While randomly going through titles at my local comic book shop I came across a particular one with a man and a boy on the cover in a king of hearts sort of way. Both were doing magic but two different kinds; Neil Patrick Harris’ sort of magic tricks vs Merlin’s sort of magic. The comic was Smoke and Mirrors. I’m a dope for both of these sorts. I made my parents sit through endless magic specials as a kid while ohing and awing in all the right places. On the other side of it I also pretended that I was a wizard in the playground before pretending you were a wizard was cool. Thank you Harry Potter for becoming big two years to late to preserve my coolness factor.
Because of my complicated history with magics of all kinds I tried not to get my hopes up to high about this issue. Good thing those breathing exercises and mental preparation were for not. This comic blew me away with its ingenuity The whole basis is that this world has actual- Merlin and Harry Potter casting kind of magic. They have incantations to program music boxes, cars that run on talismans, crystals that work as keys. It’s as if everyone was living in the wizarding world but instead of getting stuck in the turn of the century they decided to use their magic to further human invention.
So that’s the world and in it a mysterious man. Really how can you get a mysterious man when the world is run by magic but this man is from our world and knows coin tricks and probably the dark side of humanity that isn’t shown in this world. He’s found out by this troublesome kid who just wants to learn the tricks. This concept made me so happy. It was done exceedingly well and wasn’t over complicated right from the start.
So the big 3 that I critique on are: dialogue, art, and story. This comic hit nicely on all three. The dialogue isn’t stagnant nor is it forced. The art is shadowed but not overly so and the story is really interesting. Next I like to look at the characters. Since I only review one issue at a time and right now just reviewing first issues I don’t look at characters so harshly (until I reach the second issue of a series) because you can’t always get a grasp for a character in just one issue. Here each character was pretty vivid in their own rights, especially the main.
Ethan the main character is neither a good or bad kid, just a kid who makes stupid decisions. I have a feeling he’ll fall on the side of good since he’s a blond, blue eyed boy but one never knows. This whole issue is nothing but his curiosity taking charge and he breaks into a secure area of what is an equivalent to Apple headquarters and accidentally attacks two guards.
Smoke and Mirrors: 4 out of 5. Overall extremely interesting with a great ending that left me running to the comic book store for the next issue. Unfortunately it’s at a standpoint that it can either go up to a 4.5, probably no high but the odds are against it. Let’s hope I’m wrong and I shall keep reading and reviewing.
Because of my complicated history with magics of all kinds I tried not to get my hopes up to high about this issue. Good thing those breathing exercises and mental preparation were for not. This comic blew me away with its ingenuity The whole basis is that this world has actual- Merlin and Harry Potter casting kind of magic. They have incantations to program music boxes, cars that run on talismans, crystals that work as keys. It’s as if everyone was living in the wizarding world but instead of getting stuck in the turn of the century they decided to use their magic to further human invention.
So that’s the world and in it a mysterious man. Really how can you get a mysterious man when the world is run by magic but this man is from our world and knows coin tricks and probably the dark side of humanity that isn’t shown in this world. He’s found out by this troublesome kid who just wants to learn the tricks. This concept made me so happy. It was done exceedingly well and wasn’t over complicated right from the start.
So the big 3 that I critique on are: dialogue, art, and story. This comic hit nicely on all three. The dialogue isn’t stagnant nor is it forced. The art is shadowed but not overly so and the story is really interesting. Next I like to look at the characters. Since I only review one issue at a time and right now just reviewing first issues I don’t look at characters so harshly (until I reach the second issue of a series) because you can’t always get a grasp for a character in just one issue. Here each character was pretty vivid in their own rights, especially the main.
Ethan the main character is neither a good or bad kid, just a kid who makes stupid decisions. I have a feeling he’ll fall on the side of good since he’s a blond, blue eyed boy but one never knows. This whole issue is nothing but his curiosity taking charge and he breaks into a secure area of what is an equivalent to Apple headquarters and accidentally attacks two guards.
Smoke and Mirrors: 4 out of 5. Overall extremely interesting with a great ending that left me running to the comic book store for the next issue. Unfortunately it’s at a standpoint that it can either go up to a 4.5, probably no high but the odds are against it. Let’s hope I’m wrong and I shall keep reading and reviewing.
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