Pick of the Week: "Books of Magic" #1

[Javaman]

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/reviews/books-of-magic-1/

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An awkward British teenager with glasses is destined to become the greatest or worst magician of all time. Sounds familiar right? Well, you haven’t quite read that story like this.

Written by Kat Howard
Illustrated by Tom Fowler
Colored by Jordan Boyd
Lettered by Todd Klein
From the SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1, it’s the return of Neil Gaiman’s magical morality fable in an all-new series written by Kat Howard (Roses and Rot, An Unkindness of Magicians) and drawn by Tom Fowler (DOOM PATROL)!

Timothy Hunter may be destined to become the most powerful magician in the universe, but he’s still a London teenager, and having magical abilities complicates things more than it helps. It’s not like he can use magic to pass his exams, stop being bullied or convince his cute friend to date him. And while Tim’s trying to live his life, there are cultists who want to kill him, believing his power will eventually corrupt him into becoming a merciless mage. Oh, and those are the good guys. Luckily, his new substitute teacher is more than she appears, and may be able to help Tim discover the mystery behind the Books of Magic…

“Books of Magic” is in a different spot compared to the other Sandman Universe titles. Most of those titles exist with a connection to the surreal Dreaming and adjacent realms where everything and the nature of storytelling is at play. They also largely act as continuations of previously established stories or characters, “House of Whispers” being a clear exception. By appearances, “Books of Magic” is lacking in these regards. While this is a magical narrative, it isn’t tied into the Dreaming. The series lead is a young Timothy Hunter, not an older version, which gives the series a reboot feel. However, as its strip in “Sandman Universe” made clear: appearances can be deceiving.

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