BOOKS OF MAGIC: RECKONINGS.
Fantasy and reality meet head-on in the mind of a young mage.

Writer: John Ney Rieber
Artists: Peter Snejbjerg, Peter Gross, and John Ridgway
Colorist: Sherilyn van Valkenburgh
Letterer: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Trade paperback
Published by DC Vertigo 1997
$12.95

Reviewed by Scott J Grunewald

THE BOOKS OF MAGIC is the continuing adventures of Timothy Hunter, a painfully shy and self-loathing teenager who just happens to be a powerful magician. We were first introduced to Tim in a 4 issue miniseries written by Neil Gaiman. That story had the familiar Trenchcoat Brigade (Phantom Stranger, Mister E, John Constantine, and Dr. Occult) finding the innocuous young boy and telling him of his destiny to become a great mage. The concept really spoke to me, a young boy learns that he's a great magician and goes on a reality spanning adventure with four other worldly guides. What a great concept. Too bad the first mini series was such a bore.

Now don't get me wrong, Gaiman is a fantastic writer and knows how to craft a story, and the artwork (provided by John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, and Paul Johnson) was simply stunning. But I couldn't help thinking it was a story of wasted potential. It wasn't the story of a boy learning about magic and having adventures, it was the story of a rather annoying kid getting led around reality by four bores (okay three, Constantine is no bore).

"Rieber has switched the story to Tim's viewpoint, not the people who surround him"

Thankfully, John Ney Rieber took over the writing chores for the on-going series with the issues reprinted here in RECKONINGS. Rieber has switched the story to Tim's viewpoint, not the people who surround him. Tim is now a personality, not just a part to play. Rieber also introduces Tim's one-armed father, the too wonderful for words Molly O'Reilly, Tim's older and delusional self, and the treacherous demon lord Barbatos (who has tricked the future Tim into a life of poverty and uselessness).

After a demented sorcerer mortally wounds him, Tim's father finally returns home, seemingly woken from his catatonic despair. He's eager to rebuild the relationship between himself and his son. Meanwhile, Tim and Molly have grown closer than ever, prompting Tim to show her a little bit of his world.

Tim is an "Opener", a mage of immense power, and as such has lived his entire life in magic. As a child, Tim used to retreat into a fantasy world to avoid the pain of losing his mother and having a father who didn't seem to care for him. But he discovers that, due to his power as an Opener, this world actually existed. It's a typical childhood fantasy world, filled with odd creatures and vast plains of grass. Most notable of the inhabitants is the Wobbly, an odd bird skull-headed creature dreamed up by Tim to clean up his junk and broken toys. Also living within Tim's world are Tanger and Crimple, two small wood nymphs whom Molly takes a liking to instantly.

Now Molly O'Reilly is not the sort to sit back and watch life go by. She needs to go out and experience it. And she does, going off exploring Tim's world with Crimple, against Tim and Tanger's wishes. But the manipulative demon Barbatos has plans for Molly and, with the aid of his purple dinosaur demons, tricks Molly and Crimple into Hell... and Tim and Tanger are forced to follow them.

"Hell is jealous humanity invented junk food without their help... it's these unique quirks which make BOOKS OF MAGIC such fun"

Rieber has crafted the kind of fantasy story that sticks with you long after you've finished it. His characters are fully realized, never perfect, and always challenging. But beyond that is an imagination full of odd and downright bizarre ideas. Hell, for instance, is a bustling business center. Hell is jealous that humanity invented junk food without their help. And love within Hell's confines is tantamount to an apocalypse. And it's these odd and unique story quirks which make BOOKS OF MAGIC such a fun book to read. It may not always be cheery and "fun", but its always entertaining and thought-provoking.

BOOKS OF MAGIC has always been known for the two artists who work on it the most, Peter Snejbjerg and Peter Gross. They draw Tim as a child, a regular teenage boy, not a short, muscle-bound super hero. It's the two Peters who keep things grounded deeply in reality, so when things do get fantastic, it's exciting and fantastic. I have to admit, I prefer Snejbjerg's simple and striking art over the less coherent Gross - somehow he makes his artwork fun, creepy, and moving all at once. And his Molly O'Reilly is a cute, spunky and formative presence. When he draws Molly, you just know not to argue with her, and we don't even need to read any dialogue to know that, its written on her face.

The on-going BOOKS OF MAGIC succeeds because Tim isn't window-dressing for a guided tour through Neil Gaiman's imagination. Instead he's a 3-dimensional and fully realized teenage boy, forced to cope not only with family stress and puberty, but also with manipulative demons, trips to hell and his headstrong girlfriend.

BOOKS OF MAGIC succeeds in the same way BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER does; it isn't just a story set in a world of fantasy and adventure. Tim may live in a fantastic world, but we never forget that he's just a boy. A boy full of self-doubt with low self-esteem and a horrid home life. Why should Tim care about the magic he can work when his mother is dead and his father wished he could join her, essentially leaving Tim to fend for himself?

Occasionally stories can take too long to play out, and sometimes whole ideas are ignored and simply left for the reader to play catch up. But these are minor problems that are easily overcome by the unique and fun world Rieber, Snejbjerg and Gross have created for us.

Recommended

Scott J Grunewald is Editor in Chief of PopImage.

Back

Attitude | ProFile | Industrial
Interviews | Reviews | Pi Comics
Talkback | Archives | Gallery