being told in concern to real magic, but he also isn’t so stubborn that he ignores the things happening around him, either.

Unfortunately, the book has one enormous Achilles’ heel, and that’s the art. Ingale’s work is stiff, his characters are un-involving, and his grasp on anatomy and movement is poor. In fact, during the climactic fight, I honestly couldn’t tell you precisely how the villain is defeated, because the art doesn’t make it clear at all. It lacks pizzazz, and when you’re dealing with magic and illusion, that ain’t so great.

At five bucks (and laying beneath a stunning cover by the brilliant Brian Stelfreeze) that makes MASKED MAGICIAN a tough call, purchase-wise. Cheap, but not pretty. Sort of like the person sitting next to you at last call. Whether or not you want to go home alone is entirely up to you.

/Mason