Comic Book Review - Magic #4

Rob reviews Magic #4...

BOOM! Studios' original series based on Magic The Gathering has steadily been gaining pace since its opening issue a few months back. 

Our three heroes Ral Zarek, Vraska, and Kaya have spent the last couple of issues hunting down the apparent culprits of the assassinations - The Dimir Guild. However, Magic #3 revealed that the Dimir aren't quite the "baddies" as we've been left to believe. And as such Ral Zarek, Vraska, and Kaya reluctantly go searching for answers at the destroyed Duskmantle guildhall.

Compared to the previous issues, Magic #4 feels very much a turned down affair. The action takes somewhat of a back seat as Jed MacKay does the heavy lifting with his writing. That's not to say that Magic #4 is a dull issue - far from it. The journey to Duskmantle reveals plenty of details to the overall plan to destroy Ravnica, as well as more character building for our unlikely team of heroes. 

The Lazav dream sequence is a great bit of storytelling that conveys what exactly has been going on, with that Magic The Gathering twist. By the issue end, the real threat to Ravinca has been revealed. The mastermind behind everything happens to be Tezzerett, who's not going to be a stranger to fans of the tabletop game. We're also introduced to yet another Guildmaster as Aurelia appears to "keep the peace". 

Much like the previous issues both Ig Guara and Arianna Consonni continue to build Ravinca with their fantastic art and colour work. Guara packs plenty of detail into the art which works wonders in humanising this incredible cast of characters. Consonni on the other hand switches between a variety of colours that not only builds this high fantasy world but also highlights the darkness within it. 

Overall Magic #4 is a great piece of storytelling. While it's light on action, its writing more than makes up for it. With the larger threat to Ravinca looming ever closer, I'm fully expecting Jed MacKay to give us plenty more twists and turns before the eventual reveal.

Rating 8/10 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev