Black Magick, Volume 1: Awakening

A lot of comic book series to day seem like pitches for cable series/movies, and the plot of Black Magick certainly seems like a workable concept for a good number of media narratives. The difference here is that this series is exceptionally well crafted and works as an excellent collection of comic books. It stars Rowan Black, a detective and witch, who works hard to keep her lives separate. That peace is threatened when a man takes hostages and demands only that she come talk to him. I will not spoil what happens, but those events precipitate a whole lot of mystery and intrigue.

 

As you can see from this excerpt, the artwork is phenomenal, the dialogue crisp, and the characters and situations are utterly compelling. The only real critique I have to offer is that this volume ended too quickly, and I was left wanting to be able to pick up and keep reading immediately. Alas, this volume collects the first five issues of the series, and they are all there are so far. I am looking very forward to the continuation of this story.

Black Magick is the creation of two established comics professionals. Eisner Award winning writer Greg Rucka has written novels as well as tons of comic books for the big two companies, not to mention his creator-owned series Lazarus, Queen & Country, Stumptown, and Whiteout. Artist Nicola Scott has worked primarily for DC Comics, drawing Secret Six, Wonder Woman, and Earth 2. Rucka speaks about his work on the series here, and Scott does the same in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about it heap praise on this book. Doug Zawisza called the series "gorgeous, scary and mysterious." Chris Downs added this praise, "Image have become synonymous with quality in the last decade and Black Magick can stand proudly amongst the very best of their titles." Pharoahmiles wrote that "this creative team soars."

Awakening was published by Image Comics, and they links and much more available here.