THE MAGIC ORDER Volume 1 by Mark Millar (writer) and Olivier Coipel (Illustrator). (Image Comics, April 2019) Paperback, 176 pages. ISBN # 1534308717 / 9781534308718. Collects THE MAGIC ORDER #1-6.
Summary from the Goodreads website . . . . .
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.
My review on the Goodreads website . . . .
Mark Millar is a skilled storyteller who manages to take familiar themes and make them fresh. Olivier Coipel is a talented illustrator whose ability to convey various emotions through facial expressions and body language is brilliant, as well as his high-powered action scenes.
A secret order (several generations of select families) have protected Earth forever from various threats through the utilization of magical abilities and spells. The best defense and a lifelong mission is to keep a dangerous spell book from getting into the wrong hands and causing the end of the world.
This is the story of the internal battle between several family members for possession of the book. You may be reminded of the conflicts in Game of Thrones and The Godfather, but Millar reveals in a text piece that his inspiration was Shakespeare's King Lear. In fact, several of the characters are named for characters in the play, as well as places, etc.
It's a big cast but several players make a favorable impression and become favorites. Initially for me, it was Gabriel (who Coipel draws to resemble actor Liev Schreiber), a family member who's left the group after a daughter discovers his magical wand and ends up dead (like a child getting into daddy's gun cabinet). He's come back into play to assist the others with a vengeance and is a bad-ass character. However, my preference for him faded as the story took some twists and turns.
I'd have to say Cordelia (the escapist) is the best of the bunch. However, they're all fascinating and this is a fast-paced read best appreciated in a collection like this. (I read the original monthly issues).
Recommended.
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