Creative Staff:
Story: Matt Wagner
Art: Matt Wagner
Colors: Brennan Wagner
Letterer: David Lanphear
What They Say:
In order to buy time for his family’s ultimate protection, Kevin has made a distraction of himself. Drawing on the power of Excalibur, he creates a beacon for his enemies to find him, hoping to lure them into a trap. But the supernatural entity that appears to confront him is unlike any opponent he has ever faced and leads to an epic showdown. Can even the blazing power of Excalibur defend the Pendragon from the vengeful wrath of…a Goddess?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Mage: The Hero Denied continues to feel like an evolution of the books that we had before as opposed to a book being created in the here and now. And this is difficult for some I’m sure because they’re looking at it through the modern lens of storytelling whereas these characters are coming from a different time and place and acting in ways that may make readers grind their teeth to say the least. But Team Wagner is putting together something that when read in full with the past works gives us a Kevin Matchstick that will feel consistent while growing all while understanding that this is a family that has lived through some difficult things and has adapted into a kind of survival mode that works. It may not feel like certain areas are being acknowledged well in a way or that some characters are being dismissed, but this is what Kevin and Magda have found works for them and their attempts at protecting their family.
Kevin’s approach to dealing with what’s coming does make sense in that he gets himself out of town and away from everything so they can have a good space to throw down if it comes to that. The arrival of Ereshkigal sets the tone well with Kevin basically glad to get this figured out and she cuts a striking visual amid the darkening night sky out in the wilderness. The problem for Kevin is that she’s going on about things that frustrate the hell out of him, such as being called the Sumerian, as it goes back to what he’s an avatar of while he’s still very certain that it’s all about the Pendragon. I haven’t read Mage in an age so I don’t recall if this was hinted at but it certainly ups the ante a bit if it all falls into the realm of true, though I’m not sure it changes things in a way with how Kevin perceives what’s going on.
The bulk of the issues focuses on the fight that gets underway with Ereshkigal and it’s definitely what makes it thrilling for me. While she does go for the easy undead army to go after him, it’s the visual design that delights as Wagner’s layouts and details are great and the color work is fantastic in making it distinctive and engaging. Ereshkigal throws a lot of verbiage out there with some of it landing decently, especially when a mysterious rider shows up that reveals to her that his soul is claimed by another house already, but it’s the action that dominates. The teases are there for the larger story and reveals to come but what we get here is just strong on action and so beautifully illustrated and colored that each panel is simply delightful to trace your fingers over and enjoy.
In Summary:
Mage: The Hero Denied is moving right along and the scale of events is widening with our understanding of what’s happening. There’s still a lot of mystery but nothing so big that it can’t be answered by the time everything is said and done with this title. Team Wagner is doing a lot of good stuff here with the visual and story presentation and my hopes continue to be that once all is said and done we can have one massive tome so that it’s a strong read from start to finish with the Kevin Matchstick story. This is a very good chapter with what it does and it left me grinning throughout.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 15th, 2017
MSRP: $1.99
