A Hero Defined

I picked up Book 1 of Matt Wagner's excellent Mage: The Hero Defined series recently, and last night I had a chance to read it in it's entirity. Now, I've read a few issues of the series (as well as Hero Discovered) and always enjoyed it, but never followed it really. This isn't exactly a great jumping on point, and for anyone who doesn't know anything about Kevin Matchstick it can be downright confusing at times. That said, the writing is excellent, as is the art (would you expect any less?) and once you grasp exactly what's going on, Mage is a unique concept in a world of recycled ideas. It never comes off too mystical, too serious, nor too goofy, yet still has elements of each of those. Wagner has done an extremely awesome job of crafting an interesting story that leaves you wanting more. The characters are rich with history, and their interaction with each other feels very real. My only problem was with the shoddy job of reproducing the work into this trade. That falls on the publisher, and in the end doesn't really hurt the book that badly. I suggest anyone that comes across this book in any capacity picks it up, it's one of the more original comics out there.

One more thing, there's now a comments section under each post, please feel free to use it!!

-L