“From the Ashes Part 1″
Written by Jon Price; Art by Rebekah Isaacs; Color by Charlie Kirchoff; Letters by Ed Dukeshire; Edited by Keven Gardner; Published by 12-Gauge Comics
Someone on the Graphicly message boards compared Magus to the X-Men, and I guess what they were trying to say is that the premise of adolescents manifesting and coping with unusual abilities is the same. This is definitely true. That meme finds its origins in novels from the Golden Age of Science Fiction from Olaf Stapledon’s Odd John to Wilmar Shiras’ Children of the Atom (both shamelessly plundered with no credit given by X-Men scribes from Lee to Claremont). The key difference between Magus and the X-Men is that the X-Men operate in a sci-fi universe (which Grant Morrison and Bryan Singer have both brilliantly demonstrated, despite their detractors), whereas Magus is set in a magic-based milieu.
A millenia old seal on mankind’s innate affinity for magic is inexplicably broken, and now all of humankind possesses the ability to use magic. But not everyone’s magical abilities manifest simultaneously (likely a good thing). We first see the phenomenon assert itself in a mental hospital, where a young woman who has been serially molested by a sleazy hospital guard bursts into flame. Apparently she has had this ability for a time, and this particular improper overture has shredded her control over her flaming.
Cut to Ben and Darius, two suburban middle class kids engaged in a debate over Luke Skywalker’s sexuality. This is a patent riff on the Star Wars debates sprinkled throughout the films of Kevin Smith (albeit with much more profanity) and widely imitated by others. This two page rant is interrupted by the gentlemen’s discovery of a young lady, sleeping in a shed, looking scratched up and much worse for the wear. It becomes apparent that this is the same girl from the opening scene at the mental hospital. The boys head to find a Father Swain, who’s having a discussion with a woman who’s apparently investigating the phenomenon, and seeking a particular girl, Lena Cullen. Swain asks what will be done with the girl, and the woman, Danae Heath, ominously answers, “What we always do with people like her”. A definite X-Men echo rippled through me upon reading that line.
Just then, Ben and Darius bust in on Swain and Danae, and describe the girl in the shed. This prompts Danae to follow the boys to the shed, which prompts the girl to begin a mystic assault, but she is stopped by Danae, who apparently wields superior magic, though Swain advises caution. Danae takes the girl, who is the sought-after Lena Cullen, into custody, and tells Swain that apparently this one girl is what is bringing magic back into the world. Ben and Darius want answers and storm to Swain’s office, not noticing a mysterious parishoner keeping his eyes on them.
While Danae uselessly interrogates the boys over whether they have manifested any magical powers, Lena escapes. Meanwhile, in Grand Island, Nebraska, a teenage boy’s powers are exploding in an extremely destructive fashion. In Washington, Garrett Hicks, an agent of forces who have monitored the seal keeping the magic out of the world, is meeting with the President. He recounts disastrous manifestations of magical powers across the nation. A dumbfounded and disbelieving Commander-in-Chief asks Cook what they will do to stop the problems. Hicks has decided to send Danae Heath to investigate.
Price weaves the story in a compelling fashion, leaping from incident to incident nimbly, gradually mapping out who’s who among the small introductory cast. His dialogue is believable and very grounded – necessities to sell the subject matter, though the Star Wars rant seemed a bit obvious to me. Rebekah Isaacs proved her talent to me more than once on Hack/ Slash, which I’ve happily reviewed extensively on this site. Her rendering and smooth line work are flawless as ever. Between Price and Isaacs, a very tightly structured, intriguing story has taken shape, one that I will try to review further issues of on The Comics Forge.
