Books of Magic: Part 3 + 4

[espanolbot]

Previous section,
http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/4240658.html#comments

Continuing a series after kind of a long break, with join Dr Occult and his female incarnation/alternate personality Rose (they're the same person but different people, if that makes sense) as they lead Tim Hunter (potential greatest magician of the 21st century) on a tour of the magical kingdoms connected to the DCU.

After accepting a gift from Titania, Queen of the Fairies (a big no no if you're familiar with the mythology) Dr Occult takes Tim to see some familiar faces...










The last chapter involves Mr E taking Tim to see the future of the DCU and the part that Tim plays in it... though it's kind of hard to take clips out of.

So, I'll just jump to the part where Mr E has taken Tim to the literal end of the universe in order to kill him without interference. It's here that we find that Mr E's eagerness to kill Tim may be less to do with Tim potentially being a magical supervillain, and more due to E's own issues.

Issues caused when his religious fundementalist father gouged his eyes out with a sharpened spoon when he caught him masturbating.








Tim is teleported back to the present by Death, and he meets up with the Trenchcoat Brigade just as they're about to set off to rescue him from Mr E. They'd suspected that Mr E might be trying to kill him as he was only meant to take him a little bit into the future, not so far that E's powers wouldn't let them come back again.

The Phantom Stranger asks Tim whether he wants to become a magician after all the things he's seen, and Tim, probably not surprisingly considering the Mr E Incident, declines and walks off. Constantine is kind of annoyed at this, as it means that Tim has lost his own chance to learn magic and they lost Mr E into the bargin (crazy man though he is, he's also a really good demon hunter).

Dr Occult points out though that they DID offer Tim a choice of chosing the path of magic... and it was one he had already chosen by accepting the Trenchcoat Brigade's offer in the first place. Even Constantine is surprised that the Phantom Stranger apparently managed to do something even more manipulative than he would have done. All that's left now is to see not whether Tim'll chose to do magic or not, but whether he'll chose to use those abilities for good or ill...

And back in Tim's room... he brings his owl Yo-Yo back to life, and thus begins the Books of Magic series!

I haven't read it personally, but I've heard it's good.

Anyway, next up: Ian Edginton and D'Israeli's Scarlet Traces trilogy!

Comments

[cricharddavies]

In between there was a not terribly good Mr. E. mini-series which understandably guest-starred Tim.

[mishalak]

I have all the trades of The Books of Magic (reprinting everything through #50) and I used to have the comics. I was terribly disappointed with how it 'ended' at issue #75 and did not go on to buy the follow up series Books of Magick: Life During Wartime. In a way I wish I had kept the comics because I could easily scan them now, but I got rid of them about six or seven years ago along with all the rest of my comics. Gave away to a friend who moved east.

For my part I only recommend the first three trades of the ongoing series as worth reading. Eventually it devolved into a convoluted mess with no hope or fun.

[espanolbot]

Didn't miss much with LDW to be honest, and from what I gathered it was an alternate universe or something.

[shadur]

It's always lovely to see Death again, especially when she's written well. She's a little more solemn than usual, but then again it's a solemn kind of moment for her.

[ladymidath]

I liked the Books Of Magic, I just wish there had been a little more with the Trench Coat Brigade. They one four part series that was not that good and I had always hoped they would do another.

[wizardru]

The Books of Magic series was actually very good. It had elements of stuff like Swamp Thing and Constantine, but was different from them. Even though there was a magic school that appeared at one point, it was nothing like Harry Potter in any way shape or form.

Lot of time jumping and when the art was good, it was GORGEOUS. Very different take on the teen wizard concept, though. Fell out of it after the 30s or so.

[bliumchik]

I was really disappointed that Books of Magic stopped running without a proper ending. Life During Wartime is an interesting but altogether different story, and there were so many plot threads left untugged in BOM.