It’s been a long and sometimes drawn out journey, but the finale goes in for all its worth.
Creative Staff:
Story: Matt Wagner
Art: Matt Wagner
Colors: Brennan Wagner
Letterer: David Lanphear
What They Say:
This is it: the grand finale that’s 35 years in the making!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It feels appropriate to send Mage: The Hero Denied out with an oversized issue even if part of me feels like some of this should have happened over the last couple of issues to bring us to this point. Matt Wagner, of course, can take as much time as he wants with the characters in their final swan song even if the pacing just feels a little off for me, a little too much wheel-spinning. The finale has a lot happening from start to finish and it’s simply a very busy issue, which makes it an engaging read and definitely a lot of fun. With this book having started thirty-five years ago, and me getting into it after the first few issues came out, it’s surreal both to think we get a finishing series in the here and now and that it has gone on that long. I’ve always enjoyed Mage and wished it had a bigger impact in a way with more of it out there, but this personal journey that it was for Wagner feels appropriate in the end.
Everything is revolving around the Umbra Sprite and what she’s trying to accomplish here, which is to unlock its mother from the cage it’s been in by spilling the blood of the Fisher King, once the Hero has been denied. We’ve seen the journey to find the Fisher King for most of the run, which became more intense in the last few issues, and we’ve seen what the Sprite has done to keep Kevin at bay so that it can win. The capture of Magda and Hugo went a long way toward all of that since it was a tool to keep him stifled and unable to go up against her, not that Kevin realized what was going on. But that was why, as we see throughout here, Mirth orchestrated things as he did, hiding in plain sight and manipulating events and Kevin in order to put all the right pieces in place at the end. And that’s what a lot of what we get here, is putting all the players where they need to be.
It’s also a place where Kevin essentially gets to do what has always been intended, and from my vague memories of the decades, has been teased at. Everyone gets their time in the spotlight here, especially Mirth in a way, but it’s all central to Kevin. Wagner does his best to make it clear that Magda is in just as strong a heroic position as him, and rightly so, but it’s all about Excalibur and Kevin’s struggle to find a weapon has him forced to look inward to realize, corny as it sounds, that the power is truly within him. It’s the kind of building moment that works well when you realize that he’s always held back on what he has been capable of, mostly in trying to lay low and survive, but when faced with a beast of despair that could destroy his family, the hope and promise of the future is what will drive him, and that unlocks the mental block he unknowingly placed upon his power. It’s a great moment as he brings the story to a close with the Umbra Sprite and all that happened with what she brought to the table.
In Summary:
The epilogue aspect of the book is a bit of a mixed bag for me as the material involving the Specter looking to come claim Hugo for what he did just felt forced, especially in how he ate the fruit before in a kids’ll be kids moment. But beyond that we get a lot of good material with Mirth providing the explanations, setting the stage for wrapping up the last little bits, and putting Kevin and his family on a new path like the Fisher King has been put on as well. It’s all neat and tidy to be sure and Wagner does leave it open for more – something that I wish would happen in allowing other creators to take a stab at this world – but there’s a great sense of finality and warmth, and family, in how this all wraps up. Kevin’s journey is similar to Wagner’s own in some ways, from the young artist breaking out on his own and ending up where he is now. I’m hopeful someday for a good full on omnibus work of everything so that it can be read sequentially in order to see the bigger threads and things that binds it all together. But for now, I’m simply glad to have been able to be a part of this journey and to have a concluding chapter in all of it.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 27th, 2019
MSRP: $7.99
